Proper 19
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
The church year theological clue
September 29th marks the celebration of another minor festival, St. Michael and All Angels. The last line of the second reading, Revelation 12: 12, supports the eschatological perspective of Pentecost, because it announces that he (Satan) "knows that his time is short." Without the theological input of the readings for St. Michael and All Angels Day to supplement the readings of the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, the eschatological framework of the church year would be almost imperceptible at this point in Pentecost. The readings, during most of the Pentecost Cycle/Season, have to reestablish and support the theological themes of the church year, or they will be completely lost, and "lectionary preachers" may lose their "theological" direction. The lesser festivals tend to supplement the other readings, and prove to be helpful in the exegetical/homiletical endeavor.
The Prayer of the Day (LBW) - The content of this prayer seems to have been influenced by parts of several collects that were formerly in use. It also appears to have been shaped by the Gospel for the Day, Matthew 18:21-35, which includes the parable of the unforgiving debtor. In contrast to the man in the Gospel, who had received the forgiveness of a huge debt but wouldn't show the same mercy to a man who owed him an insignificant amount of money, the prayer speaks out: "O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity." The gracious response of the faithful, in which they show love, mercy, and forgiveness to others, is connected to the glory of God in this prayer: "Grant us the fullness of your grace, that, pursuing what you have promised, we may share your heavenly glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." The love of God for people, which was incarnate in Jesus Christ, is what motivates and determines our actions toward others.
The Psalm for the Day - Psalm 103, or 103:8-13 (E); 103:1-4, 9-12 (R); 103:1-13 (L) - The first thirteen verses of this psalm are quite well known among the faithful - in addition to the thirteenth verse:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all your sins and heals all your infirmities. (verses 1-3)
Verse 13 declares, "As a father cares for his children, so does the Lord care for those who fear him." The rest of the psalm might not be as familiar as these verses, but verse 20 renews the "Bless the Lord" note of the first two verses in an interesting and liturgically timely manner:
"Bless the Lord, you angels of his, you mighty ones who do his bidding and hearken to the voice of his word." Two more "Bless the Lord" injunctions return the psalm to its opening theme, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." The psalm takes the worshiper - and the preacher - full circle in God's grace and goodness.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord, you have compassion for the sinner, as a father has compassion for his children. Heal the weakness of your people and save us from everlasting death, that with the saints and angels we may praise and glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Psalm 19:7-14 (C) - Here is another responsory psalm that not only is very familiar to people who know the Psalms, but is also a fitting responsory to the first reading (Exodus 20). The beginning of the psalm, which is so well-known and even memorized by some Christians - "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork" - is probably omitted because it fits last Sunday's reading (the spectacular at Mt. Sinai) more specifically than it does this week's lesson. Verse 7 provides a most appropriate response to the reading:
The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent. The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the. eyes.
All of this, and the ensuing verses, lead to the prayer which is so familiar to preachers: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."
The readings:
Sirach 27:30-28:7 (R, E)
This reading from a deutero-canonical book, which often is simply called Sirach, was one of those readings included in the first lectionary proposal for the LBW that was later removed and replaced by another First Lesson. The book was written in Hebrew by Jesus ben Sirach, around 180 B.C., and was discovered by his grandson some fifty years later, who translated it into Greek, "for the benefit especially of those who, domiciled abroad, wish to study how to fit themselves and their manners fonliving according to the Law" (from the translator's foreword to the book). The excerpts from chapters 27 and 28 were chosen for the first reading because they complement the Gospel for the Day. Verse 4, chapter 28, asks - over against the unforgiving debtor - "Showing no pity for a man like himself, can he then plead for his own sins?" At the end of the reading, this exhortation is given: "Remember the last things, and stop hating, remember dissolution and death, and live by the commandments."
