RCL:You have Heard

I apologize to all of you faithful RevGalPals for being so late getting this together. My family has been down qith the stomach bug that is hitting the south in epidemic proportions.

This weeks RCL readings can be found here.

There is a picture we studied in one of my psychology classes that has always intrigued me. It was a picture of a woman. The thing about it was it depended on your state of mind which woman you saw. It took me a while, but eventually I was able to switch back and forth between the young and old woman.

The scriptures from the revised common lectionary this week invite us to look at things from a new perspective.

Jesus’ words from Matthew challenge preconceived notions of the way things should be. Over and Over again Jesus says “You have heard it said, but I say.” These words are an invitation to see the world in a different light. These words offer the opportunity to view the world with eyes of love instead of vengeance; with hope instead of fear, with joy not loss. These words offer the opportunity to engage with the world through a completely different paradigm, one of abundance instead of scarcity.

I watched a video in seminary of Walter Wink and his approach to this passage which has changed the way I read this part of Matthew’s Gospel. You can find a youtube video of it here. (It is long, but good)

But Jesus’ words are not all easy to hear. His words of divorce may ring strangely in our modern ears. We must remember that marriage in Jesus’ day was not the same as marriage in most of our societies. Perhaps this was Jesus protecting women in a way that had never been considered?

What things will you be preaching dear pals?

What questions do these scriptures bring to your heart?

Please share your journey through the word with us.

Cardelia Howell-Diamond pastors a small Cumberland Presbyterian Church in northern Alabama. She is the mother of three children, all of which have had the stomach bug back to back since Friday. She blogs at randomrevhd.blogspot.com.

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