When I was reviewing todays Gospel reading last week. I was going whoa, how does this jibe with Minnesotans who consider it majorly uncool to sit at a place of honor… The whole proud but not too proud thing leans a whole lot more towards the “not too proud” side, and thus said scripture could end up counterproductive fast.
Pastor Steve took this on pretty hard and fast last Wednesday, in that humility can go too far, that gifts can be buried, that a certain boldness for Christ is needed. For sure, there is a lack of humility in regards to jockeying for position and power, even amongst Minnesotan’s, even amongst seminary students jockeying for first calls, and the scripture hits home on such pretty hard. Yet, such could also be used as a way to justify hiding ones lamp, to go behind the scenes when one is needed out front, which would likewise be in error.
This hit home for me, when I started reviewing the ELCA draft statement on genetics. The concept of pride is a big deal on the surface… the whole “man can play God” with these tools things scares many, likely far too many in Christian society. Of course, resignation and running from things is not cool either. Negligence of what God has gifted us and complacency about matters of human and environmental health is also a sin. Case in point, it would be way beyond cruel to withhold morphine from a terminal cancer patient due to anti-drug societal mores, fear of addiction, or fear of what we dont really understand pharmacologically wise. Obviously a balance needs to be maintained between “playing God” and being so humble as to play dead and be totally ineffective.
I’ll be blogging more on the genetics statement as I plow through it. A 60+ page document is not something one understands in a first pass.. but I though it was cool how todays Gospel played right into the genetics discussion. It will be interesting!
