Pastoral Message

          I have mentioned - repeatedly - that I am not the best with tech and am not super comfortable with social
media things. Sometimes I see an online post and I take a picture of it to think about or review later. Recently
I was scrolling through my gallery and I found one of these pictures. It is very basic - text only- no visuals:
white text on a grey background. I read it a few more times and decided that I really like it. Here is the text:

     THE BIBLE IS CLEAR:  Moabites are bad.  They were not to be allowed to dwell among God's people (Dt. 23).
     BUT THEN comes the story of "Ruth the Moabite," which challenges the prejudice against Moabites.

     THE BIBLE IS CLEAR:  People from Uz are evil (Jer. 25). 
     BUT THEN comes the story of Job, a man from Uz who was the "most blameless man on earth."

     THE BIBLE IS CLEAR:  No foreigners or eunuchs allowed (Dt. 23).
     BUT THEN comes the story of an African eunuch welcomed into the church (Acts 8).

     THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: God's people hate Samaritans.
     BUT THEN Jesus tells a story that shows not all Samaritans were bad.

     THE STORY MAY BEGIN with prejudice, discrimination, &animosity, but the Spirit moves God's people towards
     openness, welcome, inclusion, acceptance, & affirmation.

I think I like it because it reminds me of seminary and having conversations in class and out of class, at
Denny’s, in the car, in the dorm... about the nature of God and how we understand the nature of the divine. I
miss those days and those talks. In theology we talked about how there are specific words to describe God as
“all” or “not”. We have words like Omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient - all powerful, all places, all knowing;
and we have words for what God is not: Invisible, immortal, infinite - not visible, not dying, not ending. We
don’t often think about the times when God changes a plan or an understanding. We sometimes want to insist
that God is unchanging. In fact, God does change and God changes us. We encounter God in mystery and
trinity. We grow in our understanding of God and we grow into the depths and layers of faith through doubt
and change.

How nice would it be if we claimed and encouraged this flexibility for growth and understanding. Would
we be better at listening to new opinions or hearing other people’s experiences? Sometimes we become rigid;
our rigidity can too often make us fragile. Instead of bending and growing, we break or shatter. I believe it was
St. Anselm who wrote that the strength of his faith is measured in the folds of his doubts. I encourage you to
read the text of the post again and consider for a moment the times God has guided you or a loved one on an
unexpected path. Then, share that story with someone you care about. Invite others to think about God as a
change-maker.

Enjoy!
Pastor Kristi