Friday, January 28, 2011

Fencing the Table, Dealing with Differences


Director of Lifelong Learning and Advanced Degrees, and Professor of Ministry

November, 19, 2010

People who are different, such as those with challenging sexualities or even those who differ from us socially or theologically can be thought of as inconvenient visitors, which is a theme of the parable of the “Neighbor at Midnight” from Luke 11:5-13. The parable can be interpreted as a clash of cultural or moral codes and it could be seen as a story of God’s never-failing love for all people, even those who knock on our doors at midnight. The parable could be seen as a critique of “fencing the table,” a practice of insuring that those who participate in the Eucharist are doing so worthily, is used as a metaphor for the community’s approach to inconvenient visitors. Listen to the sermon. Read the sermon in PDF.