Genesis 50:15-21 (L)
The LBW replaced the Sirach reading with a concrete example of forgiving others who really owe you a very large debt. Here is the story of Joseph's brothers, who are afraid that Joseph will exact vengeance upon them after their father's death. They put words in the mouth of a messenger, whom they sent to Joseph:
Your father gave this command before he died, "Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you." And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.
This caused Joseph to weep and to tell his brothers, when they came seeking his forgiveness, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God?" In a way, he traced the whole business of their
selling him into slavery to God:
As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones,
he assured them. The story is quite compatible with the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18:21-35.
Exodus 20:1-20 (C)
The Roman and Episcopal lectionaries place most of this reading (20:1-17) on the Third Sunday in Lent, Year B; the Lutheran Lectionary assigns 20:10-17 (18-22) to the same Sunday in Lent. This reading, of course, enunciates the Ten Commandments given to Moses and the people of Israel by Yahweh. These "tables of duty" - the first table to God, the second to one's acquaintances and neighbors - are valid for Christians, as well as Jews, but no person is able to keep and fulfill them, with the exception of Jesus Christ. He alone kept them perfectly, and was without sin. The Ten Commandments, try as we will to obey them perfectly, cause us to recognize our sin and our need for forgiveness; the righteousness of Jesus Christ saves us in the face of the condemnation thrust upon us by the decalogue.
Romans 14:5-12 (E, C); 14:5-9 (L); 14:7-9 (R)
The original plan for the Lutheran Lectionary was almost identical to the Roman reading, but, later, the reading was expanded to begin at verse 5; the Common Lectionary accepted this alteration to the Roman Ordo and proceeded to add verses 10 and 11 to the lesson. The latter addition makes the reading compatible with the Gospel for the Day, inasmuch as it ends on the note, "we shall all have to stand before the judgment seat of God," implying that we shall be judged by God for our attitudes and actions toward other human beings. The reading begins with a plea for tolerance among the "mixed-bag" of Christians - Jewish and Gentile Christians, who had different worship practices and patterns - in Rome. Both groups are reminded that we are all related to each other in Jesus Christ, who not only is the Lord of the living, but of the dead, as well. All Christians "belong" to Christ, and have been forgiven by God through Jesus' death and resurrection - and in baptism - and should acknowledge that in their relationships with each other.
Matthew 18:21-35
Once more, in this set of readings, the absolute necessity of forgiving one's neighbors and one's enemies of their sins comes to the forefront in the parable of the unforgiving servant. To forgive as we have been forgiven, in the name of Jesus Christ, is required by the Lord our God. Those who have received the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins from their heavenly Father, but refuse to forgive people who have hurt or offended them, will certainly lose the gift of grace - forgiveness - which is promised to them. Christians are to share all the gifts that God has given them with others, and forgiveness is by no means the least of these; it is the warrant of salvation in Jesus Christ. To keep and retain this gift, the Christian, in short, must give it away. That's what Jesus is saying in this parable; failing to share the gift of forgiveness will result in having it taken away from any unforgiving person.
Sermon suggestions:
Matthew 18:21-35 - "Forgiveness - the Key to the Kingdom."
When a person has been injured or offended by another person, a choice must be made; one must curse that person or bless that person. One's eternal fate hangs in the balance, according to Jesus' teaching in this parable.
There is a family I have known for two and a half decades; the husband, an airline pilot, once was the key figure in a parabolic sermon I preached, called, "The Garbage Man." He was concerned about his family, about his neighbors - near and far - in the world, about ecology, and his relationship with God. For years all went well with him and his family, but then, for some reason, he began to drink and before long was in danger of losing his job. A pilot-friend, who was aware of the drinking problem, told his wife to get in touch with the company doctor; she did, and managed to get her husband into a counseling program that saved his job and, at that time, his life. But the husband resented her "interference" in his life; his love turned to hatred, and before long they were divorced. Nothing could persuade him that what she had done, she had done to help him; he told her that he would never forgive her and that he would hate her as long as she or he lived. Now, some years later, he is losing a battle with cancer; she has done what she can to support him - neither, incidentally, has remarried - but he remains adamant and will not forgive her for the good she intended which he counted as evil. He had been the one who had done hurt to the other person, to his wife; she forgave him this, but he will not forgive. Soon he will die and, according to Jesus, he will die - barring repentance on his death-bed - unforgiven.
