Summary
This text from Galatians comes as a hard word to us Mennonites in this time and place. For the last few years, we in the Mennonite Church USA have been biting and devouring each other—precisely what verse 15 admonishes us not to do. I refer, of course, to our fights over gay and lesbian issues. In the comment sections of websites for The Mennonite and the Mennonite World Review, on social media like Facebook, in letters to the editor, in congregational meetings, in conference annual sessions, and at biennial conventions, we Mennonites have too often behaved badly with each other. To use Paul’s words in verses 19 and 20, we have engaged in “enmities, strife . . . , anger, quarrels, dissensions, [and] factions.” When I read some of the mean things we Mennonites say to each other on the Internet, I am shocked. I feel discouraged and sad.
Bible References
- Galatians 5:13 - 25
SERMON TEXT (PDF)
