Sunday, May 22, 2011

Just One More Thing

I grew up on Colombo reruns. Detective Colombo was famous for finishing up questioning someone and then turning back to ask "one more thing." That thing usually had to do with some sort of bombshell evidence that showed that someone to be guilty.

Well this isn't likely to be that dramatic but I had "one more thing" that I thought of about last week's sermon before I moved on to this week. You may want to go back and read my last two posts to catch up because this is on the same subject.

Jesus says to us in Matthew, 5:21-22:

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

For good or for bad, last week's sermon, "I Forgive You," hit a nerve. I am glad about that. The Gospel tends to do that. I always worry though because there is a fine line when proclaiming the Gospel in a way that unsettles us. Have I represented the Gospel in such a way that it unsettles us or was it just my representation itself that was unsettling? Whenever there is a lot of feedback from a sermon I think more about that sermon in the light of this question.

As I have read scripture this week I have seen some clarity that the Gospel really wants to unsettle us about this. Whether or not I did scripture true justice in my representation this week, only God can tell me. But I do believe that, on this subject, we all, me included, need some unsettling.

Well that is enough about that. This morning, we finish the sermon series with something a little lighter, "I love you."

peace,

will
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