Proper 9 | Ordinary Time 14
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VIII, Cycle B
Revised Common
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 or Ezekiel 2:1-5
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Roman Catholic
Ezekiel 2:2-5
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Mark 6:1-6
Episcopal
Ezekiel 2:1-7
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-6
Theme For The Day
Jesus sends his disciples out to travel together, to trust God to work wonders, and to travel light.
Old Testament Lesson
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
David's Public Anointing As King Over All Israel
Samuel anointed the young David as king in a secret ceremony in Bethlehem (see 1 Samuel 15:34--16:13; and comments for the Proper 6, p. 157). Now the time has come to anoint him publicly, and in a way that will involve not only his traditional power base in the southern region of Judah, but the entire nation. The elders of Israel have elected David king by acclamation, declaring that the former shepherd boy will now shepherd the entire nation (vv. 1-2). Now, the elders gather together at Hebron and the thirty-year-old David "makes covenant with them," as they anoint him king (v. 3). Verses 6-8, not a part of this lectionary selection, describe how David captures Jerusalem by stealth. The lectionary selection commences again with verse 9, as David designates Jerusalem -- strategically located between Judah and the northern territories of Israel -- as his new capital. David "becomes greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, is with him" (v. 10). The saga of David's long and arduous rise to kingship is now completed.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Ezekiel 2:1-5
The Lord Calls Ezekiel To Speak To The Rebellious People
In classic formula of prophetic revelation, the Lord addresses Ezekiel as "mortal" (literally, "son of man"), commanding him to rise to his feet and listen (v. 1). The Lord tells Ezekiel that he is going to send him to the recalcitrant people of Israel, "a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me" (v. 3). Ezekiel is to say to them, "Thus says the Lord God" (v. 4). At this point, there is no content to the prophet's message -- just this prologue, which makes it clear that the prophet will bring not his own word, but the word of the Lord. If nothing else, the Lord says, even if they turn a deaf ear to Ezekiel's message, "they shall know that there has been a prophet among them" (v. 5).
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Paul's "Thorn In The Flesh": Power Made Perfect In Weakness
Apparently, the Corinthians have tended to judge the legitimacy of their spiritual leaders by the ecstatic "visions and revelations" those leaders have received (v. 1). Some of them must have been asking Paul about his credentials in this area. He responds by speaking of "someone he knows" -- a friend, supposedly, but he makes it clear in verse 7 he's talking about himself -- who "was caught up to the third heaven -- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows" (v. 2). The imagery of "the third heaven" is obscure, but may have some affinities with Jewish mysticism that postulated a three-tiered architecture of heaven, with paradise at the highest level. Paul will boast about such a person, he says (using the third person, here, in a satirical tone), but he will not boast about himself -- except about his weaknesses (v. 5). Then, he proceeds to tell his readers about one of his weaknesses -- "a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated" (v. 7). Despite repeated entreaties to Christ, Paul says, he was not freed from this torment, but he did receive an encouraging word from the Lord: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness" (v. 9). After undergoing this season of spiritual struggle, Paul is now content: "for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (v. 10). This is a difficult passage, because of Paul's tongue-in-cheek, satirical approach. His message may be summarized as: "You want ecstatic visions of heaven? I could give you ecstatic visions of heaven -- I've had them! -- but I won't. The only thing I'll boast about is my weaknesses, and how Christ has enabled me to triumph over them."
The Gospel
Mark 6:1-13
Jesus' Rejection In Nazareth And His Commissioning Of The Disciples
There are two pericopes in this passage. In the first, Jesus is teaching in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, but the people there do not receive him kindly. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" they ask. "And," says Mark, "they [take] offense at him" (v. 3). Jesus says in response, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." Mark continues -- in an understatement that sounds remarkable to modern ears -- "He could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them" (v. 4). The second pericope tells of Jesus' commissioning of the disciples. He "[sends] them out two by two, and [gives] them authority over the unclean spirits" (v. 7). The two-by-two nature of the commission emphasizes the importance of community, and also of accountability. He instructs them to travel light, taking little with them and depending on the people they meet for sustenance (vv. 8-10). As for those they visit who will not receive them, Jesus advises: "If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them" (v. 11). This is, of course, a text whose content is difficult: "shaking off the dust" from one's sandals is a gesture of disrespect in the Middle East, and it is hard to conceive of Jesus writing anyone off so abruptly. Yet, there is also a certain urgency about the disciples' mission, and for every village that does not receive them, there are surely many others that will.
