It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Forgiveness in the Church, Reflection on Matthew 18:18-20

Thinking about forgiveness and the congregatingness (congregatability?) of the congregation, I read Kathleen Norris' typically wonderful poem, Mrs. Schneider in Church:

Here's the first and last stanza:

It's the willingness to sing

that surprises me:
out of tune,
we drag the organist along
and sing, knowing we can't,
and our quite ordinary voices
carry us over.
....

Now we are changed,
making a noise
greater than ourselves,
to be worthy of the lesson:
all duly noted,
all forgiven.

(Excerpted from Cries of the Spirit, Beacon Press, ed. by Marilyn Sewell

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