Debating our Faith

Psalm 38 • Psalm 119:25-48
Job 12:1, 14:1-22 • Acts 12:18-25 • John 8:47-59

Today’s gospel reading is a full-on debate between Jesus and his audience. It has everything but the kitchen sink; demons, nationality, parents, God, Abraham, time, and space. Jesus is trying to offer them understanding of his mission, they are totally caught up in the details. In this case, he wanders into the details as well. I believe there is an interesting object lesson to learn.

Given the challenging climate we are in, with all the tension around so many issues and an election on the horizon, it is so easy to want to just simply scrap with the opposition. At least it feels like we are doing something, but most often we find our efforts to be fruitless. In this case, even Jesus himself tried to explain the complexities of his ministry to those who simply had closed minds. How did it end? They wanted to stone him and he slipped out the back.

As Christians, I believe we are called to learn from Jesus and continue his mission of bringing the Kingdom of God to Earth. I believe it is important for us in these times to unify on the common denominators, and to recognize Christ’s call to strive for justice, equality, and peace. How do we find common ground with our seeming opponents? As Paul reminds us in Galatians, just as there is no law against the fruit of the spirit, they also serve as the pure core of our common humanity in Christ. “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” These are the gifts we are called to offer each other in God’s name.

These are the best tools as we do God’s work on earth. They are also the tools we tend to leave behind in a debate.

Written by Dan Robinson

Dan Robinson is the Media Specialist at St Paul’s, streaming the services online.