1. Forgiveness is the key to the kingdom of God. It is a totally unmerited and unearned gift of God in Christ to repentant sinners. It is necessary to admittance to the kingdom of God.
2. To retain the gift, forgiven sinners must give it away. Only the forgiving sinner, who prays, "Forgive me, as I forgive others," has the hope of retaining the gift. Lose the gift and you lose the assurance and hope of belonging to the eternal kingdom of God.
3. Forgive, as you have been forgiven. That's the dictum of Jesus Christ to you and me. That's the way we demonstrate that our love for God and people is genuine and sincere. We love and forgive, because he first loved and forgave us.
Sirach 27:30-28:7 (R, E) - "Ultimatum."
1. God is opposed to unbridled anger by his people. Anger breeds hatred, and hatred breeds vengeance, and vengeance - "I'll get even at any cost" breeds the destruction of human beings; it stands in the way of reconciliation and life.
2. "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." He means, "Mine and mine alone." Most of us can't understand that, probably because we really don't believe it. We expect a person to hate his or her enemy, not love and forgive - as ben Sirach and Jesus insist - that person or persons. (When Michael Dukakis was asked what he would do, if his wife were attacked and raped, many people - among them Christians - were outraged, simply because he vented no emotion, showed no signs that he would hate the person, and gave a rather unemotional and academic answer that suggested forgiveness.)
3. God's ultimatum - forgive your enemy - stop hating, because your eternal destiny, after death, may be lost.
Genesis 50:15-21 - "A Godly Man."
1. Joseph was a godly man. He loved and forgave his brothers for their terrible sin of selling him into salvery, when the human thing to do would be to punish them when he could. Instead, he forgave them.
2. He had an inhuman God. He knew God to be loving and forgiving in a manner unknown among human beings. God is unique, in this respect; he forgives freely when he could condemn sinful and recalcitrant people. A "human god" would not send his Son to be crucified for the forgiveness of sins.
3. Joseph had no choice - nor do we. Joseph said, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God." God is the one who ultimately judges sinners and dispenses the punishment they deserve. Our business is to forgive, or we are in danger of losing his gift - forgiveness - through Jesus Christ.
4. Godly people are forgiving people.
Exodus 20:1-20 - "Ten for the Kingdom."
1. God established a covenant at Sinai. Moses was his man, and God worked through him on Mt. Sinai.
2. God put "teeth" - commandments - in the covenant. The two tables of the Law tell how people should live and act toward God, and how they should behave toward other people. These commandments are necessary to the covenant.
3. God expects his people to obey the commandments and keep the covenant intact. Sin - disobeying God and ignoring his covenant - condemns human beings and banishes them from God's presence. Sin denies that God is really God.
4. Jesus perfectly kept the commandments. Cling to him and the cross - and live in the new covenant, which he established through his death and resurrection.
Romans 14:5-12 (E, C); 14:5-9 (L); 14:7-9 (R) - "A Christian Community."
1. The church is a community in Christ. He is the one thing, the one person, we all have in common; he makes the church a real community, a world-wide community, in himself.
2. The church is a loving community. The faithful will live in, and express to others, the loving relationship which God has established in Jesus and his church. Christians are related to each other in the love of God.
3. The church is an eternal community. It is composed of believers who have been saved by Jesus Christ; in this life, we belong to the Church Militant, and in heaven, we will be transferred to the Church Triumphant. Christians are related to each other forever. Paul tells us so, just as he did the Roman congregation.
4. The church is to live in the love of God here on earth. Maybe the world will be able to say again, "See how these Christians love each other" - and they just may want to be part of the Christian community.