Preaching Possibilities
Jesus calls the twelve and sends them out two-by-two. Before they leave, though, he gives them three gifts, in the form of three pieces of advice. We can consider these pieces of advice to be the Lord's marching orders. They are:
1.Êthat disciples travel together;
2.Êthat disciples trust God to work wonders; and
3.Êthat disciples travel light.
"He called the twelve and began to send them out two-by-two." The call to follow Jesus is always a call to community. That's a hard message to get across to self-sufficient, independent Americans. It's a point of pride, with many of us, that we stand on our own two feet, that we don't need anyone, that we can do for ourselves, thank you.
One of the most durable figures in our national pantheon of heroes is the rugged individualist, the frontiersman -- the sheriff who cleans up the crooked little western town, then rides off into the sunset, six-gun still warm from the day's exertions. Does John Wayne need somebody to ride with him on the trail? Not on your life, pilgrim!
Yet Jesus teaches his disciples to go out not as Lone Rangers, as rugged individualists, but in the company of others. They are to lean on one other, to support one another when the going gets tough. The gospel is too big a burden for any one individual to bear.
And so it follows that the task of proclaiming the gospel belongs to all of us. The event of preaching depends just as much on the hearers as on the speaker; and it depends also on what all of us do with this word as we go out into the world -- seeking to make the good news real in our lives, sharing with others of the love of Christ as we have come to know it.
Someone has said that the church is like a group of people standing in a circle, with Jesus at the center. Funny thing about a circle -- the closer the individual members get to Christ at the center, the closer they get to each other as well.
The second marching order Jesus gives his disciples is that he "gave them authority over the unclean spirits." Now there's an expression that cries out for a translation into the language of today! To the people of Jesus' day, such spirits were the source of everything that was wrong with their world. Sickness, mental confusion, disagreements among people -- all could be seen as the work of these demonic spirits, poisoning human life with their meddling mischief.
The disciples, in other words, believe that their faith can make a difference; that it's relevant to human need; that it is a powerful force for good. This marching order of Jesus runs counter to another powerful trend in our society: the tendency to set faith aside as irrelevant. There are powerful forces at work in our land, that would love nothing better than to domesticate Christian faith, to keep it as a loyal but harmless pet, to be trotted out for an occasional invocation at civic occasions. The absolute low point of this way of thinking came in a remark of the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who actually said -- and I believe I'm quoting him fairly accurately -- "It's important that a person have religion, and I don't care what religion it is."
How easily we forget the crucial role that Christianity played in the crises of our nation's history! Read the speeches and writings of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and you'll discover that most of them were men of deep faith. They saw themselves engaged in a holy struggle to exorcise the unclean spirits of tyranny and oppression from their land. After the contest was over, it is true, they would declare that church and state are to be kept separate -- but that was merely to insure that there would never be an established "Church of America," as there is an established "Church of England." Our nation's founders never meant to partition religion off from American life altogether -- as some, today, are trying to do.
Jesus' third marching order is "to take nothing for the journey except a staff." What a difficult instruction that must have seemed! We all know how it is when we're packing for a long trip: we lay out all the things we want, then we narrow it down to the things we really need. All along we ask ourselves, "What if it rains?" "What if my flight is canceled, and I have to spend an extra night?" "Do I have enough money for every emergency?"
Before his disciples set out on their journey, Jesus tells them, "take nothing with you: no purse of money, no change of clothes, nothing but a staff." In each town and village, rely on the hospitality of those you meet -- and if the people do not receive you, shake the dust off your sandals and go on. Disciples of Jesus Christ are meant to travel light. Everything that could possibly weigh us down or limit our response to human need is to be abandoned by the roadside.
