thoughts on authority and other musings

Last night I saw a video made about the trial of Pastor Bradley Schmeling for being a pastor and in a committed relationship with another man. It was very well done, both informationally and artistically. And at one point in the movie Pr. Schmeling is speaking to his congregation, and he says that as a boy he was always taught that when in trouble find someone in authority, like a police officer, to help you out. And that he wishes even still that that were the case. And he is not the only person who has been told that. I was taught that in elementary school. I'm sure most of the world was told that. Sadly, however, as we grow up and get older, we find that is only a delusion, an ideal that is rarely reached. There are plenty of people in authority positions such as firemen and police officers who are good people and would help a lost child. But there are too many, because even one is too many, who are not looking out for the interests of others. And this trial of a pastor is one example. It is unimportant that this man has been an excellent pastor to this congregation, it is unimportant that the congregation asked him to be there and wants him there and theologically speaking he is really not in any violations. There are some man made rules, and some people are just uncomfortable, so those two men and that entire congregation get punished for it. And one man interviewed in the video commented when he first got to know Bradley that they got a mercedes with a bent fender, and Bradley replied, we all have bent fenders. An excellent answer. Very true. We are all sinners, we all have issues. Fortunately Lutheran theology specifically speaks to this, that sin does not have the final say, grace does, because God came down to humanity. The biggest problem I see here is people talking about something they have no first hand experience with. That is forever a problem in the world. People try to regulate things they do not understand, people try to make claims about things they do not understand, and people enforce policies on others when they do not understand. And all that happens is people get hurt. And the world is broken enough as it is. Sometimes, thinking about accepting everyone is uncomfortable. Sometimes we are uncomfortable accepting parts of ourselves. But we are all so far from perfect, yet God has accepted us all anyway, already, that how can we do anything less, when we have already received a gift far beyond what we deserve? Selfish hoarding of this gift only diminishes its appreciability. How can you feel good about being accepted when you reject others? And sadly, the people we have in charge of things, specifically those in charge of church bodies, should be examples to the rest of us, but often they fall short of that calling. Yes, it is hard to live in such public light all the time, but honesty should be valued that much more because of it. Maybe I'm too much of a purist there. I just wish we didn't all have to be so scared of showing others who we really are. We would possibly all be a lot healthier. I pray that God works in a helpful way for this upcoming churchwide assembly, and I pray for everyone involved, and those hurt by these events and those confused and those with closed hearts and minds. And all the rest of us, God knows we all need it. Amen.