Just read James Martins chapter on the Sabbath healing at the Pool of Berbers in his Jesuus:A Pilgrimage.. (Very good book, by the way). It left me with this thought: one of the reasons Jesus was rejected by the religious hierarchies of his own faith was his healings on the Sabbath, which the religious leaders of Jerusalem saw as clearly not only a violation of tradition, but of scriptural law (the prohibition of non-essential work on the Sabbath remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy ... no work.). Jesus response? My Father is working; so am I!. (In the Synoptics The Sabbath was made for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath!). Might that not speak directly to the current insistence of official United Methodism that the Book of Discipline be obeyed even when its unjust and people are being harmed ... And that those of us who disobey are breaking covenant ( our opponents would argue also breaking tradition and scripture?). I have to thimk that as Jesus brought Gods grace and life-healing love to those who most needed it, so he would today ... and if it broke covenant, well ... so be it. I have to think Jesus would be leading the way in bringing queer folk to full equality in the church, including marriage and ordination, and would not let the Discipline stand in his way. And when someone brought a complaint and he ended up in a bishops office (or on trial) I think we know what he would say. My Father is still working/speaking/loving (thanks for the borrow, UCC!) and so am I ... the Disvipline was made for human beings (even gay ones) and not human beings for the Discipline. Just a thought. But the implications for me seem clear.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 13:07:15 +0000
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