Fearing and not fearing
For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Schertz's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.
Working with this week's apocalyptic Gospel text evokes memories of childhood experiences and teachings in a Mennonite congregation with a fundamentalist understanding of Bible and life. Within that setting, however, my family was solidly Anabaptist in outlook and rooted in social justice concerns. My public school was, for a community in the middle of rural Illinois, a virtual hotbed of ecumenicity, with all the major and many of the minor denominations represented. All this made for some interesting tensions, especially in a family with an ethos of discernment rather than rules.
As a young person, I did not always appreciate these tensions--or the lengthy and lively family discussions they sometimes engendered. But my vocation in biblical studies--especially as lived out within a passion for the church--has led me to value tension and paradox more fully.