Like the other two marching orders, this one, too, runs counter to powerful tendencies in American life. We are all of us awash in a growing tide of materialism, a thirst for ever-increasing doses of wealth and possessions. Sometimes our possessions seem, truly, to own us.
It's often been observed that there is a crucial decision we, as Christians, need to make about the world: we need to decide that we live not in a world of scarcity, but in a world of abundance. Surrounding us on every side are the fruits of God's good creation -- and in that creation, we are never without the things we truly need. There is nothing to be gained by piling on our backs weighty burdens of possessions, useless gadgets brought along "just in case we need them." The lighter we travel through this life, the freer we will be to venture with Jesus into places where his love meets the world's deep need.
Prayer For The Day
Make our ears attentive, Lord, so we may hear echoing through history the thunderous footfalls of a great host: the disciples of your son Jesus, venturing into the world two-by-two, bearing not a single extra burden that would weigh them down. They knew you had given them everything they needed to make their journey, and that you would continue to provide for them along the way. Make our ears attentive, also, to the call Christ extends to each one of us: to join that bold traveling company, following our Lord into all the places where the need seems overwhelming, and where only people of faith dare to go. Amen.
To Illustrate
Following Jesus isn't about arriving somewhere. There is no specific destination, no station whose sign announces, "Found it." Faith serves actual people, but never as a stopping point. Faith uses words like "mansion," "kingdom," "city," and "highway," but as human approximations of divine realities, snapshots of something that is streaming by (already) and yet far ahead (not yet).
Following Jesus isn't about attaining a specific, measurable goal, or grasping a finite, literal truth. Following Jesus is about following. It is about movement. It is about days that haven't happened, people one hasn't met, places one hasn't gone, and forgiveness one hasn't requested -- not yet.
Following Jesus starts wherever it starts but then goes on to the edge and around the corner. Clinging to the "hour I first believed" is never enough. Telling yesterday's story and polishing yesterday's truth are never enough.
Faith is a journey. It takes us beyond memory, beyond understanding, beyond comfort, beyond control. Faith is about a road, not a specific place on the road. Along the way, we will see new things, as Jesus promised, hear new words, reconsider old words. New companions will appear, and they will stretch us. New needs will require us to abandon former ways of perceiving reality.
We will feel tongue-tied, confused, rootless, and unsettled, and that is exactly where Jesus wants us to be. For then we can share Abraham's journey to a land he had never seen, and Moses' journey to a land that existed only as promise, and the exiles' return to a home they couldn't find, and Jesus' journey to a hill outside the city and then beyond their sight.
-- Tom Ehrich (subscription), June 24, 2004
***
There's an old story about Jesus' arrival back in heaven following his life on earth. The angels are waiting for him, eager to hear him tell his story. He tells them about everything: his birth, life, death, and resurrection.
One of the angels asks, "Lord, now that you are no longer physically on earth, who will continue to share the good news?"
Christ responds, "I have chosen eleven who were especially close to me, and have given that responsibility to them."
"These eleven of which you speak must be remarkable people. Surely they must be the best and the brightest of God's creations!"
"Well, actually, no," the Lord responds. "These are average people with ordinary abilities. I'd hardly call them 'best and the brightest.' "
"But, Lord, if these are only average people with ordinary ability, how can you be sure that they will get the job done?"
"Well, to be perfectly honest," the Lord replies, "I can't be sure."
"Tell us, Lord, what if they fail to carry out your mission? What is your backup plan?"
"I have no backup plan," Christ answers quietly.
***
Christianity has been made so much into a consolation that people have completely forgotten that it is first and foremost a demand.
-- Søren Kierkegaard
***
Christianity, if false, is not important. If Christianity is true, however, it is of infinite importance. What it cannot be is moderately important.
-- C. S. Lewis
***
In one of his books, Leonard Sweet tells of an evangelist named Sam "Golden Rule" Jones who held "quittin' meetings" for those who had been converted at his revivals. These meetings were designed to get people to confess their sins (cussing, drinking, gambling, and so on) and then have them publicly pledge to quit their sinning.
At one of these meetings, a woman was asked what she was going to quit. She said she hadn't been doing anything, and she figured she needed to quit doing that.
