Faith, Grace, and Hope

“Here is what I would say to you if it wouldn’t hurt your feelings.” This is a popular construct right now in social media posts and in short-form publishing. The set-up is usually a specialist from a medical field or an expert in a given research field, appealing to the viewer to consider an idea or ideas in a different light. “Here is what I would say if it wouldn’t hurt your feelings.” The posts are an effort to counteract “general wisdom” or “accepted knowledge” and to present additional information and research that may lead to a better health outcomes or improved quality of life.   Each time I see it, I consider what my video would be. How would I complete the premise, “Here is what I would say if it wouldn’t hurt your feelings.” Contrary to popular belief, I do try to be gentle in teaching and, most of the time, in preaching. Harshness gains no ground for the gospel. I do pull some punches.  So, should I do it? Should I say the thing that I desperately want you to hear?...

Them: “What if it goes to someone undeserving? Someone who hasn’t earned it?   Me: “Who am I to keep someone from grace, from help, from the table?”    The “rule” of my denomination that I break most often and most fragrantly regards Holy Communion. In the guidelines about the “means of grace” (ways God is revealed to us), pastors are instructed to offer communion to baptized individuals (regardless of age). The pertinent documents declare that “there is no sin” if an unbaptized person is to receive communion, but to begin withholding the sacrament until there is understanding and baptism.  No.  Firstly, I do not believe in hierarchy among the (two) sacraments. Communion is not *more* sacred than baptism. If both are the work of God, then who am I to say that one must be held back until the other can occur. God washes, welcomes, and feeds. It is a gift to be part of that work. It feels like a risky business to withhold the gifts of God based on my own judgment a...