Ruth E. Harper - "A Stone Not Made for Stoning" (May 5, 1996)
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What | 0:11 | |
a | 0:12 | |
joy it is to be here today and. Especially to have the opportunity to hear my | 0:12 | |
beloved North Carolina boys' choir sing again. My youngest son was once | 0:17 | |
a part of this choir went on to join the American Boy Choir and I have been touched | 0:21 | |
richly by memory and by music thank you | 0:26 | |
so much. Would you join your hearts with mine as we | 0:29 | |
pray together. | 0:34 | |
Oh God | 0:39 | |
open our ears and our hearts. That we may receive your word. | 0:40 | |
And may it be a word | 0:46 | |
for us that leads to eternal | 0:47 | |
life. In Jesus Name. Amen. | 0:50 | |
I had | 0:55 | |
just ducked into the Wall Street Deli on the corner of California and | 0:56 | |
seven | 1:01 | |
fifteen. I needed a strong cup of coffee. And I needed | 1:02 | |
it in a | 1:06 | |
bad way. They began of General Conference was giving new | 1:07 | |
meaning to. | 1:12 | |
Clara Scott. Turn of the century him. Open my eyes that I may | 1:14 | |
see. As I stood there in that crowded | 1:19 | |
checkout counter line. Bleary eyed. From no sleep the night before. | 1:22 | |
A very attractive well | 1:28 | |
dressed business man walked up to | 1:30 | |
me. Without | 1:33 | |
any introduction. He asked me that question. | 1:35 | |
How do you get it all done. When you only meet every four | 1:39 | |
years. When I thought he | 1:45 | |
was referring to the argue with. Task of rewriting the book of discipline. For a | 1:47 | |
nine million | 1:52 | |
member denomination. So I started into a lengthy | 1:53 | |
explanation | 1:58 | |
about. General Conference. | 1:58 | |
Processing which included. Particular nds and Flannery | 2:01 | |
sessions and legislative | 2:05 | |
committees. And he interrupted made said no you didn't understand my | 2:08 | |
question. I didn't mean to ask you how did you get | 2:12 | |
all | 2:15 | |
the work done. What I really want to know | 2:16 | |
is when you only meet every four years. | 2:21 | |
How do you get all your | 2:24 | |
arguing done. And then the last thing he said I'm and you know when | 2:26 | |
we argue every Prady | 2:31 | |
night. Are you scared him a did not | 2:34 | |
have to worry any longer about the United Methodist Church. I told him | 2:37 | |
that between | 2:42 | |
general conferences. We are new at. Jurisdictional conference. | 2:43 | |
Annual Conference. District Conference. And storage conference. | 2:48 | |
Later that day I was telling a clergy friend about my brief encounter with | 2:54 | |
the inquiring Jewish | 2:59 | |
gentleman. As he asked me this question she said. How many United | 3:01 | |
Methodist does it take to change a | 3:06 | |
lightbulb. I don't know I asked how | 3:09 | |
many one marked. Only one. | 3:12 | |
We can do anything | 3:16 | |
together. Well this is a starman that | 3:19 | |
I confess ought to be preached in an executive session for United | 3:22 | |
Methodist. We ought to have a closed door policy and only allow a | 3:27 | |
Methodist in | 3:31 | |
here. Because it's an end house | 3:32 | |
critique. I was talking with Brad our Lector a few minutes ago and he's | 3:35 | |
a Baptist. Interested in the United | 3:39 | |
Methodist Church Brad please don't hold this against us. | 3:42 | |
But I have a hunch that. | 3:45 | |
Every bit of dirty laundry that we could air is the | 3:49 | |
same dirty laundry that every other denomination could | 3:53 | |
air. And so. Hold your nose | 3:56 | |
and here go. | 3:59 | |
Most of you are aware that there is dissension in our | 4:03 | |
denomination. In fact we joke about | 4:08 | |
the term. United Methodist we call it an oxymoron. | 4:11 | |
And we say that the typo. I'm | 4:15 | |
tied Methodist. Is more apropos. Now want | 4:18 | |
to tell you you're going to probably think it's Didn't happen but I will swear on a stack of Bibles that it | 4:22 | |
