Last night I made a cynical statement with a selfish spin. It went something like this: “That’s ok; the more parents repress children, the more folks I’ll have in therapy as adults.” Many around me found it funny, but the joke was my way of handling the sad reality that congregants really do not understand the role of preaching and pastoral care.
The joking comment came up in a discussion of the pastor’s sermon on Rahab, the woman who helped Joshua and the spies defeat the city of Jericho (Joshua 6). The problem is Rahab is called a prostitute in the scripture. [Some translations use “harlot,” but it’s no less difficult a concept.] Some parents were concerned that they had to explain the word prostitute to their children. While I don’t envy them that task, I understand the importance of preaching about reality from the pulpit. If we cannot expect to hear the truth about the ugliness of life —and God’s love for us in the midst of it—in church, where will we hear it?
It is a great comfort to me that the Bible deals with real life. It’s sad that thousands of years later some of God’s children must support themselves as sex workers. I guess that’s what really bothers me. I’m not concerned that a preacher might say the word prostitute from the pulpit, but I’m concerned that the work is a reality for so many people. It would be wonderful if we could tell children “that’s a very difficult job (hard physical labor) that people used to do when they had no other way to earn a living.”
It’s also a great comfort that we pray to the Incarnate One, who understands the limits and benefits of a body. Jesus Christ understands our pain and knows the extremes that can be endured. It’s also a comfort to me to have ministers who are willing to preach God’s word, even when some of the language is difficult to hear. Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31b-32).
So, let us dwell in the word and know the truth, being free to speak that truth as well.
