There
\nare fantastic people in life who are able to quickly assess a
\nsituation, and make a solid decision on a response. \u00a0I deeply envy
\nthose people. \u00a0I’m a different kind of person, one who wants access
\nto as much information as possible, and then often internally
\noscillates repeatedly. \u00a0A good friend doing committee work with me
\nonce told me that \u201cour meetings would go a lot faster if you would
\nstop debating with yourself \u2013 outloud.\u201d \u00a0#truth. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Because
\nI’ve been examining the Gospel lesson this week, I am aware that
\ndecisions require deciding where we put our trust. \u00a0That is, who or
\nwhat has authority. \u00a0That is because the central question in today’s
\nGospel lesson is one of authority. \u00a0Jesus was teaching, but as a poor
\nman without a formal position or education, he didn’t have a whole
\nlot of authority. \u00a0The chief priests and elders had the education and
\nthe positions. \u00a0They held formal authority. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
In \n<\/p>\n DANG.<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n That \n<\/p>\n So, \n<\/p>\n And, \n<\/p>\n One \n<\/p>\n That \n<\/p>\n For \n<\/p>\n And, \n<\/p>\n And \n<\/p>\n Truth \n<\/p>\n It \n<\/p>\n If \n<\/p>\n (Let \n<\/p>\n So, \n<\/p>\n The \n<\/p>\n This \n<\/p>\n Let \n<\/p>\n With \n<\/p>\n 1<\/a>Based 2<\/a>Usually <\/p>\n Rev. Sara E. Baron <\/p>\n September 27, 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nthat time and place, like any other, authority mattered. \u00a0They seem
\ngenuinely confused. \u00a0 \u201cwhy is this guy speaking like he has
\nauthority when he has none? \u00a0Does he have a powerful patron he is
\nspeaking for?\u201d \u00a0The answer Jesus gives amounts to \u201cI have the
\nauthority of the respect of the people.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n
\nitself uprooted everything in his society. \u00a0This was bottom up power
\nand everyone knew that power came from the top down. \u00a0Those crowds,
\nhowever, knew that the power from the top down was profoundly corrupt
\nand corrupting. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nwho or what has authority for you? \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nif you say it is God, (*great*) what does that mean for you?<\/p>\n
\nof the gifts of the Methodist movement has been a way of thinking
\nabout authority that creates some balance. \u00a0The \u201cWesleyan
\nQuadrilateral\u201d suggests that when looking for truth about things to
\ndo with God, faith, and people, we take into account Scripture,
\nTradition, Scholarship2<\/sup><\/a>,
\nand Personal Experience. \u00a0If something can be made sense of with all
\n4 of those areas of authority, it can be trusted. \u00a0If not, it has to
\nbe handled more carefully. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nsaid, each of the pieces of the quadrilateral is more complicated
\nthan it may seem. \u00a0For instance, how scripture is understood seems to
\nbe a range wide enough to include pretty much every opinion and its
\nopposite, and yet somehow with great conviction on every side. \u00a0\ud83d\ude41 \u00a0I
\nbelieve it is pretty clear that the authority of \u201cchurch tradition\u201d
\nis similarly broad, as is personal experience. \u00a0I think the Psalm
\ntries to answer the authority question with some sort of balance of
\nscripture and tradition \u2013 it says that because God has cared for
\nus, we can trust God. \u00a0That’s all fine and good, but it still doesn’t
\nanswer our deeper questions.<\/p>\n
\nexample, there is the question of what our faith community looks like
\nduring this global pandemic. \u00a0The issue, as you may be aware, is that
\nthe first general rule of John Wesley is \u201cFirst do no harm.\u201d \u00a0But
\nthat is ALSO not simple (nothing is simple with me, sorry). \u00a0Because
\ndoing no harm means not exposing anyone to increased risk of COVID
\nexposure. \u00a0BUT, it also means not letting people who are hungry
\nstruggle with their hunger when we can give them food (so we have
\nkept Breakfast open, even while offering it as take out). \u00a0It means
\nmaking sure that families living in poverty still have toilet paper,
\ndiapers, and hygiene products (so we have been giving away our
\nSUSTAIN supplies while our distribution has been closed.) \u00a0It means
\nmaking sure people have access to others, in community, to be heard
\nand to share life (our Zoom Check in, the Midweek Coffee Hour, the
\nBridging the Distance Groups.)<\/p>\n
\nstill, we know we have excluded. \u00a0Not everyone has internet. \u00a0Because
\nthe internet is PROFOUNDLY not the same, not everyone gains a sense
\nof connection via the internet. \u00a0There has been a yearning for being
\nin our worship space, for sharing space, for being more together.<\/p>\n
\nyet, still, \u201cdo no harm\u201d with a pandemic! \u00a0So, what to do? \u00a0After
\nMONTHS of internal oscillation, and lots of conversation with others,
\nthe best plan I have to offer is this: \u00a0we keep our worship online.
