Passion week is here again and if you are like me, sometimes assistance is needed in order to engage in fruitful meditation on Christ’s pathway to the cross. Let me offer a suggestion that I have found to be moving and profound in this regard.
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Corinthians 15:58 NAS)
On Saturday I was vividly reminded of the truth of the above passage as my church family surprised me with a 30th anniversary celebration of my ministry at Cornerstone. I have been truly blessed beyond anything I could have ever hoped or imagined. I was deeply touched by the testimonies, the memories, the sacrifices of those who traveled far to be there, and the efforts made at pulling it all together. I love you all and am grateful beyond words.
On August 11th my mother, Eunice Irene Harris, went home to be with the Lord after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a form of bone cancer. She would have been 84 last Monday. At her funeral I read the following eulogy…
Paul asks the rhetorical question in I Corinthians 14:8 “if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?” Those of you who were in church last Sunday may have noticed that I set my trumpet aside after struggling to get it to make a clear sound. It was the first indication to me that something more serious was amiss.
Like all of you, I have been treated to more of Bruce Jenner’s personal life than I would ever care to know. And yes, I still call him Bruce and use the masculine personal pronouns, not because I want to be insensitive to his predicament but because I do not believe that gender is a mere matter of personal preference that can be altered by a few surgical procedures. It is a part of the given-ness of our created being that we are called upon to accept and offer to God for his glory, not manipulate for our own perceived ends. Bruce Jenner may have had reconstructive surgery and had hormones pumped into his body, but for all that he remains male – and a sadly mutilated one at that. As such, he is a tragic figure and one that we ought neither to mock nor condone, but pray for.
Last week two major stories dominated the news outlets: the riots in Baltimore and the Supreme Court considering the issue of gay marriage. It occurred to me as these stories unfolded that there is a connection between the two. Let me explain.