I have enjoyed attending church
in Northern Ireland for many a year.
Nothing engages with me more
than seeing the vicar squirm
when he is given the reading
where Jesus says to those present
'Let him who is perfect cast the first stone',
particularly when that text comes up
during 'The Marching Season'.
It is a fascinating time for such a text,
a time when those who are not stirred to march
whilst playing intimidating military 'music'
often choose to riot instead,
until calm is restored much later.
That is 'community' here.
The point that fascinates me most
is to check how quickly the sermon
will seek to move the congregation
well away from the life around them
because it embodies a local politics
that they know selfish and disruptive
sufficient for Jesus to disown them.
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