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.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Who Gets In, a Reflection on Psalm 15

"Who is allowed into a place of worship?" asks this psalm.

I'm reading the qualification for being in communion with God:
walk blamelessly and do right.

And I'm thinking about how Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites for what they would have called blameless walking--that is, appropriate handwashing.

And I'm thinking about the current controversy over who can join the Methodist Church (and all the not-so-current controversies). Who should be allowed in?

Back to Psalm 15 for direction. Those who dwell with the Lord have these characteristics:
They speak the truth. They do not slander. They do no evil to their friends. They do not take up reproach against their neighbors.
And, worrisome, for us in the contemporary world, they don't accept interest on loans they make. Not so worrisome, they don't take bribes, either.

Summary: In order to be in communion with God, we need to be in community with each other.

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