Friday, July 25, 2008

The Way ?

There's a funny email going around that purports to be a chain letter, that lists the attributes of a Perfect Pastor :

....The Perfect Pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly, but never hurts anyone's feelings. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight, and is also the church janitor.

....The Perfect Pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the parish. He is 29 years old and has 40 years' worth of experience. Above all, he is handsome.

....The Perfect Pastor has a burning desire to work with teen-agers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his parish. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed.

....The Perfect Pastor always has time for parish council and all of it's committees. He never misses the meeting of any parish organization, and is always busy evangelizing the unchurched.

....The Perfect Pastor is always in the next parish over!

All in all fairly funny. However, the first line of the email is pretty telling: The Perfect Pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly, but never hurts anyone's feelings. Are pastors getting to the point where they are so worried about offending someone in the church that they don't preach the entire Word? That there is something called sin that can separate us from sharing in the light of the Trinity ? Think about it, when was the last time your pastor talked about how Jesus is the only Way?

Come ot think about it, when was the last time anyone in Louisville's ecumenical office said anything about the Way, the Truth and the Life?

When you talk to the average Presbyterian, do they equivocate when asked if they believe other religions can lead to God? According to some, over 50% of those in the pews will. Why, because its the culture of the US to live and let live and give others the benefit of the doubt. So when Christ said that "no one goes to the Father but through Me" He was speaking to the people of that time, in the context of that place.

But hold on, Jesus is Lord, Savior and our God. He was God then, and He is God now. Beginning and the End, forever and ever. He knew what He was saying would be true then, and that it will be true today. Did Jesus lie ?? Did He tell an untruth ?? Did He who is without sin, sin ??

Somehow I don't think so.

Update Sat, July 26th: Evidently Sylvia Dooling feels the same way:
http://www.vow.org/viewpoints/opinions/08july25-sdooling-embarrassment.html .
Tip of the hat to Presbyweb for this link.

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