The Rev. Dr. Wm. Louis "Lou" Piel

The Bible has been “my book” since I received a copy in Sunday school and a study Bible from my father in my early teens. I love the Holy Scriptures. I have spent years reading and studying them. But I don’t worship them. I worship God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus’ home was among people. He lived with them. He suffered with them. He laughed with them. He knew them. He challenged them. Most important, he loved them. He loved them to the point that he would put his life on the line for them.

Jesus’ challenge to his disciples, to me and to you is this “so if I your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

It is very possible, maybe even probable, that some of those shouting words of hatred at a 6-year old were the same people who would sit in a church the following Sunday singing “What A Friend We Have in Jesus” and talking about the amazing grace of God.

The question is, am I a child of darkness or a child of light, meaning, do I reflect negative or hurtful things or do I reflect good or positive things? Everyone reflects something! What do I reflect? Am I building up or am I tearing down?

People on all sides want some form of stability — a return to normal, whatever that is. People (not all, because some seem to love turmoil and chaos) want the nastiness to stop where we can treat each other (even with those who we disagree) with respect.

We must remember that Jesus was murdered not because he was sweet and lovable. He was killed because he challenged the status quo of the religious leaders, the government and people like me and you. At some point people of his own day said “enough is enough” and turned their backs on him. If he walked into our lives today would we do the same thing?

The comment caused me to take a critical look at several earthly issues through my faith. I don’t believe these issues are liberal or conservative, Republican or Democratic. They are just faith-related concerns.

I love the scriptures but I do not worship them. I worship God. The Bible bears witness to the Living Word of God. The Bible does not point back to itself but rather beyond — “Jesus cannot be locked up in the Bible.” God is still speaking through these ancient documents. Our responsibility is to faithfully allow the scriptures to speak for themselves and translate their message into our daily lives.

Don’t you get a little tired of hearing people say “we’re all in this together” when it just isn’t true. We may all be in the storm but we are not all in the same boat. The going may be tough but some of us can weather the storm far better than others. A good many run the risk of drowning.

Although he had studied a lot of American history, my neighbor George said he’d never heard about the Tulsa race riots or even Juneteeth. He went on to ask the question, “Why didn’t I know that?”

A question was asked of those of color, “What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word Minneapolis?” The response was “a black man who had a name was murdered by white police.” The second thing was “sadly some of our protest demonstrations turned violent.” The same question was asked of those who are white and the first thing they thought of when they heard the word Minneapolis was “out of control rioting that destroyed valuable property.” The second thing was “a black man died.”

Before we deal with “essential” or “nonessential” we need to ask the question, “What do we mean by the word ‘church’?” While the church building could be called “important” not only as a gathering place for its members but also often as a community building it is not “essential.”

To be set free by the Easter message means I can cross the road to give aid to my enemy and build a bridge of understanding as we tear down a wall of separation. It means I am free to witness to my faith and how God has changed my life.

Theologian Brian Zahnd wrote “if we see the Bible as an end in itself instead of an inspired witness pointing us to Jesus it will become an idol.” He continued “idols are gods we can manage according to our own interests. If we want to make the Bible our final authority, which is an act of idolatry, we are conveniently ignoring the problem that we can make the Bible say just about whatever we want.”