Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
PCUSA is hawking
a new hymnbook: Glory to
God: The Presbyterian Hymnal.
While the title
comes off as an oxymoron to remnanters and the parochialism is nauseating in a
John 17 kinda way, it's pretty good apart from being anachronistic upon
publication.
Geez.
Really?
A hardcover book of hymns again right now.
In my short life,
I've gone from the green one to the red one to the blue one to the - drummmmmmm
rolllllll - ya can order your new one in red or purple one.
It just makes me
wanna sing, "Onward Christian Soldiers!"
Oops.
That one didn't
make the cut.
No wonder www.pcusa.org didn't publish the open letter to
you know who in the last edition.
With all of the
technology out there and print going the way of the Smith-Corona and lead pencil,
ya'd think...
@#$%
Stop!
Sooooooo cynical of moi.
Stop!
Can nothing
good come out of...Louisville...or its other
sister-franchise-idolatry-promoting HQs?
Stop!
What's happening
to moi?
Selah.
@#$%
Like all
franchise families or
families of any kind for this matter, there are three ways of
assessing what's going on/wrong/right/whatever.
Naive.
"My family
is pure and perfect in every way!"
Cynical.
"My family
is the worst of all and I've gotta get the heaven out of it asap!"
Mature.
"All
families have problems and need help!"
Selah.
@#$%
Getting back to
the new hymnbook.
While I still
think it's an old wineskin for a new, uh, age, it's not bad.
It's not pure and
perfect.
Heaven, they left
out...
Buuuuuuut if I were into
anachronisms, I'd buy it; while
sure as heaven asking for editions without the idolatrous sub-title.
Selah.
@#$%
I've still gotta
deal with my initial reaction - cynical.
Cumulative
effect, mes amis.
Yeeeeeeet, if I am gonna
try to follow Jesus by the book, I've gotta be a little more mature about these
kinda things.
I just read
something "From the President" in Wake
Forest Magazine that caught my attention (Fall 2014): "There
can be no more important message...than civility...It has to do with who we are
and what our communities are like...a community where people are taken
seriously...In a world increasingly fragmented..., we need to preserve an oasis
of civility."
Like, uh, in
the church.
Professor Katy
Harriger picks up the P's theme on page 81 of the same rag: "Civility
isn't the same as politeness...goes beyond that to showing respect for another
person, even if you disagree...It's about seeing the other person as a valued
human being...Look at television, especially reality shows; the way to become
famous is to be uncivil...Our political system has become so uncivil...If
someone has a different view from you that doesn't make him or her subhuman or
not worthy of respect. We tend to demonize those we disagree with.
It doesn't mean you never disagree...but we can do that in a civil manner...Our
public policy discussions today are so polarizing; it's all or nothing..."
Sounds so much
like, uh, the...
Selah.
@#$%
One of the things
that increasingly impresses me about Jesus by the book is He did not suffer
fools gladly.
He didn't abuse
them either.
He ignored their
ignorances and...told the truth (check out His encounter with Nic in John 3 for
instance) without blinking or blushing.
Psst.
Being the
incarnate God, He not you or me could do that.
Only He not you
or me was/remains pure and perfect in every way from here to eternity.
Selah.
@#$%
Getting back to
the new hymnbook as a metaphor for you know what - and if you don't know what
already, my guess is you're so caught in your ecclesiastical idolatries that...
- I don't think it's the best or worst out there; so I'm not inclined to
lionize or demonize it.
It's O.K.
I didn't expect
it to be pure and perfect in every way.
Come to think of
it, aren't you thankful that God has never expected us to be pure and
perfect in every way?
Annnnnnnd if you don't get
thaaaaaaat, sign
up for the next Christology course asap.
Selah.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
No comments:
Post a Comment