Gentlepeople,
Aretha Franklin sang, “Find out what it means to me.” Mavis and The Staples Singers sang, “If you don’t respect yourself, ain’t nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na, na, na, na.” We are told to respect our elders, various cultures have proverbs, and Scripture has a number of passages that talk about respect for each other.
If you ever mouthed off to an elder when you were a youngster, you only had to learn once not to do so again. And after that, seeing another friend do so would make you cringe ‘cos you knew what was forthcoming.
Yet, from creation to creature, human-to-human disrespect and degradation run amok. Puffed-up blowhard politicians who mock people and call names have led to the devolution of political discourse. Religious bias and white supremacy, together and apart, have set the stage to violence and marginalization across the world. The truth is we all need each other. The famous Rodney King quote, “I just want to say – you know – can we, can we all get along? Can we, can we get along?” comes to mind.
Even when we stand toe to toe and don’t see eye to eye, we can always extend respect. We will be examining respect for each other with the words of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 12:1-26. As we prepare for Sunday, think about which body part you might represent in the Body of Christ. I look forward to seeing you on Balclutha, Zoom, or Livestream at 10 am Sunday. Bring a friend.
Peace,
Rev. Michael Cronin