happened exactly as I tell | 4:27 | |
it. Friday as I was completing the finishing touches on | 4:30 | |
the Starman. The office telephone | 4:34 | |
rang. And I picked it up and I said hello Wilmington district office. | 4:36 | |
It was one of those telemarketing calls you know you know immediately that's what it is and. | 4:42 | |
The woman on the other end of the line said. I | 4:47 | |
would like to speak to Mr or | 4:52 | |
Mrs on Methodist. | 4:56 | |
I swear this happened. | 5:00 | |
I nearly fell out of my day or trying to keep from | 5:05 | |
laughing. After I composed myself I said. Do | 5:09 | |
you suppose. UN Methodist might be an abbreviation for United | 5:12 | |
Methodist. And he said Oh excuse me I think you're probably right that's | 5:18 | |
the way it appeared on my computer screen. I'm | 5:22 | |
so sorry. When I hung up from talking with her. I thought to | 5:25 | |
myself he may have had it more right than she realized. | 5:30 | |
I flew to Denver for General Conference. Expecting much. Talk about | 5:35 | |
unity and much evidence. Of disunity. | 5:41 | |
Unfortunately I was not terribly | 5:45 | |
disappointed. In fact the councilman Bishop had evidently been reading the | 5:48 | |
same signs because Bishop. Judith Craig's opening a | 5:53 | |
fiscal address. Had these words to say. If the Christian | 5:58 | |
community is consumed with conflict. | 6:03 | |
The body of Christ. | 6:06 | |
Is fractured. She called the delegates | 6:08 | |
to save dismembering the body of Christ then to began | 6:12 | |
really member ing. Jesus. Well I stand before you today | 6:16 | |
to make something of the same | 6:21 | |
appeal. Let's stop beating up. One | 6:23 | |
another in the | 6:27 | |
words of Peter. Centered thing I have to give you a little. | 6:28 | |
Lead into this bread and read the actual lectionary text for TODAY which | 6:33 | |
begins with Verse two of Second Chapter First Peter. | 6:39 | |
First one is left out. And verse. One is part of. | 6:43 | |
Left out of the like in | 6:48 | |
our text goes like this. Let's rid ourselves of all malice. | 6:49 | |
And guile. | 6:54 | |
And insincerity and. Envy and | 6:56 | |
slander. That's a good thing that we omit those | 6:59 | |
words. We kind of glide over them. You know speed read through those if we read them at all. | 7:04 | |
And then our eyes fall longingly on the closing words | 7:09 | |
of chapter two. You are a. | 7:13 | |
Chosen Race. A royal priesthood of a holy | 7:16 | |
nation. God's own people. Were to tell us and | 7:20 | |
in practice. | 7:25 | |
Yes. Just as the cornerstone was | 7:26 | |
chosen impression. There's no doubt about | 7:29 | |
it. But we must never | 7:31 | |
forget that. Our chosen. Does not by our own efforts. | 7:33 | |
It is by the saving love the grace of Jesus | 7:38 | |
Christ. We once were like the illegitimate | 7:42 | |
children of the Prophet | 7:47 | |
Hosea we were called Alone through Hey mom. | 7:50 | |
Not pity and low. Are mine. Not my people. | 7:53 | |
But now we are. We beamed. | 7:59 | |
We're called pity. We're called my | 8:01 | |
people. And one of we done with this crisis Dept of God what have we | 8:04 | |
done with | 8:08 | |
the chosen impressive corner to sell. We've hoisted and high | 8:09 | |
above our | 8:14 | |
heads. And then we dropped it on the heads of one | 8:15 | |
another in the name of the truth of Jesus Christ | 8:20 | |
we have maimed our brothers and sisters. We have used. | 8:23 | |
The cornerstone as a | 8:28 | |
weapon. We have. | 8:30 | |
Gerrard at one | 8:33 | |
another through our Jesus judgment. | 8:34 | |
During the past three months I have carried the cornerstone around with me. It | 8:40 | |
has gone from | 8:45 | |
Wilmington. To Israel. To St Petersburg. | 8:46 | |
To Denver and. All the while as it has | 8:51 | |
been bouncing around in my head. It has taken on new | 8:55 | |
images and new. New | 8:59 | |
