Proper 7 / Pentecost 5 / OT 11
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
... for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.
-- Matthew 10:26
One of the most powerful destroyers of community is secrets. A community can be destroyed because of secrets. Marriages are ripped apart because of secrets. People commit suicide because of secrets. The psalmist warned over and over that the most destructive weapon an enemy had was a deceitful tongue. When a secret is exposed, it is rarely as powerful as a secret that is hidden. Lies that are exposed to the light can be challenged and corrected. Lies that are spoken in secret eat away at the bonds of trust that are essential to community. That is why the scriptures are so harsh on the sin of gossip. Gossip is the sharing of supposedly secret, inside knowledge. Most often it is damaging to one person or another, but because it is shared in the dark, its truth cannot be challenged. Why do we love to gossip? Often it is an attempt to build our own ego by demonstrating our inside knowledge. It also is an attempt to bond us to another by virtue of our sharing a secret about a third party. But what if we knew that on a certain day everything we had uttered in secret would be exposed to the light of day? It would be embarrassing for us because we would have to cope with errors that we have made. But imagine the freedom of not having to cover up for ourselves. Jesus promised us a life free from secrets. It can seem a fearful life unless we recognize the healing power of forgiveness. In some ways, we already have that exposed life before God from whom no secrets are hidden. Yet, we try to delude ourselves into thinking that we can hide from God. God awaits our confession of what God already knows because then we can receive forgiveness. In taking that step, we discover what can also happen with our neighbor. We begin to taste the kingdom.
-- Matthew 10:26
One of the most powerful destroyers of community is secrets. A community can be destroyed because of secrets. Marriages are ripped apart because of secrets. People commit suicide because of secrets. The psalmist warned over and over that the most destructive weapon an enemy had was a deceitful tongue. When a secret is exposed, it is rarely as powerful as a secret that is hidden. Lies that are exposed to the light can be challenged and corrected. Lies that are spoken in secret eat away at the bonds of trust that are essential to community. That is why the scriptures are so harsh on the sin of gossip. Gossip is the sharing of supposedly secret, inside knowledge. Most often it is damaging to one person or another, but because it is shared in the dark, its truth cannot be challenged. Why do we love to gossip? Often it is an attempt to build our own ego by demonstrating our inside knowledge. It also is an attempt to bond us to another by virtue of our sharing a secret about a third party. But what if we knew that on a certain day everything we had uttered in secret would be exposed to the light of day? It would be embarrassing for us because we would have to cope with errors that we have made. But imagine the freedom of not having to cover up for ourselves. Jesus promised us a life free from secrets. It can seem a fearful life unless we recognize the healing power of forgiveness. In some ways, we already have that exposed life before God from whom no secrets are hidden. Yet, we try to delude ourselves into thinking that we can hide from God. God awaits our confession of what God already knows because then we can receive forgiveness. In taking that step, we discover what can also happen with our neighbor. We begin to taste the kingdom.