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 or Ezekiel 2:1-5
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Roman Catholic
Ezekiel 2:2-5
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Mark 6:1-6
Episcopal
Ezekiel 2:1-7
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-6
Theme For The Day
Jesus sends his disciples out to travel together, to trust God to work wonders, and to travel light.
Old Testament Lesson
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
David's Public Anointing As King Over All Israel
Samuel anointed the young David as king in a secret ceremony in Bethlehem (see 1 Samuel 15:34--16:13; and comments for the Proper 6, p. 157). Now the time has come to anoint him publicly, and in a way that will involve not only his traditional power base in the southern region of Judah, but the entire nation. The elders of Israel have elected David king by acclamation, declaring that the former shepherd boy will now shepherd the entire nation (vv. 1-2). Now, the elders gather together at Hebron and the thirty-year-old David "makes covenant with them," as they anoint him king (v. 3). Verses 6-8, not a part of this lectionary selection, describe how David captures Jerusalem by stealth. The lectionary selection commences again with verse 9, as David designates Jerusalem -- strategically located between Judah and the northern territories of Israel -- as his new capital. David "becomes greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, is with him" (v. 10). The saga of David's long and arduous rise to kingship is now completed.
Alternate Old Testament Lesson
Ezekiel 2:1-5
The Lord Calls Ezekiel To Speak To The Rebellious People
In classic formula of prophetic revelation, the Lord addresses Ezekiel as "mortal" (literally, "son of man"), commanding him to rise to his feet and listen (v. 1). The Lord tells Ezekiel that he is going to send him to the recalcitrant people of Israel, "a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me" (v. 3). Ezekiel is to say to them, "Thus says the Lord God" (v. 4). At this point, there is no content to the prophet's message -- just this prologue, which makes it clear that the prophet will bring not his own word, but the word of the Lord. If nothing else, the Lord says, even if they turn a deaf ear to Ezekiel's message, "they shall know that there has been a prophet among them" (v. 5).
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Paul's "Thorn In The Flesh": Power Made Perfect In Weakness
Apparently, the Corinthians have tended to judge the legitimacy of their spiritual leaders by the ecstatic "visions and revelations" those leaders have received (v. 1). Some of them must have been asking Paul about his credentials in this area. He responds by speaking of "someone he knows" -- a friend, supposedly, but he makes it clear in verse 7 he's talking about himself -- who "was caught up to the third heaven -- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows" (v. 2). The imagery of "the third heaven" is obscure, but may have some affinities with Jewish mysticism that postulated a three-tiered architecture of heaven, with paradise at the highest level. Paul will boast about such a person, he says (using the third person, here, in a satirical tone), but he will not boast about himself -- except about his weaknesses (v. 5). Then, he proceeds to tell his readers about one of his weaknesses -- "a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated" (v. 7). Despite repeated entreaties to Christ, Paul says, he was not freed from this torment, but he did receive an encouraging word from the Lord: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness" (v. 9). After undergoing this season of spiritual struggle, Paul is now content: "for whenever I am weak, then I am strong" (v. 10). This is a difficult passage, because of Paul's tongue-in-cheek, satirical approach. His message may be summarized as: "You want ecstatic visions of heaven? I could give you ecstatic visions of heaven -- I've had them! -- but I won't. The only thing I'll boast about is my weaknesses, and how Christ has enabled me to triumph over them."
The Gospel
Mark 6:1-13
Jesus' Rejection In Nazareth And His Commissioning Of The Disciples
There are two pericopes in this passage. In the first, Jesus is teaching in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth, but the people there do not receive him kindly. "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" they ask. "And," says Mark, "they [take] offense at him" (v. 3). Jesus says in response, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." Mark continues -- in an understatement that sounds remarkable to modern ears -- "He could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them" (v. 4). The second pericope tells of Jesus' commissioning of the disciples. He "[sends] them out two by two, and [gives] them authority over the unclean spirits" (v. 7). The two-by-two nature of the commission emphasizes the importance of community, and also of accountability. He instructs them to travel light, taking little with them and depending on the people they meet for sustenance (vv. 8-10). As for those they visit who will not receive them, Jesus advises: "If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them" (v. 11). This is, of course, a text whose content is difficult: "shaking off the dust" from one's sandals is a gesture of disrespect in the Middle East, and it is hard to conceive of Jesus writing anyone off so abruptly. Yet, there is also a certain urgency about the disciples' mission, and for every village that does not receive them, there are surely many others that will.