up perspective. In February I | 9:01 | |
took the corner stone with me on my first | 9:04 | |
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Now as you were to lift my suitcase on | 9:07 | |
my return trip you would be certain that I brought it back with me as | 9:12 | |
well because you see a wonderful man in my | 9:17 | |
life that asked me if I would bring him back a rock. | 9:20 | |
Now he could have asked for the moon. But he just asked for a rock. | 9:25 | |
So everywhere I went I picked up a rock and then I lugged them all back. Through customs. | 9:30 | |
You know you cannot travel around Israel without | 9:36 | |
realizing. That Jesus had good reason to use rocks and | 9:40 | |
stones and so many of his | 9:45 | |
illustrations. Israel is a rocky country. | 9:47 | |
In fact. While I was traveling I got thinking about James Weldon Johnson's. | 9:52 | |
Poem that has become the African American Nash. Well anthem and verse to start. | 9:57 | |
Stoney the road we tried. Well Jesus. Fraught over | 10:03 | |
some pretty rocky terrain and. As was his custom he used to | 10:07 | |
illustrate whatever he had which was closest at | 10:13 | |
hand. And so I brought all these rocks back and they now stand each of | 10:16 | |
them for a different illustration or metaphor that Jesus used. | 10:20 | |
One is for the wise man who built his house upon the rock. Another | 10:25 | |
is for | 10:30 | |
Peter. The rock on which the church was | 10:31 | |
built. And yet another one for the child who when asking for bread is | 10:34 | |
not given a | 10:38 | |
stone. And one is for the children of. Of Abraham who will be | 10:40 | |
raised up. Out of the | 10:44 | |
stone. And one is for the woman caught in the act of adultery. | 10:46 | |
Who overheard Jesus say to the angry | 10:52 | |
crowd. You who are without sin cast the first stone. | 10:54 | |
And the most precious one of | 11:00 | |
all. Is for the stone that the builders rejected. | 11:02 | |
The Chief Cornerstone. | 11:06 | |
While walking around the temple ruins I examine those corner stones and. | 11:10 | |
I saw one this large huge slab of Jerusalem limestone. | 11:16 | |
And I began to vision. That cornerstone as. Beautifully human. | 11:22 | |
Perfectly cute. Top and bottom and all the sides that. Complete right | 11:28 | |
angles. And I envisioned it was a pain in the | 11:33 | |
ground and. It was | 11:37 | |
leveled. A string line attaching to it. And every stone that | 11:39 | |
was put upon it was just put on it for support and for measurement. And | 11:44 | |
for direction. I liked that image that was a nice story book. | 11:49 | |
Idea like | 11:54 | |
image. If only I | 11:56 | |
hadn't really read. First Peter. Now what was I going to do with | 11:58 | |
these | 12:02 | |
words. A stone that makes them | 12:03 | |
stumble. And a rock. That makes them fall. | 12:06 | |
When our cornerstone properly steps in a building doesn't make | 12:12 | |
anybody stumble or | 12:17 | |
fall. If I began to | 12:19 | |
think this cornerstone is evidently not. Where it's supposed to be it's | 12:21 | |
off to one side. It's forgotten. The weeds have grown up around it it's still | 12:25 | |
useful. But it is now no longer a building | 12:31 | |
block. It has become a stumbling block. | 12:34 | |
Well that was a troublesome image for me but not half as bothersome as the one that was yet | 12:39 | |
to | 12:44 | |
appear as its cornerstone bumped around in my head. | 12:45 | |
I picked up facts and read about the stoning. Of | 12:48 | |
Stephen. Suddenly I had another image of the | 12:51 | |
use of the stone. For you see the custom in that day for | 12:56 | |
a stoning was that witnesses to the crime. | 13:01 | |
Would take huge rocks and drop them. On the | 13:05 | |
chest of the accused. | 13:09 | |
So I had this vision of someone with a cornerstone standing over their reprobate. | 13:12 | |
And dropping it on here. Or her | 13:18 | |
