Last week I was in near tears because my team of writers was getting nothing to me. Of course I had other things to do and saw it as a blessing but I thought I'd also get cut as editor. Three hours ago I had 10 articles in my mail box. :) I am a busy lady!
My husband came home at 2AM today. It was good to see him but he left 75 weather and returned to 6" of snow. Instead of spending the day relaxing, we ran cars places and had things to do. I am not complaining; we had the money for it. He wasn't as thrilled with out bedroom. I did so much work and he said it was a nice start. I'm not mad, btu I was a little sad.
Church irritated me yesterday. Look, I don't get into Jesus in the Protestant way, OK? Yesterday my Orthodox liturgy was all about the parable of the seed that either blows away, takes root, or doesn't bear fruit. It went into going off about hell awaiting the sinner who doesn't accept Jesus. I have a problem with it. With how hard life is and all the troubles people have, expecting them to accept Jesus when presented with it,then all the hassle of dealing with people once you are in a church, I don't think that a loving god is like that. I don't mean to live a hedonistic life and not try to live a life filled with caring, but when you doubt your faith and just love one another, care for your neighbor-- why isn't this enough? (I am not interested in a religious discussion here with Evangelicals. I can't agree with what was spoken about.) This seemed to be a more Evangelical leaning sermon.My experience with Orthodoxy has always been that we didn't concern ourselves with Heaven or Hell but on what we are doing in the present moment and pleasing our creator. My particular branch of Orthodoxy was born of a Charismatic church 30 years ago so it has it's roots there, and our priest comes from that tradition.
1 comment:
I remember an interesting sermon about the Parable of the Sower, which I think is the biblical passage you refer to. I think it was in Iowa City, and the priest said that ther was a joke in the parable--nobody would scatter seed willy-nilly, as the sower of the parable did. So Jesus might have gotten some laughs out of his audience, before he explained the parable.
But the parable doesn't say that those who fail to receive the word will be damned, though one can interpret it that way. The focus is more on the seed that falls on good soil.
"I don't mean to live a hedonistic life and not try to live a life filled with caring, but when you doubt your faith and just love one another, care for your neighbor-- why isn't this enough?"
I think Jesus agrees. In Rite One of the Episcopal Church eucharistic liturgy, we hear the following:
"Hear what the Lord Jesus Christ saith: Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
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