\nWe keep our Zoom check in as worship part 2. \u00a0We ALSO offer a
\n\u201cContemplative Prayer Service\u201d at 10AM in the Sanctuary. \u00a0This
\nservice won’t involve singing, or even congregational speaking. \u00a0It
\nwill be quiet, still, reflective. \u00a0There will be masks and social
\ndistancing. \u00a0It will be short (30 minutes or less). \u00a0All of this will
\nminimize risk \u2013 but also respond to need. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nbe told, I also LOVE contemplative prayer, and I think many of us
\nneed some time of stillness and prayer, and this may be good for our
\nspiritual journeys. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nwasn’t easy to figure out how to go forward, and more difficult
\nquestions will keep coming, but this is where we got to for now. \u00a0My
\nauthorities have been the medical and scientific communities, the
\nresponses we’ve gotten from the church, the reopening committee, and
\nmy own personal experience. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nI’m actually honest about how I make decisions, it all comes down to
\nlove. \u00a0My question is, \u201cwhat is the most loving option\u201d and then
\nI have to take into account \u201cfor myself,\u201d \u201cfor others,\u201d \u201cfor
\nthe whole.\u201d And that still doesn’t create easy answers, but at
\nleast it means I’m making decisions in ways I can respect. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nme take this time to say that pandemic decisions are ALL HARD, and we
\nall come to them with different bodies, different risks, and
\ndifferent risk assessments. \u00a0We aren’t all making the same choices,
\nbut I hope we are all trying to care for each other in our choices.)<\/p>\n
\nfor a moment, I’m going to assume that you want to go with me down
\nthe \u201cwhat is most loving\u201d path. \u00a0I imagine you’d ask, \u201cwhat
\nabout when I’m stuck or unsure?\u201d \u00a0In the past several years, I have
\nbeen working on…. trusting myself a bit more. \u00a0Now, when I find
\nmyself stuck (including procrastinating), I ask myself \u201cwhy\u201d and
\nexplore it. \u00a0While there sometimes feels like urgency, I’ve found
\nthat when I (prayerfully) explore my stuckness, I usually discover
\nsomething really important that isn’t being cared for. \u00a0(This is
\nreally how we got to a contemplative prayer service, I couldn’t
\nfigure out how to make in person worship work for enough people!) \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nother piece is to trust other people to tell you when you are wrong.
\nThis, actutally, is very Wesleyan, and I think it is one of the most
\nimportant aspects of faith community. \u00a0We’re all wrong sometimes.
\nWhich means we all need to be corrected sometimes. \u00a0Which means it is
\nreally good to work on the skill of listening to others, and
\nadmitting our errors.<\/p>\n
\nisn’t a lot of new advice, is it? \u00a0Trust yourself when you are stuck
\nthat you are stuck for a reason, let love guide your choices, and
\nadmit it when you are wrong? \u00a0Like most faith stuff though, this is
\nall easier said than done. \u00a0That, and it is pretty clear that
\nauthority and decisions are still hard for me!<\/p>\n
\nme offer one more little thing then. \u00a0I’ve often heard it said around
\nthis church, \u201cquestion everything\u201d and I agree. \u00a0We question
\neverything, and we try to come down on the side of love, and we seek
\nto be open to correction and then \u2026. we need on more piece. \u00a0The
\nfinal piece is to practice forgiveness of self and of others, because
\nwe’re all going to err even when we do our best.<\/p>\n
\nall this, may we get ever better at using God, and God’s love, as our
\nutmost authority. \u00a0Amen\n<\/p>\n
\n\ton the work of Bruce J Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh in \u201cSocial
\n\tScience Commentary on the Synpotic Gospels\u201d pages 108-109.<\/p>\n
\n\tcalled \u201creason,\u201d but that leads to misunderadning, <\/p>\n
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n