head. So in addition to my tiny image | 13:22 | |
of a | 13:25 | |
building down. I had to add the probably. | 13:27 | |
Images of a forgotten stone and. An abusive. | 13:31 | |
Stuff | 13:37 | |
for years. The cornerstone has been forgotten. And it's been | 13:38 | |
ignored. The church has existed and grown and | 13:44 | |
thrived but often Jesus. Has not. | 13:47 | |
In fact. A song a protest song of the sixties. Sort of tells it | 13:51 | |
all it's a song that | 13:56 | |
is written as a. Conversation with God about the church. | 13:58 | |
And one of the verses goes like this | 14:03 | |
if. I visited your house again on | 14:08 | |
Christmas or | 14:11 | |
Thanksgiving. And a bald man said you were dead but the | 14:12 | |
house would go on living. | 14:16 | |
He reciting | 14:19 | |
poetry. And that he saw me stand to leave. He | 14:21 | |
shook his | 14:24 | |
head and said I'd never find you there. | 14:26 | |
Well | 14:32 | |
many of us are involved in the practice of | 14:32 | |
a religion must | 14:35 | |
religion. We are Christian | 14:36 | |
in name. But we do not name. Christ. | 14:39 | |
As we move into the twenty first century there | 14:44 | |
are numerous voices that are calling the church back to the business | 14:47 | |
of proclaiming to witnessing. To the saving love of Jesus | 14:53 | |
Christ. We're being called the pick up the cornerstone. | 14:56 | |
What | 15:02 | |
scares me is not that people are being called to lift it | 15:02 | |
high What scares me is what they are doing with it. | 15:08 | |
Once | 15:11 | |
they have it rained during my ministry I have had | 15:12 | |
countless conversations with people who are struggling to overcome | 15:16 | |
the damage that has been done to them. | 15:20 | |
In the name of Jesus. The | 15:23 | |
crime. We can talk | 15:25 | |
to people on either side to any significant debate and they will tell you that they | 15:28 | |
feel abused. For example both extremes of the homosexual. Debate. | 15:34 | |
Have come to me and said to me. | 15:40 | |
They want to kill the messenger. In fact the General Conference I | 15:42 | |
learned that those. Stand in the middle on this is to consider themselves to be a Mill | 15:47 | |
Road at any rate. | 15:52 | |
Feel that they are the most abused. They called in South transforming congregation. | 15:54 | |
And they claim that neither side. | 16:00 | |
Appreciates them their Amis to turn homosexuals and | 16:03 | |
heterosexuals. And they say they are abused by | 16:08 | |
both extremes. | 16:12 | |
Well. Using Christ the cornerstone. To bruise people. | 16:14 | |
I have to tell you is damaging our ability to bring people into | 16:19 | |
the love of Jesus. | 16:24 | |
In our efforts to enfranchise. The truth we | 16:27 | |
are often dipped in franchising those who stand on the periphery of the | 16:30 | |
Christian | 16:35 | |
faith. Funny thing. There is nothing very attractive about a | 16:36 | |
divided people. So clutch. A handful of stones. | 16:40 | |
Bishop | 16:46 | |
William growth from the. Albany | 16:47 | |
area. And the sermon that he delivered on the second day of general conference. | 16:50 | |
Had this to say. The world seeing our divisions. | 16:54 | |
Is not interested in our | 17:00 | |
truths or as someone else. Once said. No | 17:03 | |
one cares how much you | 17:07 | |
know. Unless they know how much you | 17:09 | |
care are feuding is not very attractive. | 17:15 | |
It never was and is never will | 17:18 | |
be the only Christian Church. Didn't | 17:21 | |
receive followers because people could observe how much they knew their | 17:24 | |
followers came to them because they observed. How much they | 17:29 | |
loved. In an effort to do my small part of laying down | 17:33 | |
my handful | 17:37 | |
of stones I decided these two years that I wasn't going to wear any bodies but. | 17:38 | |
A general conference. | 17:43 | |
Now. I confess I did succumb very briefly for a couple hours I was | 17:45 | |
