OSD

Back in my former life I was a "business manager" for my father-in-law's construction company. I had a nice title, but little- if any- real responsibility. It was nice.

Anyway, one of the things I did was assign purchase order numbers to track costs. For jobs that weren't big and/or not repeating - like installing an emergency generator for our Pastor, we gave out OSD purchase order numbers - One Shot Deal.

This week's reflections could be numbered 1OSD - cuz all I can do this week is going to be posted today. So on with 1OSD.

In our Lectionary group yesterday we had a very fruitful discussion around who JBap might be yelling at if he were on the bank of the Mississippi today. It is so easy to point at somebody else - like Matthew does - and say, "those fundamentalist evangelicals are the brood of vipers - so mired in their rules." But, we wondered, if we were to be real with ourselves for a minute how obvious are our own failings? Do we produce fruit? Are we willing to be refined by the fire? Do we bog ourselves down with useless things? Do we care about the poor, the widowed, the orphans? Can we afford to have outsiders in our church? It was a real call for me to re-evaluate my preconceived notions - a seemingly daily task anymore.

Along those same lines is the Romans reading. "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." We particularly liked the version one of our group had that calls not for living in harmony and acceptance, but "to welcome one another as Christ welcomes us." Rowan Williams would be happy with that translation I think.

Anyway, Prophet Sunday seems to be calling us to repentance, as usual, but I think this particular year I am hearing a call to repent of the way in which I see the other and to welcome openly all who I encounter. Or as the Baptismal Covenant says, "seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself."

Thanks for the prayers and the patience with a OSD this week.