Somebody accused me of twisting scripture to fit my political perspective.
“You twist the meaning of Scripture to fit your political perspective,” they said.
I didn’t know that wanting to stop the bullying, beating, imprisonment, and killing was a political perspective. I didn’t know that wanting to feed the hungry, attend to the sick and poor was a political perspective.
I’ve been accused of twisting scripture … but what scripture was twisted and how did I twist it? Perhaps I might be provided with a straightened version.
If the new wine does not fit into your old wine skin, you say that the new wine twists biblical scripture, and you throw it out.
Let me twist some scripture at you. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
A clean heart. . The heart is a metaphor for our emotions and dispositions. A disposition is a state of mind that creates an inclination to think or act in certain ways. Renewal speaks to transformation. The twisted scriptures that I read call us to be disposed to perceive, react, and emote in ways that nurture the self, others, and the community. To take care of. To be responsible for.
Jesus and St. Paul had much to say about the conditions of the heart. So let me twist some more scripture at you.
Matthew 5:8 . “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
The gospels and epistles call us to take care of each other. To be responsible for each other. That person hiding is trying to feed our family. They escaped from conditions of poverty, lawlessness, and violence to feed our children, to give our children a better life. If it were your son or daughter, husband or wife, mother or father hiding in the basement, would the conditions of your heart change a little bit?
Here’s some more twisted scripture:
Matthew 12:34. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
You speak about the love of Jesus, yet you would deny food to the hungry and health care to the sick and poor?
Matthew 15:18-20. But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.
You seem to focus on adultery and sexual immorality here … making me wonder what’s in your heart … while you conveniently ignore all that the Trump administration is blatantly doing: murder, theft, false witness, and slander. You don’t seem to get too worked up about theft, false witness and slander.
Matthew 5:8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
You talk of law and order, of human decency. Yet you turn your backs on the girls who were raped and trafficked. You protect the rich and powerful.
St. Paul tells us to Put on your new self. We’ve been made in the likeness of God.
I would invite people of all Faith traditions and people of no faith traditions to put on those new self-suits and listen … Listen to the Likeness. Renew a right spirit within you. Be pure in heart and see God … in the actions and interactions of people.
