Sinners, Pharisees, and Women
Stop! Don't read another word until or unless you have already read Mike Cope's last two blog entries.First of all, I'm feeling much better today. Yesterday's migraine was the worst I've had in a while. I've had them in bunches lately. They tend to come during times of stress or during times when my eating schedule is off. There's something about the last few months that have been highly stressful and thrown off the eating routine a bit. Can't quite put my finger on it....
Oh. Yeah.
Anyway, I'm still catching up a bit, both in work and in blogland.
My class on Sunday was about Jesus' attitude towards sinners, Pharisees, and women. Here are a few thoughts:
Jesus not only spent a great deal of time with "sinners," but they actually seemed attracted to him. This is in diametric opposition to how the lost feel about the church. They wouldn't step foot into one of our buildings because A) they don't want to be judged...B) they don't see a reason...and C) they figure we'll probably make them feel worse than they already do. It's also interesting that when we think of "sinners" in this context, we usually think "other people." The world (the "normal people" as Leonard Sweet calls them) need to know that we understand that we are sinners too. They'd feel right at home among us. (Matt. 9: 9-13)
Too often, we think that Jesus' attitude towards Pharisees was always harsh and rebuking. But he talked to them, met them, ate with them. And again, before we classify Pharisees as "other people" we need to think about how Pharisaical we (I) can be. How often do we turn our noses up at what the church does without showing them the same grace we accuse them of withholding from others? Jesus said that those who have been forgiven much, love much. And those who have been forgiven little, love little. It's good to keep in mind how much we have been forgiven. Our love can only grow as a result. (Luke 7: 36-50)
This Sunday, we'll talk about Jesus' attitude towards women. In virtually every instance of contact with women, Jesus violated the social mores of his time. He touched them, ate with them, taught them. It's almost as though he thought they were equals with men. How much of our attitude towards women is a reflection of our interpretation of Paul's letters? Most of it? I want my attitude to follow from Jesus' example more than Paul's writing. (Luke 10: 38-42)
In other news....
Yesterday was miserable. Waking up with a migraine is the worst and when you talk for a living, it doesn't help. I had a sneezing fit during first period and I thought my head was going to explode. My kids were awesome; they could tell I was hurting pretty bad. But it was a full day of teaching. I actually tried to get a sub and go home, but it was going to take so long to get somebody here that it wouldn't have been worth it. Turns out that was a good thing, as my house was full of people lacquering cabinets anyway. Oy, the smell! (Yes, by the way, it will be four months tomorrow and still the work goes on. Soon though...very soon.)
When I finally got home, and did a few chores that needed doing, I plopped on the couch and checked the DVR to see what had recorded during the day. And there it was.
Baseball.
Blessed, glorious baseball. I watched two games: Dominican Republic vs. Venezuela and US vs. Mexico. Both games were very good but the DR/Venezuela game was amazing. What an all-star performance that was. Even you NON-baseball types should recognize some of these names. Venezuela started Johann Santana (the best pitcher in the game). When they had to pull him because of pitch count, they put in Carlos Zambrano. Yikes! On the offensive side they had Victor Martinez (the best catcher in the game), Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, Omar Vizquel and others.
And as good as they were, the Dominicans were better. The starter was Cy Young winner (and Angel) Bartolo Colon. Their infield consisted of Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada, and Adrian Beltre. Oh, and David Ortiz was the DH. The game was close but the DR blew it open in the 9th on Ortiz's second homer of the game.
The US game was good too. We only scored two runs but held the Mexicans to four hits. If we win this thing, it will be because of our pitching...although Derrek Lee, Mark Texeiria, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Michael Young, Chipper Jones, and Ken Griffey, Jr. are no slouches. Today the Rocket faces Canada.
Sheesh, this blog is getting long.
I can't quit without mentioning that my favorite nerds, Dave and Lori made it through another round of the Amazing Race. They came in fourth after Dave rapelled down a tall building and they worked together to turn sugar cane into ethanol. As Dave said, "I totally did this experiment in school!" Gotta love the nerds.
Sorry for the overflow. I'll try to be better about keeping up.
posted by Thurman8er @ 8:31 AM
3 Comments:
Good to have you back in the blog saddle. Now if "they" can only get your home done and soon! 4 months - yikes. Reminds me of the line from the movie "Naked Gun." Priscilla Pressley asks Ricardo Montalbán how he could be so cruel? He responded by say, "I use to be a building contractor.”
Your post reminds me of one thing I'm proud of when it comes to Central - we have made an effort to reach both "right" and "left" with respect to the churches that we neighbor. It’s not always easy nor is it always reciprocated but it doesn’t make it any less right.
Glad you're feeling better.
I was listening to the local Sports Talk Radio station yesterday. One of their reporters was commenting on how surprised he was at the turnout and the atmosphere of the Venezuela vs. the Dominican Republic game. It was played at Disney World’s “Wide World of Sports Complex.
He said it had the atmosphere of a post season / Soccer World Cup game.
I always marvel at your posts when you have been away for a while. Let it all out Steve, let it all out!
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