I am going to be preaching on the Sermon on the Mount for the next 4 weeks. I was in Houston last week at a Do No Harm workshop that focused on ethical decisions in the church regarding sex, boundaries, response to those who violate those boundaries, safe sanctuaries, cyber security, and ways to help church leaders continue to grow in their awareness of appropriate choices in their lives. As you can see that there was much discussed regarding the church today. I believe that there were 58 annual conferences represented and representatives from Germany and the Congo. It was a great experience though one which I would hope that we would not have to discuss. The reality is that church can be no safer than any other institution. I hope that as we continue to grow as faithful disciples we would learn ways of not oppressing others through domination, misuse of power, and through manipulation. BTW when I left Houston it was 72o . Today the wind chill is –20.
In the lectionary, the gospel reading come from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It got me thinking what if we treated these scriptures seriously. Rather than passing them over as quaint but unachievable. What if we began to work toward actually making decisions based on the ethical premises that Jesus presents? I believe we would not have to have workshops on Do No Harm, we would be doing it naturally. I would like to have you readers read Matthew chapters 5-7. Take time to really read them and to reflect how what is said can change our lives, our world, and our witness to the Kin-dom of God.
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