September 29th marks the celebration of another minor festival, St. Michael and All Angels. The last line of the second reading, Revelation 12: 12, supports the eschatological perspective of Pentecost, because it announces that he (Satan) "knows that his time is short." Without the theological input of the readings for St. Michael and All Angels Day to supplement the readings of the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, the eschatological framework of the church year would be almost imperceptible at this point in Pentecost. The readings, during most of the Pentecost Cycle/Season, have to reestablish and support the theological themes of the church year, or they will be completely lost, and "lectionary preachers" may lose their "theological" direction. The lesser festivals tend to supplement the other readings, and prove to be helpful in the exegetical/homiletical endeavor.
The Prayer of the Day (LBW) - The content of this prayer seems to have been influenced by parts of several collects that were formerly in use. It also appears to have been shaped by the Gospel for the Day, Matthew 18:21-35, which includes the parable of the unforgiving debtor. In contrast to the man in the Gospel, who had received the forgiveness of a huge debt but wouldn't show the same mercy to a man who owed him an insignificant amount of money, the prayer speaks out: "O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity." The gracious response of the faithful, in which they show love, mercy, and forgiveness to others, is connected to the glory of God in this prayer: "Grant us the fullness of your grace, that, pursuing what you have promised, we may share your heavenly glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." The love of God for people, which was incarnate in Jesus Christ, is what motivates and determines our actions toward others.
The Psalm for the Day - Psalm 103, or 103:8-13 (E); 103:1-4, 9-12 (R); 103:1-13 (L) - The first thirteen verses of this psalm are quite well known among the faithful - in addition to the thirteenth verse:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all your sins and heals all your infirmities. (verses 1-3)
Verse 13 declares, "As a father cares for his children, so does the Lord care for those who fear him." The rest of the psalm might not be as familiar as these verses, but verse 20 renews the "Bless the Lord" note of the first two verses in an interesting and liturgically timely manner:
"Bless the Lord, you angels of his, you mighty ones who do his bidding and hearken to the voice of his word." Two more "Bless the Lord" injunctions return the psalm to its opening theme, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." The psalm takes the worshiper - and the preacher - full circle in God's grace and goodness.
The Psalm Prayer (LBW)
Lord, you have compassion for the sinner, as a father has compassion for his children. Heal the weakness of your people and save us from everlasting death, that with the saints and angels we may praise and glorify you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Psalm 19:7-14 (C) - Here is another responsory psalm that not only is very familiar to people who know the Psalms, but is also a fitting responsory to the first reading (Exodus 20). The beginning of the psalm, which is so well-known and even memorized by some Christians - "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork" - is probably omitted because it fits last Sunday's reading (the spectacular at Mt. Sinai) more specifically than it does this week's lesson. Verse 7 provides a most appropriate response to the reading:
The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent. The statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear and gives light to the. eyes.
All of this, and the ensuing verses, lead to the prayer which is so familiar to preachers: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."
The readings:
Sirach 27:30-28:7 (R, E)
This reading from a deutero-canonical book, which often is simply called Sirach, was one of those readings included in the first lectionary proposal for the LBW that was later removed and replaced by another First Lesson. The book was written in Hebrew by Jesus ben Sirach, around 180 B.C., and was discovered by his grandson some fifty years later, who translated it into Greek, "for the benefit especially of those who, domiciled abroad, wish to study how to fit themselves and their manners fonliving according to the Law" (from the translator's foreword to the book). The excerpts from chapters 27 and 28 were chosen for the first reading because they complement the Gospel for the Day. Verse 4, chapter 28, asks - over against the unforgiving debtor - "Showing no pity for a man like himself, can he then plead for his own sins?" At the end of the reading, this exhortation is given: "Remember the last things, and stop hating, remember dissolution and death, and live by the commandments."
