Inappropriate Conversations

"Christ is my center but ... my boundaries are permeable." Kimberly Knight Matthew 28:16-20 (The phrase “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” might lead to many understandings of the word “nations” for Biblical times and today, but “Go” seems absolutely unambiguous)  

“If it is an error for some Christians to make relative what God has made absolute, it is equally an error to make absolute what God has left relative." Os Guinness John 20:1-18 (“They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him”)  

"Consequences. Do we still believe in consequences? No matter; they still believe in us." -Greg Mark 15:25-47 (Darkness at noon, torn curtain in the temple, stone blockade)  

"Often, when someone dies, we feel a combination of love and something else, and this, too, is holy. And entirely human. And they don’t cancel each other out. Love and anger. Love and disappointment. Love and emptiness. We always love imperfectly. It is the nature of human love. And it is okay. But despite all the love in the world, when it comes down to it, none of us can know the reality of another." Nadia Bolz-Weber John 19:1-37 (when Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished”)  

"Lord, please shine a light of hope on those of us who fall behind. And when we stumble in the snow, could you help us up while there's still time?"  Stephanie Davis Luke 23:39-43 (“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”)  

"My prosecuting room still holds a strand of her hair in evidence." Al Stewart Matthew 27:11-26 (warned about his wife’s dream and seeing there was nothing he else he could do, Pilate washed his hands of accountability for the fate facing Jesus)  

“Yes, a man is a dangerous thing. So is a scalpel. It can wound or it can save your life. You don't make it safe by making it dull; you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing.” John Eldredge John 18:1-11 (Jesus told Peter to put away his sword, and we should understand that having a weapon does not mandate using it … as opposed to turning the other cheek and leaving fate in God’s hands – the cup the Father has given)  

"Some deny Jesus by saying they never knew him. Others deny Jesus by insisting that they are the only ones who 'really do' know him." -Greg Matthew 26:31-75 Mark 14:26-72 Luke 22:31-62 John 13:36-38 John 18:15-27 (perhaps denying Jesus is so significant that it appears in every Gospel)  

"Imagine if every church became a place where everyone is safe, but no one is comfortable. ... We might just create sanctuary." Rachel Held Evans Mark 14:12-25 (we usually think a large gathering of friends or family should, by its nature, be harmonious; on the other hand, betrayals in situations like this are Biblical)    

“Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.” Corrie ten Boom John 13:1-35 (through foot washing as an example of serving one another, Jesus tells disciples that they, and we, should do the same)  

“I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositaries of the various creeds and have a personal interest in their survival. As a practicing Catholic I was particularly close to the Catholic priests, with some of whom I soon established a certain intimacy. I expressed my astonishment and revealed my doubts to each of them; I found that they all agreed with each other except about details; all thought that the main reason for the quiet sway of religion over their country was the complete separation of church and state. I have no hesitation in stating that throughout my stay in America I met nobody, lay or cleric, who did not agree about that.” Alexis de Tocqueville Matthew 26:14-16 (to betray Jesus, the chief priests paid Judas 30 pieces of silver)  

"If you make it impossible for people to make you happy, then people will lose interest in whether you are happy or not." -Greg John 21:15-19 (after breakfast, Jesus tells Peter that the way to love him is to care for the flock he described in John 10, one that included sheep Peter may not have considered to be eligible to join into one flock)  

"Once I get them to tell me about the God they don't believe in, it turns out I don't believe in that God either." Susan Russell John 21:1-14 (after His death and resurrection, after appearing to Mary and others, Jesus surprises his fisherman followers when he stops for a seaside breakfast meeting)  

"The door is only as open as the mind inside the office." -Greg Luke 24:13-35 (Jesus met some of his followers, probably not inner circle but believers, as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus; they didn’t recognize him)  

“People who wish to be offended will always find some occasion for taking offense.” John Wesley John 20:19-31 (the demand of Thomas for proof and evidence gives us the name Doubting Thomas, along with the meme “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”!)  

"I remember the time that you told me, you said, 'Love is touching souls.' Well, surely you touched mine because part of you pours out of me in these lines from time to time." Joni Mitchell John 4:1-30 (despite what most evangelicals today would describe as “living in sin” when she met Jesus at a well, He sent this Samaritan woman off to share the Gospel, telling people in her town Whom she had just met … and He didn’t order her first to move out of her living arrangement or “sin no more”)  

"Old James Dean Monroe hands out flowers at the Shop-N-Go, hopes for money but all he gets is fear. And the wind blows up his coat, and this he scribbles on a perfume note: 'If I'm not here, then you're not here.'" Sheryl Crow Matthew 28:11-15 (the right amount of bribery can hide/ignore almost anything)  

"I rope-a-dope with righteous bobbin' and weavin', and let the good get even." Chuck D. (Carlton Douglas Ridenhour) Mark 15:16-20 (abuses of power included assault, spitting, mocking, and more)  

"But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed, though I have seen my head [grown slightly bald] brought in upon a platter, I am no prophet -- and here's no great matter; I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, and in short, I was afraid." T.S. Eliot Matthew 14:1-14 (it’s shocking that the execution of a prophet as a prize for an impromptu dance at a birthday isn’t the most offensive thing about the fate of John the Baptist, whose head was “served” on a platter before party guests)  

"Sometimes shalom is disruptive. Sometimes peace making makes people uncomfortable. Sometimes these are conversations we'd rather not have or truth we would rather not acknowledge. Speaking truth to power is rarely comfortable for anyone." Sarah Bessey Matthew 12:1-14 (whether by healing people or picking grain, Jesus broke the law constantly in the eyes of his legalistic critics)