Ted Wardlaw preached for the opening worship service of the school year last night. He quoted Barbara Brown Taylor who speaks of turning ink into blood. This is a phrase I have come across while reading Jana Childers book "Performing the Word." Taylor makes the point that we get so caught up in the ink that we forget the blood that was shed on its behalf. We would rather sit and read the ink than get out and interact with those around us. Turning ink into blood is about putting into practice what is written in ink, giving the words life.
On that note it makes me wonder, are we, Presbyterians (or whoever actually), people of the letter of the law or the spirit of the law? Do we worry more about what is in writing or what is behind the writing? It makes me wonder if we need to spend less time worrying about the printed page and more time trying to live out what is written.
Taylor spoke to the fact that Christians behave the worst when they are defending God. It is as if in our finiteness that we could defend the infinite. How is it that we have decided that we are so righteous that we can defend God?
All this goes back to what I thought earlier in the summer that the PC(USA) particularly has become very pharisaical. We are the keepers of the holy traditions and the holy words. We are adamant about being clean on the outside, but not so much when it comes from the inside. Jesus called the Pharisees on that one. It is not what goes in that defiles us, it is what comes out of us that does.
Okay enough random thoughts for now....Peace.
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1 comment:
You are so ON! I think we worry too much about letter of law and not enought aobut each other!
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