And That's All I Have to Say About That, The Coda

Yeah, I realize it's a stupid heading title, but alas, it fits. Since this is the coda, you should read the next post first.

Over the past eight hours or so, something that I have noticed missing from the sermon piece is that I speak of a Jewish woman, a woman whose faith is important to her, and use it in a Christian context. Literally, I take her shooting, I take her story, and put it in an a-Semitic setting.

I say a-Semitic instead of antisemitic because I neglect it entirely! My writing is completely without reference to her faith and that's what the prefix a- means, without.

So, how can I talk about what has happened to this woman and put it in a Christian context?

First, John 4:22 (references here) reminds us "salvation comes from the Jews." Any Christian who takes an antisemitic stand fails to remember this most basic of all truths, salvation comes from the Jews.

Second, my denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), has made a statement that the Jews have always had a special relationship with the Lord, further saying that this relationship did not end with the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Finally, what happened in Tucson transcends denomination, it is a tragedy of at least national proportion. If I split the hair in my sermon too finely by not mentioning Representative Giffords' faith, I apologize.

It was an oversight, not a slight.