Preaching Possibilities
Jesus calls the twelve and sends them out two-by-two. Before they leave, though, he gives them three gifts, in the form of three pieces of advice. We can consider these pieces of advice to be the Lord's marching orders. They are:
1.Êthat disciples travel together;
2.Êthat disciples trust God to work wonders; and
3.Êthat disciples travel light.
"He called the twelve and began to send them out two-by-two." The call to follow Jesus is always a call to community. That's a hard message to get across to self-sufficient, independent Americans. It's a point of pride, with many of us, that we stand on our own two feet, that we don't need anyone, that we can do for ourselves, thank you.
One of the most durable figures in our national pantheon of heroes is the rugged individualist, the frontiersman -- the sheriff who cleans up the crooked little western town, then rides off into the sunset, six-gun still warm from the day's exertions. Does John Wayne need somebody to ride with him on the trail? Not on your life, pilgrim!
Yet Jesus teaches his disciples to go out not as Lone Rangers, as rugged individualists, but in the company of others. They are to lean on one other, to support one another when the going gets tough. The gospel is too big a burden for any one individual to bear.
And so it follows that the task of proclaiming the gospel belongs to all of us. The event of preaching depends just as much on the hearers as on the speaker; and it depends also on what all of us do with this word as we go out into the world -- seeking to make the good news real in our lives, sharing with others of the love of Christ as we have come to know it.
Someone has said that the church is like a group of people standing in a circle, with Jesus at the center. Funny thing about a circle -- the closer the individual members get to Christ at the center, the closer they get to each other as well.
The second marching order Jesus gives his disciples is that he "gave them authority over the unclean spirits." Now there's an expression that cries out for a translation into the language of today! To the people of Jesus' day, such spirits were the source of everything that was wrong with their world. Sickness, mental confusion, disagreements among people -- all could be seen as the work of these demonic spirits, poisoning human life with their meddling mischief.
The disciples, in other words, believe that their faith can make a difference; that it's relevant to human need; that it is a powerful force for good. This marching order of Jesus runs counter to another powerful trend in our society: the tendency to set faith aside as irrelevant. There are powerful forces at work in our land, that would love nothing better than to domesticate Christian faith, to keep it as a loyal but harmless pet, to be trotted out for an occasional invocation at civic occasions. The absolute low point of this way of thinking came in a remark of the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who actually said -- and I believe I'm quoting him fairly accurately -- "It's important that a person have religion, and I don't care what religion it is."
How easily we forget the crucial role that Christianity played in the crises of our nation's history! Read the speeches and writings of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and you'll discover that most of them were men of deep faith. They saw themselves engaged in a holy struggle to exorcise the unclean spirits of tyranny and oppression from their land. After the contest was over, it is true, they would declare that church and state are to be kept separate -- but that was merely to insure that there would never be an established "Church of America," as there is an established "Church of England." Our nation's founders never meant to partition religion off from American life altogether -- as some, today, are trying to do.
Jesus' third marching order is "to take nothing for the journey except a staff." What a difficult instruction that must have seemed! We all know how it is when we're packing for a long trip: we lay out all the things we want, then we narrow it down to the things we really need. All along we ask ourselves, "What if it rains?" "What if my flight is canceled, and I have to spend an extra night?" "Do I have enough money for every emergency?"
Before his disciples set out on their journey, Jesus tells them, "take nothing with you: no purse of money, no change of clothes, nothing but a staff." In each town and village, rely on the hospitality of those you meet -- and if the people do not receive you, shake the dust off your sandals and go on. Disciples of Jesus Christ are meant to travel light. Everything that could possibly weigh us down or limit our response to human need is to be abandoned by the roadside.