caught wearing a big African university but. | 17:50 | |
I just simply couldn't | 17:53 | |
resist giving tribute to | 17:55 | |
this wonderful program Matic. Outreach. Hard to nomination. | 17:57 | |
But otherwise I didn't wear the button or | 18:02 | |
the pin. Or the ribbons or the flowers. | 18:05 | |
Now many of them made statements that I would like to have | 18:09 | |
made. But not at the expense of joining a camp. And drawing | 18:12 | |
up battle lines. | 18:17 | |
It's amazing how easy it is to get caught | 18:20 | |
up in that damn enough | 18:22 | |
posturing. I remember in one nine hundred seventy five. I travelled to | 18:25 | |
Detroit to attend the C.R. logy in | 18:29 | |
the Americas conference. And I went with that something which people as my | 18:32 | |
late husband Dr Lee Harper. And the light | 18:37 | |
Dr Fred Hertz on. We arrived there. A rainbow | 18:39 | |
of people from all over | 18:44 | |
the America. We were there to learn from | 18:46 | |
Latin | 18:51 | |
American Christians who had suffered under oppression so that we could | 18:52 | |
do theology | 18:55 | |
together. We came there with a unified effort we were going to | 18:57 | |
do theology from the vantage point of the | 19:02 | |
oppressed. But we had no sooner unpacked our suitcases. Than | 19:04 | |
the battle lines were drawn. | 19:09 | |
We had joined into our | 19:11 | |
caucus group. We had developed. Our arguments for why our | 19:13 | |
group was more of pressed than every other | 19:18 | |
group. We had collected our handful | 19:21 | |
of stones. And of course we were pelting them. At white male. | 19:23 | |
That's what we always do. So some of the white males got together. And they joined | 19:28 | |
a caucus | 19:33 | |
group. And they issued a statement the moaning how poorly treated they had been | 19:34 | |
and how they indeed were the | 19:39 | |
most oppressed group present. Well we all laughed. | 19:42 | |
Was great comic | 19:46 | |
relief. But in our laughter. We realized just how | 19:48 | |
foolish how ridiculous we | 19:52 | |
had been. And we began to lay | 19:53 | |
down our stuff. Back in the sixty's there was. | 19:56 | |
A wonderful animated. Sixteen millimeter cartoon film some of you may have | 20:00 | |
seen it it was | 20:05 | |
short. Silent and made a very significant point about hostility. | 20:06 | |
There were these two groups of people that lived on mountains nearby. And they were joined | 20:11 | |
by a | 20:16 | |
bridge. They got into an argument | 20:17 | |
about something. They began to throw stones at each other | 20:20 | |
and call each other | 20:25 | |
names. And the argument escalated to the point where they brought | 20:27 | |
out heavy artillery. | 20:31 | |
And in their warring. | 20:34 | |
Inadvertently blew up the bridge the only | 20:36 | |
source of connection between the two. | 20:40 | |
And at the end. There was a wonderful caption. Splashed | 20:43 | |
across the screen. It | 20:47 | |
said. Is it. Always right. | 20:50 | |
To be right. Indeed. Is it | 20:55 | |
always right. To be right. The only thing that | 21:00 | |
is always | 21:04 | |
right. Is To Love. | 21:05 | |
So what are we going to | 21:10 | |
do with our firm convictions. Our social imperatives our steel logical. | 21:11 | |
Opinions are serious disagreements. Are we | 21:17 | |
going to factor out all the controversy will stop until we come down to the | 21:20 | |
lowest | 21:25 | |
common denominator. Are we | 21:26 | |
going to stand for anything. In our effort to stand for everything. | 21:29 | |
I hope not. About twenty five years ago I stood in | 21:36 | |
a classroom over here and did Divinity School. And | 21:41 | |
I challenge. The editor of our United Methodist publishing house. | 21:45 | |
Being the young. Seminarian ideologues. Idealistic like I was I. | 21:50 | |
I blurted out in a moment of | 21:55 | |
frustration. I said. Mr Watts. I | 21:57 | |
