Have you ever taken the time to read The Song of Solomon? It is sultry and sexy. For instance, 1:9-14 says, “I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. Your cheeks are comely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels. We will make you ornaments of gold, studded with silver. While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance. My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of En-gedi.” In addition to many passages like the one just mentioned, the book ends by talking about the size of the breasts of two different women. I would be willing to bet most of us have never heard a sermon on The Song of Solomon. In addition to this entire book that no doubt makes some of us slightly uncomfortable, did you know there are 119 Bible verses that talk about sex? Yet, sex seems to be a topic that is off limits to discuss from the pulpit.
Another one of those often off-limit topics is money. Tithing (every once in a while) is ok, or speaking about generosity is within our realm of comfortability, but too much talk on money is not really encouraged. Did you know that 2,350 verses in the Bible discuss money, but most pastors only preach about it a couple times a year? (I am guilty of that!)
There is another topic that some deem inappropriate for the pulpit, and that is politics. There are 10 passages that directly mention government and numerous stories that speak to God’s people and their response to earthly authority. But again, for some reason, we are bold and saying, politics and religion should not go together. To an extent, this might be true. Earthly politics should not use religion to govern all people. That is not a just system for a nation with people from all backgrounds and beliefs. However, your personal politics and how you respond to them should be informed by your religion. In this case, I will remind us we are followers of Jesus Christ.
Andy Stanley laid a challenging word before us in 2019 in a sermon titled, Money Talks, “Until Jesus is first in your finances, Jesus isn’t first. You’re not a follower. You’re a user. And Judas tried that.” This can be translated into every area of our lives. Yet we tend to compartmentalize which area we as a church should allow Jesus to lead us in, but this was not always the case.
From the beginning of the life of the church, all things were discussed. You can find that truth in the New Testament following the birth of the church in Acts. Sex, money, sacrifices, idol worship, government, and the Christian response to them were not off limits. Over time, certain topics have slowly made their way out of the pulpit, because people have deemed them divisive or inappropriate, and/or they have been used in some manipulative ways. If you look at the history of the church and all the conflicts that have taken place at the hands of the church, the blood that has been spilled and the harm that has been done, you can sum it up with three categories: sex, money, and politics (or power). This also happens to be the three major reasons for divorce. Perhaps we should never have stopped talking about those things from the pulpit. Instead, we should have just started talking about them in ways that were honorable and true to God’s word. By no longer preaching on all aspects of our humanity, we have given people permission to not let Jesus in every area of our lives. The church has thus become irrelevant and full of hypocrisy.
You and I know that is not the truth. You and I know that Jesus Christ is not only relevant but necessary for this life and all who live it. However, not everyone knows that. It is up to us in communion with the Holy Spirit to share that with others. It is up to us to speak up and out, loud and clear about what the love of Jesus means and what it looks like to follow him. Sex, money, politics, they are a part of our world, thus Jesus is relevant within each of those spaces. Scripture tells us Jesus has something to say about those things and so should we. How will people know, if we don’t share that truth? How will people know if we don’t show up? How will people know, if we don’t preach on all these things that Jesus cares about? To say, they don’t belong in church is to say God doesn’t care about them. It is at church we find meaning and guidance in how to live as followers of Jesus. That is our mission, “Make disciples of Jesus Christ for the TRANSFORMATION of the world!” Amen!
From one light to another,
Pastor Hannah
Photo by Alison Curtis