Grafted

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Lueking'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.

Epiphany is the season uniquely applicable to us who are Gentiles, the grafted-on branches to the tree of salvation, those who do well to marvel at the magnitude of the grace of God Christ that includes us. This is not common in our religiously pluralist setting, especially in our part of the world where the common assumption is that we're not grafted on at all--we're mainstream.

In my lectionary column for the Century this week (subscription required), I bring up the dramatic shifts the world has seen in Christian demographics. My understanding of this has been helped immensely by one thing: pastoral sabbaticals. I took two during my pastoral years, in each case to visit congregations in developing-world countries for the purpose of learning from them what it's like to be a Christian in that place.