believe we have become so open minded. | 22:01 | |
We have holes in our | 22:04 | |
head. | 22:07 | |
Well what are we going to do. How are we going to align ourselves along the continuum. | 22:08 | |
Of being open minded and single minded. Are we | 22:14 | |
going to suppress every conviction that we have and what are not to | 22:18 | |
argue our way through the next. Quadrennial. Before you | 22:22 | |
answer too quickly. Remember the early Church argued. | 22:26 | |
X. fifteen tells us that Paul and Barnabas. | 22:32 | |
Met up with some folks from. | 22:35 | |
Judea. And as the Scripture says. They had quote. No | 22:38 | |
small dissension and | 22:43 | |
debate. The people from Judea were saying that you must be circumcised. | 22:45 | |
For salvation. | 22:49 | |
Now it may be a moot issue for you but it was a hot one for them. | 22:51 | |
And they debated. | 22:55 | |
Passionately. | 22:58 | |
This year's general conference. Theme. Allowed for | 23:00 | |
disagreement. As a backdrop to everything we do with the. Did with the words of. | 23:04 | |
John Wesley the prescription for the church. In the central. | 23:09 | |
Unity in non | 23:14 | |
essential liberty. In all | 23:15 | |
things charity. But during the second week I | 23:19 | |
overheard someone say. The trouble is we don't agree about | 23:23 | |
essential. And we don't agree about non-essential. | 23:27 | |
And I thought to myself no. The trouble is we don't agree | 23:31 | |
about charity. | 23:36 | |
If we are going to when people bring them into the Christian | 23:39 | |
faith. We have to agree | 23:43 | |
about charity. We have to decide that. We are going to | 23:46 | |
love others whether they agree with UPS or | 23:51 | |
not whether they're right or not. | 23:54 | |
The early Christian church with all of | 23:57 | |
its disagreements. Had instead of | 23:59 | |
them. See how these Christians love one another. | 24:01 | |
Jesus fondest wish was expressed in a prayer. Immediately | 24:08 | |
before he took his disciples on a nighttime walk through the Kidron Valley and into | 24:12 | |
the garden of guest emanating. He prayed for | 24:17 | |
unity. He said I asked not only on behalf of these disciples but | 24:20 | |
also on behalf of all of those who will | 24:25 | |
believe in Me through their | 24:28 | |
words that they may love one another. | 24:30 | |
Whatever else the Christian faith is. It is a communal religion. | 24:34 | |
We are a building. We are stones individual Yes but | 24:39 | |
we are bound together. We depend on one another and together we depend | 24:44 | |
soley for support and direction on the cornerstone. | 24:49 | |
If we are separated off from one another we become. Stumbling stone. | 24:53 | |
When we | 24:59 | |
argue. We're all right but when we separate ourselves we are in great | 25:00 | |
trouble. Recently I discovered a one act play I had never | 25:05 | |
read before. It's written and well was written in one thousand nine twenty by Edna | 25:09 | |
St Vincent Millay. | 25:14 | |
And it's called aria. The capo. It's a tried to comedy with | 25:16 | |
a | 25:21 | |
poignant message. To Shepherds are out in the field | 25:22 | |
watching their flock when one says to the other. | 25:26 | |
Let's play a game. Let's gather it sounds. And | 25:29 | |
build a wall between us. And say. Over there belongs to me. | 25:34 | |
And over here belongs to you. And so they build this wall. | 25:39 | |
They build it. | 25:44 | |
High not over which to see but too high over with the | 25:46 | |
scales. And then as part of their plan. | 25:50 | |
They seem as to how they can outdo the other. | 25:54 | |
Well the plot thickens. When one of the shepherds looks over and see that there is | 25:58 | |
abundant water on the other | 26:04 | |
side. And his side has none. And so he called | 26:06 | |
the cross and asked for water to | 26:10 | |
water ski. But the other shepherd. Spitefully reminds him. | 26:11 | |