Genesis 50:15-21 (L)
The LBW replaced the Sirach reading with a concrete example of forgiving others who really owe you a very large debt. Here is the story of Joseph's brothers, who are afraid that Joseph will exact vengeance upon them after their father's death. They put words in the mouth of a messenger, whom they sent to Joseph:
Your father gave this command before he died, "Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you." And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.
This caused Joseph to weep and to tell his brothers, when they came seeking his forgiveness, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God?" In a way, he traced the whole business of their
selling him into slavery to God:
As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones,
he assured them. The story is quite compatible with the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18:21-35.
Exodus 20:1-20 (C)
The Roman and Episcopal lectionaries place most of this reading (20:1-17) on the Third Sunday in Lent, Year B; the Lutheran Lectionary assigns 20:10-17 (18-22) to the same Sunday in Lent. This reading, of course, enunciates the Ten Commandments given to Moses and the people of Israel by Yahweh. These "tables of duty" - the first table to God, the second to one's acquaintances and neighbors - are valid for Christians, as well as Jews, but no person is able to keep and fulfill them, with the exception of Jesus Christ. He alone kept them perfectly, and was without sin. The Ten Commandments, try as we will to obey them perfectly, cause us to recognize our sin and our need for forgiveness; the righteousness of Jesus Christ saves us in the face of the condemnation thrust upon us by the decalogue.
Romans 14:5-12 (E, C); 14:5-9 (L); 14:7-9 (R)
The original plan for the Lutheran Lectionary was almost identical to the Roman reading, but, later, the reading was expanded to begin at verse 5; the Common Lectionary accepted this alteration to the Roman Ordo and proceeded to add verses 10 and 11 to the lesson. The latter addition makes the reading compatible with the Gospel for the Day, inasmuch as it ends on the note, "we shall all have to stand before the judgment seat of God," implying that we shall be judged by God for our attitudes and actions toward other human beings. The reading begins with a plea for tolerance among the "mixed-bag" of Christians - Jewish and Gentile Christians, who had different worship practices and patterns - in Rome. Both groups are reminded that we are all related to each other in Jesus Christ, who not only is the Lord of the living, but of the dead, as well. All Christians "belong" to Christ, and have been forgiven by God through Jesus' death and resurrection - and in baptism - and should acknowledge that in their relationships with each other.
Matthew 18:21-35
Once more, in this set of readings, the absolute necessity of forgiving one's neighbors and one's enemies of their sins comes to the forefront in the parable of the unforgiving servant. To forgive as we have been forgiven, in the name of Jesus Christ, is required by the Lord our God. Those who have received the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins from their heavenly Father, but refuse to forgive people who have hurt or offended them, will certainly lose the gift of grace - forgiveness - which is promised to them. Christians are to share all the gifts that God has given them with others, and forgiveness is by no means the least of these; it is the warrant of salvation in Jesus Christ. To keep and retain this gift, the Christian, in short, must give it away. That's what Jesus is saying in this parable; failing to share the gift of forgiveness will result in having it taken away from any unforgiving person.
Sermon suggestions:
Matthew 18:21-35 - "Forgiveness - the Key to the Kingdom."
When a person has been injured or offended by another person, a choice must be made; one must curse that person or bless that person. One's eternal fate hangs in the balance, according to Jesus' teaching in this parable.
There is a family I have known for two and a half decades; the husband, an airline pilot, once was the key figure in a parabolic sermon I preached, called, "The Garbage Man." He was concerned about his family, about his neighbors - near and far - in the world, about ecology, and his relationship with God. For years all went well with him and his family, but then, for some reason, he began to drink and before long was in danger of losing his job. A pilot-friend, who was aware of the drinking problem, told his wife to get in touch with the company doctor; she did, and managed to get her husband into a counseling program that saved his job and, at that time, his life. But the husband resented her "interference" in his life; his love turned to hatred, and before long they were divorced. Nothing could persuade him that what she had done, she had done to help him; he told her that he would never forgive her and that he would hate her as long as she or he lived. Now, some years later, he is losing a battle with cancer; she has done what she can to support him - neither, incidentally, has remarried - but he remains adamant and will not forgive her for the good she intended which he counted as evil. He had been the one who had done hurt to the other person, to his wife; she forgave him this, but he will not forgive. Soon he will die and, according to Jesus, he will die - barring repentance on his death-bed - unforgiven.
