Order Matters - February 19

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44; Gen. 37:1-11; 1 Cor. 1:1-19; Mark 1:1-13

Order matters, especially in what we read and pray.  For those of you who attended Saint Stephen’s worship on Ash Wednesday, you might have noticed that we changed the order of the Ash Wednesday service from what is prescribed in our Book of Common Prayer. Our recent practice has been to receive the imposition of ashes before hearing from sacred Scripture.  Instead of hearing the passage from Matthew telling us to not publicly pray or fast like the hypocrites, and then receiving ashes on our foreheads, we receive ashes and then hear the readings. The result is, that the readings serve as a reminder that it’s not about the ashes on our foreheads, but the transformation of our hearts. The order matters.  As a side note, there are lots of scholars who have suggested this change in future prayerbook revisions, including the Very Rev. Dr. Jim Turrell, dean of the School of Theology at Sewanee, who shared this vision with us in a parish hall forum in 2018.

The order in 1 Corinthians in today’s lesson also matters.  At the beginning of the letter, Paul shares this beautiful imagery of how we have been enriched by Christ, strengthened by Christ, and called into fellowship. Then, Paul talks about divisions.  The divisions happen even though we have been strengthened, enriched, and called into fellowship. 

I think we expect our faith to make everything perfect, to create communities where there are no divisions, and we can model consensus and mutuality, where there are no arguments.  Isn’t church more fun when no divisions exist? 

And yet Paul reminds us that the community gathered in Corinth has been strengthened by Christ, called into fellowship, and yet is still struggling to live perfectly in communion.  Order matters.  We can still be faithful followers of Jesus Christ who haven’t sorted everything out when we haven’t perfectly figured out how to live together.   Maybe that model is a reminder not just in church communities, but as the diverse body of Christ.  That gives me hope in such a time as this.

John

Questions for Self-Reflection:  Where do you find conflict in your daily life or work?  How does your faith help you navigate that conflict?