Over here belongs to me and over there. | 26:17 | |
To you. | 26:20 | |
Well it's not long | 26:23 | |
before the. Shepherd who has | 26:25 | |
the water looks over. And he discovers that on the | 26:29 | |
other side. There are these magnificent gemstone. And | 26:32 | |
so he decides that he will offer now | 26:37 | |
a trade. Water for Jim. Oh | 26:40 | |
no said jeopardy. Over here belongs to me and over there to you. | 26:43 | |
And he | 26:49 | |
began to dream about what he can have the wealth that he can have from these | 26:49 | |
gems. And he no longer concerned about the thirsty sheep they become just | 26:54 | |
dirty nuisances that are expendable. | 26:58 | |
What is separate with a wine or suggest if you don't want those people not take | 27:01 | |
them. But I don't know. The shepherd with the gems would rather see | 27:05 | |
his teeth. Dived or. Then fall into the | 27:10 | |
hands of his opponent. At the end of the | 27:14 | |
play. The two openly agree on a trade water for | 27:18 | |
jam. And yet secretly they're still steaming against each other. | 27:22 | |
The one with the water put poison in the water | 27:27 | |
bowl. The one with the gems. Trim strings them on a | 27:30 | |
noose like necklace. They decide they're going to make the swap. | 27:34 | |
At exactly the same time so as one cannot. Outdo the other. And so | 27:39 | |
they reach over the | 27:43 | |
wall. And the one with the noose puts it around. The other step | 27:45 | |
with | 27:50 | |
neck. And the one with the water. | 27:50 | |
Gives the ball. To be drawn from. | 27:54 | |
Now the play ends with what should. Have been an act of kindness | 27:58 | |
and cooperation but. In South being a | 28:03 | |
double murder. As the poison. Is drunk. | 28:05 | |
The | 28:10 | |
necklace. Is tight. And the to | 28:11 | |
fall upon the ground dead. | 28:15 | |
Well they wear. What may began as a silly little game. | 28:19 | |
Can become lethal not only to the people that we wall. Out but | 28:24 | |
to ourselves. When we separate ourselves off from one another we become paranoid. | 28:28 | |
When we are separated from one another in a group. We | 28:35 | |
start thinking the sinister things you know this is a plot | 28:40 | |
against me. I thought it happened many times that General Conference over the | 28:43 | |
silliest of things. I got tickled when one of the members of the House Committee penned | 28:48 | |
a little poem it was a spoof. About all the complaints that had come | 28:53 | |
into | 28:57 | |
his office about the problems and. That the different. | 28:58 | |
Delegates that had one of the verses went like | 29:03 | |
this my committee is missing they just disappeared. They're trying | 29:07 | |
to dump | 29:11 | |
me. It's just as I feared. | 29:12 | |
When we separate ourselves off from one another we become paranoid when | 29:15 | |
we draw lines in the sand when we build up walls. When we start | 29:20 | |
thinking of each other as them and us. We wound. One another to | 29:25 | |
say nothing of the thirsty sheep. | 29:29 | |
For | 29:34 | |
the sake of the thirsty sheep who long for the cool living water. | 29:34 | |
Of Jesus Christ. Let's lay down our stones. | 29:40 | |
But stop beating up one another. You can argue that's | 29:45 | |
OK. We're part of the family and families don't always agree. | 29:50 | |
And fact. Scott Peck said people get married for two reasons one to have babies. | 29:55 | |
And to to have | 30:00 | |
tension. It's | 30:02 | |
OK to disagree. What we cannot do | 30:04 | |
is to separate ourselves. | 30:08 | |
Disagreements. Yes. They are a part of the way in which we learn the truth. | 30:11 | |
They are also a part of the way in which we learn to love. | 30:15 | |
So for the next quadrennial let's agree to disagree. | 30:20 | |
It's time to lay down our stones empty | 30:25 | |
our hands. The cornerstone is a stone. Not made | 30:30 | |
for stoning a | 30:35 | |
man. | 30:39 |