It is rather eerie at times how Pastor's mind runs along similar thoughts as mine, but where we diverge is that he stops short and I keep on going. Sunday's sermon was no exception.
In my last blog I wrote about the frustration of having only words to offer, when Christianity promises so much. I think he feels it too, but can't say it as freely as I can. After all, he is a pastor! But I sense it is there. He is a good man and truly cares about people. It's just that I think that he has committed himself to a position that can only end up with being painted in a corner. He stops short while I go on, because he is afraid maybe of what he might find and where he might be leading his flock.
Last Sunday he was talking about Jesus sending out the disciples and the fact that He gave them power to heal and cast out demons and do all kinds of marvelous things. He said, "Wouldn't you like to be able to do that?" Oh hell yes! Not for the glory or the attention, but to actually do something to help someone who is in need, to offer them more than words. He said, "If any of you have that ability, please go out and use it, please."
And then he pulled back, and said that these abilities were given to the disciples for a specific mission for a specific time, they weren't meant for the rest of us. We don't need them, you see, because we have other things they didn't have. The New Testament Bible, to name one. Well, I utterly fail to see how that is any better. I would argue in this skeptical and scientific age, that miracles are needed now even more than ever. We TALK about power, but do we HAVE power? If we're honest with ourselves, no, we do not.
Last week I was sitting quietly watching a movie when I felt a sharp pain in my lower back that just would not quit. So I went to the emergency room. Turned out I had a kidney stone. They gave me some good drugs and sent me home to wait for it to pass (which it did without too much trauma). The point is, when I was in that situation, praying never even crossed my mind. I did not know what was wrong but I knew something was wrong and I knew where to go to get help. Help that was more than words. And I know for a fact that if anyone else in that congregation was in that same situation, either themselves or their families, they would have made the same choice. They wouldn't have stopped to "pray about it." They would have gone first and prayed afterwards. Because the bottom line is they don't have the kind of faith that the Christian Scientists and others who don't believe in health care do. I don't agree with those folks, not at all, but in a way you do have to admire them, because they do put their faith on the line. They put their lives on the line. And sometimes it works out for them and sometimes it goes very badly. And when it goes very badly for their children, that's when we have the court cases. But these folks are actually living what they believe.
In my last blog I wrote about the frustration of having only words to offer, when Christianity promises so much. I think he feels it too, but can't say it as freely as I can. After all, he is a pastor! But I sense it is there. He is a good man and truly cares about people. It's just that I think that he has committed himself to a position that can only end up with being painted in a corner. He stops short while I go on, because he is afraid maybe of what he might find and where he might be leading his flock.
Last Sunday he was talking about Jesus sending out the disciples and the fact that He gave them power to heal and cast out demons and do all kinds of marvelous things. He said, "Wouldn't you like to be able to do that?" Oh hell yes! Not for the glory or the attention, but to actually do something to help someone who is in need, to offer them more than words. He said, "If any of you have that ability, please go out and use it, please."
And then he pulled back, and said that these abilities were given to the disciples for a specific mission for a specific time, they weren't meant for the rest of us. We don't need them, you see, because we have other things they didn't have. The New Testament Bible, to name one. Well, I utterly fail to see how that is any better. I would argue in this skeptical and scientific age, that miracles are needed now even more than ever. We TALK about power, but do we HAVE power? If we're honest with ourselves, no, we do not.
Last week I was sitting quietly watching a movie when I felt a sharp pain in my lower back that just would not quit. So I went to the emergency room. Turned out I had a kidney stone. They gave me some good drugs and sent me home to wait for it to pass (which it did without too much trauma). The point is, when I was in that situation, praying never even crossed my mind. I did not know what was wrong but I knew something was wrong and I knew where to go to get help. Help that was more than words. And I know for a fact that if anyone else in that congregation was in that same situation, either themselves or their families, they would have made the same choice. They wouldn't have stopped to "pray about it." They would have gone first and prayed afterwards. Because the bottom line is they don't have the kind of faith that the Christian Scientists and others who don't believe in health care do. I don't agree with those folks, not at all, but in a way you do have to admire them, because they do put their faith on the line. They put their lives on the line. And sometimes it works out for them and sometimes it goes very badly. And when it goes very badly for their children, that's when we have the court cases. But these folks are actually living what they believe.