1. Forgiveness is the key to the kingdom of God. It is a totally unmerited and unearned gift of God in Christ to repentant sinners. It is necessary to admittance to the kingdom of God.
2. To retain the gift, forgiven sinners must give it away. Only the forgiving sinner, who prays, "Forgive me, as I forgive others," has the hope of retaining the gift. Lose the gift and you lose the assurance and hope of belonging to the eternal kingdom of God.
3. Forgive, as you have been forgiven. That's the dictum of Jesus Christ to you and me. That's the way we demonstrate that our love for God and people is genuine and sincere. We love and forgive, because he first loved and forgave us.
Sirach 27:30-28:7 (R, E) - "Ultimatum."
1. God is opposed to unbridled anger by his people. Anger breeds hatred, and hatred breeds vengeance, and vengeance - "I'll get even at any cost" breeds the destruction of human beings; it stands in the way of reconciliation and life.
2. "Vengeance is mine, says the Lord." He means, "Mine and mine alone." Most of us can't understand that, probably because we really don't believe it. We expect a person to hate his or her enemy, not love and forgive - as ben Sirach and Jesus insist - that person or persons. (When Michael Dukakis was asked what he would do, if his wife were attacked and raped, many people - among them Christians - were outraged, simply because he vented no emotion, showed no signs that he would hate the person, and gave a rather unemotional and academic answer that suggested forgiveness.)
3. God's ultimatum - forgive your enemy - stop hating, because your eternal destiny, after death, may be lost.
Genesis 50:15-21 - "A Godly Man."
1. Joseph was a godly man. He loved and forgave his brothers for their terrible sin of selling him into salvery, when the human thing to do would be to punish them when he could. Instead, he forgave them.
2. He had an inhuman God. He knew God to be loving and forgiving in a manner unknown among human beings. God is unique, in this respect; he forgives freely when he could condemn sinful and recalcitrant people. A "human god" would not send his Son to be crucified for the forgiveness of sins.
3. Joseph had no choice - nor do we. Joseph said, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God." God is the one who ultimately judges sinners and dispenses the punishment they deserve. Our business is to forgive, or we are in danger of losing his gift - forgiveness - through Jesus Christ.
4. Godly people are forgiving people.
Exodus 20:1-20 - "Ten for the Kingdom."
1. God established a covenant at Sinai. Moses was his man, and God worked through him on Mt. Sinai.
2. God put "teeth" - commandments - in the covenant. The two tables of the Law tell how people should live and act toward God, and how they should behave toward other people. These commandments are necessary to the covenant.
3. God expects his people to obey the commandments and keep the covenant intact. Sin - disobeying God and ignoring his covenant - condemns human beings and banishes them from God's presence. Sin denies that God is really God.
4. Jesus perfectly kept the commandments. Cling to him and the cross - and live in the new covenant, which he established through his death and resurrection.
Romans 14:5-12 (E, C); 14:5-9 (L); 14:7-9 (R) - "A Christian Community."
1. The church is a community in Christ. He is the one thing, the one person, we all have in common; he makes the church a real community, a world-wide community, in himself.
2. The church is a loving community. The faithful will live in, and express to others, the loving relationship which God has established in Jesus and his church. Christians are related to each other in the love of God.
3. The church is an eternal community. It is composed of believers who have been saved by Jesus Christ; in this life, we belong to the Church Militant, and in heaven, we will be transferred to the Church Triumphant. Christians are related to each other forever. Paul tells us so, just as he did the Roman congregation.
4. The church is to live in the love of God here on earth. Maybe the world will be able to say again, "See how these Christians love each other" - and they just may want to be part of the Christian community.
