Comments on: Something There Is That Doesn’t Love a Wall

By: Mark Hobbs

Mark Hobbs — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:36:24 +0000

Troy: I disagree with just about everything you said prior to your last post, and believe you were harsh and unfair to Sherry. Having said that, I appreciate your “communion contemplation”. Your words are encouraging to me and I can’t find anything in them that I would pick apart (even if I wanted to, which I do not). So I’ll join Sherry in saying “amen”.

P.S. I just posted as “Mark” above, but there’s at least one other “Mark” running around here and I don’t want there to be any confusion. And anonymity is overrated anyway.

By: Jeff W

Jeff W — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:53:56 +0000

I don’t want to pile on, Troy, but consider this statement of yours: “I do have a secret weapon, sharper than any double-edged sword.”

The repeated witness of scripture is that this is God’s weapon that he uses on you (and me). Maybe you need to re-orient yourself and contemplate anew who should be wielding the sword.

By: Sherry Rankin

Sherry Rankin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:09:08 +0000

TMC, comments like yours make all the flak worth while. Thanks.

By: TMC

TMC — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:20:56 +0000

Sherry,
Beautiful meditation. I also really appreciated all your comments to this post. I admire your courage. I grew up in “the church” (whatever that means), but not a church of Christ. So, my early training conditioned me very different from that of “traditional” cofc. I do currently attend cofc and we love our church family but I often feel sort of stifled. I have no desire to be up at the pulpit for anything (speaking in front of people terrifies me) but I do wish that women (in my particular congregation) weren’t pigeon holed into teaching Sunday school for elementary age kids. I often feel I can’t say how I really feel on an issue because I worry that others in my congregation will judge me (this has happened in the past). I know I should be focused on how God sees me and not worry so much what others think. I’m working on that. But all that to say, it was very encouraging to read your words! Thank you!

By: Sherry Rankin

Sherry Rankin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:54:02 +0000

Thanks, guys…you sure know how to make a girl feel special…:-)

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:17:04 +0000

Mike,
I was going to mention you were there but you have a reputation to keep up and I didn’t want thousands of people to know about the kind of people you hang out with. Shoot, even I was embarrassed to be seen in public with them.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:20:14 +0000

Richard - Don’t forgot that there were five of us. I noticed you didn’t mention that I made you feel dumb. I was just afraid they’d break out into old English. (You may recall that when I even joked about it, they were all able to do it!)

By: Cheryl Russell

Cheryl Russell — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:52:44 +0000

Sherry, I loved your communion thoughts. I think many (if not all) of us struggle with the reflex to take the reflections of others and critique them, instead of internalizing them. However, I think this keeps us from doing the real work of self-reflection. I admit, that focusing on the literal and finding points of disagreement are a comfort zone that keep me from really digging into my life and seeing all the areas where God is trying to come in and help me to grow. Sometimes though, for whatever reason, we just let something in. Your reflections did that for me. I read your blog and thought about all of the walls that I have built between God and myself, myself and others. My anger with God after watching a friend suffer and die of cancer. The wall that exists between my non-believing family and myself. The walls I pictured were not made of brick, or stone, but of pride, selfishness, and flesh. Sherry, I am a master wall builder! Thank you for reminding me that Christ is a master at tearing them down!

May God bless you and your husband as you minister in the Kingdom as one!

By: Sherry Rankin

Sherry Rankin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:13:11 +0000

EVERYONE who went to THAT version of Beowulf felt dumb. Can’t believe I paid 10 bucks to watch a cartoon butcher one of the classics…

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 19:22:18 +0000

Sherry you’re a hoot. You know what can make you feel dumb? I’ll tell you. Going to see Beowulf with three English Professors…

By: Sherry Rankin

Sherry Rankin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:48:52 +0000

yeah, uh, that’s right–that was the plan all along, to express facets of Greek orthodoxy…Ha! Thanks for making me sound WAY smarter than I am, Richard…:-)

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 16:27:30 +0000

I, personally, think Troy and Sherry’s meditations harmonize nicely. They each express facets of Greek Orthodoxy (themes generally lost in Protestant churches) concerning the work of the Christ. Sherry focuses on the salvific features of the Incarnation and Troy on Christus Victor.

By: Sherry Rankin

Sherry Rankin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:38:13 +0000

Troy, many things that you said yesterday were harsh; I think you know what they were. And of course you have your right to freedom of speech, which entitles you to question or say anything, although you should not be surprised if people react harshly to your harsh tone. It’s not fair (or mature) to ignore the Golden Rule yourself but cry “foul” when anyone else does it to you.

As for your communion thoughts, I think they are lovely, and I could certainly say the “amen” to them. They do not answer all the questions or deal with all the problems you’ve pointed out in past comments, but then again, neither did mine; and as perhaps you discovered when you wrote them, communion thoughts are not designed to cover all possible doctrinal bases.

I think that those whom you have alienated will be inclined to pick apart your communion thoughts and assign them uncharitable motives, because that’s what you did to mine. But I appeal to everyone: let’s show Troy the charity, grace and love he deserves as a brother in Christ, whether or not he has been willing or able to do the same for others.

After all, that’s what knocking down walls is all about, right?

By: Judy Thomas

Judy Thomas — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:35:23 +0000

Write on, Sherry–or is that Right on?

By: Troy

Troy — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:24:36 +0000

What did I say that was harsh? Can I not question the intentions of those who have admitted that their actions are a source of division?

As far as my communion contemplation, here goes:

Why such an elaborate plan? Couldn’t God just say the word and the walls of Jericho would crumble? Instead, God put into motion an elaborate plan to bring down the walls of the city. The plan involved marching around the city, trumpets of rams’ horns, the carrying of the ark of the Lord, and a loud shout to bring down the city walls. All of this was to be done in a specific order according to the specific plan of God. When it was finished, the walls lay in ruins, and the plan of God was fulfilled.

There was another wall, although not a grand as that of Jericho, that an elaborate plan of God brought down. This plan was in the works for thousands of years. It involved a promise, a virgin birth, a ministry, and a Messiah. The plan culminated in an accusation, trials, beatings, a crucifixion, a trembling of the earth, and burial. On the third day, the wall, made complete with a single stone, was once and for all breached. This time it wasn’t a city that was conquered, but death itself.

What we’re about to do is remember the one who breached that final wall and conquered death on our behalf. Why such an elaborate plan? Because an elaborate love deserves no less.

Adios.