Pastoral Reflections Rev. Dr. Mike Drake


Recently in Te New York Times, an op-ed piece by David Brooks caught my attention. He was commenting on a current situation where an individual had betrayed the confidence that society had placed in him. Brooks’s particular concern was the pattern of public reaction that seems to have developed over the years when moments like this arise. In the author’s words:


“Te barbaric part is the way we respond to scandal these days. When somebody violates a public trust, we try to purge and ostracize him. A sort of coliseum culture takes over, leaving no place for mercy.”


Brooks’s point was not that we throw accountability out the window. What disturbed him was that our response as a society so often ceases at accountability, justice, and a scarlet letter of some kind permanently attached to another’s reputation. Te opportunity for forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration to community no longer has a place in the process.


Te article certainly touched a nerve. In the 24 hours following its printing, there were 787 online comments. Some were in support of the author’s point of view, others against, others seeking to reflect and understand. Bottom line, he got an important conversation going. And any way you look at it, that’s a good thing.


It’s a conversation that should always be at the center of the church’s life and ministry. We’re now journeying through the season of Lent. Te central theme of this period is that despite all that we have done to separate ourselves from God and each other, that is not the end of it. God takes the initiative in the person of Jesus to come to us and offer the opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation. Paul describes what God did simply in the fifth chapter of Romans: “…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And when we finish our Alleluias on Easter Day, a lifestyle marked by that same forgiveness and reconciliation is exactly what we are sent to model.


Tis kind of living has always been counterintuitive to social practice. But it’s a kind of living that helps restore community instead of leaving it fractured and is God’s intent for the world. It looks at the addict, the convict, those who have proven untrustworthy to a community, colleague, friend, or spouse and does not deny the sin and pain and separation their bad judgment has caused. But it also sees beyond that to new possibilities: a life of sobriety, an offender going straight, a regretful betrayer rebuilding a foundation of trust. Tese possibilities are rarely achieved by anyone on their own. Tey need the support, encouragement, and partnership that God can provide—something they receive when we are willing to get our hands dirty, to walk with them through the mess they call “life.” We do so because that’s what God chose to do in the person of Jesus, to be present to the world amid the chaos and unpleasantness of human experience, including our own.


I don’t expect 787 comments from these reflections! But I hope that they will stimulate your thinking about what it means to live in the world in this alternative and faithful way.


Grace and Peace, 3


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16