Like the other two marching orders, this one, too, runs counter to powerful tendencies in American life. We are all of us awash in a growing tide of materialism, a thirst for ever-increasing doses of wealth and possessions. Sometimes our possessions seem, truly, to own us.
It's often been observed that there is a crucial decision we, as Christians, need to make about the world: we need to decide that we live not in a world of scarcity, but in a world of abundance. Surrounding us on every side are the fruits of God's good creation -- and in that creation, we are never without the things we truly need. There is nothing to be gained by piling on our backs weighty burdens of possessions, useless gadgets brought along "just in case we need them." The lighter we travel through this life, the freer we will be to venture with Jesus into places where his love meets the world's deep need.
Prayer For The Day
Make our ears attentive, Lord, so we may hear echoing through history the thunderous footfalls of a great host: the disciples of your son Jesus, venturing into the world two-by-two, bearing not a single extra burden that would weigh them down. They knew you had given them everything they needed to make their journey, and that you would continue to provide for them along the way. Make our ears attentive, also, to the call Christ extends to each one of us: to join that bold traveling company, following our Lord into all the places where the need seems overwhelming, and where only people of faith dare to go. Amen.
To Illustrate
Following Jesus isn't about arriving somewhere. There is no specific destination, no station whose sign announces, "Found it." Faith serves actual people, but never as a stopping point. Faith uses words like "mansion," "kingdom," "city," and "highway," but as human approximations of divine realities, snapshots of something that is streaming by (already) and yet far ahead (not yet).
Following Jesus isn't about attaining a specific, measurable goal, or grasping a finite, literal truth. Following Jesus is about following. It is about movement. It is about days that haven't happened, people one hasn't met, places one hasn't gone, and forgiveness one hasn't requested -- not yet.
Following Jesus starts wherever it starts but then goes on to the edge and around the corner. Clinging to the "hour I first believed" is never enough. Telling yesterday's story and polishing yesterday's truth are never enough.
Faith is a journey. It takes us beyond memory, beyond understanding, beyond comfort, beyond control. Faith is about a road, not a specific place on the road. Along the way, we will see new things, as Jesus promised, hear new words, reconsider old words. New companions will appear, and they will stretch us. New needs will require us to abandon former ways of perceiving reality.
We will feel tongue-tied, confused, rootless, and unsettled, and that is exactly where Jesus wants us to be. For then we can share Abraham's journey to a land he had never seen, and Moses' journey to a land that existed only as promise, and the exiles' return to a home they couldn't find, and Jesus' journey to a hill outside the city and then beyond their sight.
-- Tom Ehrich
***
There's an old story about Jesus' arrival back in heaven following his life on earth. The angels are waiting for him, eager to hear him tell his story. He tells them about everything: his birth, life, death, and resurrection.
One of the angels asks, "Lord, now that you are no longer physically on earth, who will continue to share the good news?"
Christ responds, "I have chosen eleven who were especially close to me, and have given that responsibility to them."
"These eleven of which you speak must be remarkable people. Surely they must be the best and the brightest of God's creations!"
"Well, actually, no," the Lord responds. "These are average people with ordinary abilities. I'd hardly call them 'best and the brightest.' "
"But, Lord, if these are only average people with ordinary ability, how can you be sure that they will get the job done?"
"Well, to be perfectly honest," the Lord replies, "I can't be sure."
"Tell us, Lord, what if they fail to carry out your mission? What is your backup plan?"
"I have no backup plan," Christ answers quietly.
***
Christianity has been made so much into a consolation that people have completely forgotten that it is first and foremost a demand.
-- Søren Kierkegaard
***
Christianity, if false, is not important. If Christianity is true, however, it is of infinite importance. What it cannot be is moderately important.
-- C. S. Lewis
***
In one of his books, Leonard Sweet tells of an evangelist named Sam "Golden Rule" Jones who held "quittin' meetings" for those who had been converted at his revivals. These meetings were designed to get people to confess their sins (cussing, drinking, gambling, and so on) and then have them publicly pledge to quit their sinning.
At one of these meetings, a woman was asked what she was going to quit. She said she hadn't been doing anything, and she figured she needed to quit doing that.
