Sitting with paradox

21Jul
Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgement on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgement on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in honour of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honour of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honour of the Lord and give thanks to God.

We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is written,

‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
  and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then, each of us will be accountable to God.'
-Romans 14:1-12


I like to listen to podcasts when I am doing laundry, cleaning, driving, and this past weekend power washing a driveway and walkway at my mother’s home. It is a fun way to listen and learn and sometimes laugh out loud, and it makes the task at hand feel a little lighter. Recently The Mel Robbins podcast, NPR’s Wait,Wait, Don’t Tell Me, and Brene Brown and Adam Grant’s Curiosity Shop have been in my queue. That last one, The Curiosity Shop, really struck a chord when Brown and Grant discussed the topic of paradox or holding two things true simultaneously and how important it is to practice. How expansive it can help our thinking and being become. In the reading today I feel like Paul is pointing out a simple paradox-that those who eat meat and others that don’t are both God’s people, that one isn’t more right than the other, and quarreling over these differences is missing the larger picture. In fact dwelling on differences, all or nothing, black and white thinking leads us to judge our brothers and sisters, which is also not ours to do, but God’s alone. What a relief! How comforting that is! But it is not easy to stop judging others or ourselves. With God’s help we can keep trying. Maybe we can hold space for the friction and tension in our divided culture today because we have been practicing sitting with paradox since the virgin gave birth. I’m going to keep trying.


Musical Reflection- Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata Kanneh-Mason - Mendelssohn: - Song without Words, Op. 109


Merciful God, help us to grow in understanding the breadth and depth of your grace. Lead us to practice patience and inclusion and help us to notice when our comparing minds keep us from sharing your love. Amen.

Judgement

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