Friday's thoughts on Sunday's sermon

We are looking at two important aspects of the Christian faith in the sermon Sunday and we are thinking about what makes us concerned to live a life-style that lives out "social justice".

The first element of that is Jesus' belief that every person is a child of God and has something for us to learn. Every human being is a gift from God to us and deserves our attention and respect. We can learn from every man and woman we meet. They have a gift for us and we will need to take them into account as we think about how fortunate we are to know them and to encounter them. Jesus' concern for the people on the margins is well known. He understood what gifts they give. He knew they must be given opportunity to give what they have. The woman who anointed his feet prior to his death is a prime example. The disciples wanted to use the costly oil for their purposes but Jesus wanted to allow her to give what she had. This is an important aspect of our faith tradition. Every person has something for us.

The second element is like the first in a way only it looks in the opposite direction. Paul in Philippians writes, "Have the mind of Christ." If we do that we realize that every person we meet has needs we can meet and our job is to determine what we can do to help meet those needs.

We look for ways of being helpful and following beyond that commandment that says, "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you" to a higher commandment that says, "Do unto others what they would have you do unto them." The focus is on others and what we can do for them. If there are social systems that are foul and destructive we must act to repair them. It's not just the right thing to do ; it is the Christian thing to do. To "have the mind of Christ" means we do it.

Our congregation is interested in Social Justice. We know what is being asked of us and we respond.

What do you think about the basic obligation we have as Christians? Are there other things we need to be thinking about?

If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you would like to share your thoughts with the readers of this blog click on the 'comments' box below.

I look forward to hearing from you.


Charles Schuster