We cancelled the gathering in our home this morning.
We, especially Evie, are exhausted, too much so to go to the time and trouble of preparing our house to host a gathering. It is actually to the point that we have become too emotionally and physically weary to be able to benefit from gathering with other disciples. Paul, of course, warns against allowing yourself to get to this point. He does that in Galatians 6. We know that this is not a good thing. We also recall Jesus telling His disciples, at one point, that they needed to go off by themselves to a quiet place to get some rest. This is an attempt of sorts to do this to the best of our abilities. And, I should add that we are being supported by one person in our grouping of gatherings who is offering care to us.
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I see an irony in this that connects to one of the reasons the people at the top of the ERC mountaintop have decided to take away my ordination. According to Kevin Richardson, I have been convicted on the mountaintop of breaking my ordination vow to adorn myself with "exemplary piety."
And, as I understand the teachings of Jesus and the behavior of New Testament Christians, it is because we are adorning ourselves with piety that we are too weary to invite our brothers and sisters into our home today.
It strikes me that the mountaintoppers conviction that my piety is wanting reveals the essence of my conviction that they need to repent and lead the Conference in repentance.
We define piety from Jesus' definition of it in His prophecy of the separating of the sheep from the goats on the Day and from Paul defining worship as offering your body as a living sacrifice and from James definition of (true) religion as caring for orphans and widows in their distress. And, we have been practicing that form of piety with a vengeance lately, particularly, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat...I was a stranger and you invited me in," and "I was sick and you visited me." Fold into that recipe, "Honor your father and mother."
I'd love to know, from Scripture, the definition of piety employed by the people who have passed judgment on me.
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Anyway, we have become so tired practicing piety in the way we understand it to hold the gathering today.
By all means, rest, my friend. We serve only one Lord and Master. You are running well. Peace and blessings to you and Evelyn both.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the word of encouragement, dan. It is a drain on us from time to time, to be of the opinion that CGGC leaders suppose that they follow Jesus by gathering in committee and commission and council and task force meetings and then pass judgment on us for taking the Sermon on the Mount as our marching orders.
ReplyDeleteI know that I am probably wrong in this perception but there is more than a little evidence that leads to that verdict.
Evie reminded me recently that there was a time when even Elijah despaired thinking, wrongly, that he was the only person who had remained faithful.