Faith Mutters Word or Phrase For the Week: SIMPLE Love your neighbor as yourself and love God above all others. Isn’t that as simple as: be good, be nice, be fair? Every faith, Christianity included, can be easily summarized with a few words. Maybe toss in something a child would understand—like a story about a happy birth in Bethlehem or sing a verse of Jesus Loves Me—to add oomph to your description. But simple sours if loving your neighbor means seeking to give, or receiving forgiveness from, someone you despise. Loving God doesn’t feel simple when your daily spiritual disciplines become as helpful as spooning air into your parched mouth. Faith in action is simple, but never simplistic. Each day that we grow in faith is a gift; each day involves struggle.

What is FAITH MUTTERS?

Religion is weird. Though Christian, I am confident all faiths are equally "weird." If someone asked two Muslims to explain the Five Pillars of Islam I wouldn't be surprised if the answers sounded like there were six or seven or even ten pillars. Quiz two or more Christians about Jesus' virgin birth and I'll bet there will be contradictory explanations. One person's conclusion can be another person's confusion.

However, the weird words of religions are also (if weird's letters are slightly rearranged) a way of understanding how each faith is wired.

A Christian is "wired" to view the Bible with two testaments. A Jew might think that "weird."

With Faith Mutters, I will endeavor to "define" words I use or misuse in my And Yet reflections. Or maybe, on some weeks, I'll just randomly choose a weird word I've heard or read and share a real (or imagined?) explanation. However, there are two words/phrases I will always have on the Faith Mutters page: Lectionary and And Yet. Both may be "weird" for first time readers. And, anyhow, all of it is just me trying to mutter a few feeble words of faith.

What is The LECTIONARY?

“Generally, a lectionary is a list of scriptural texts (called "lections") recommended for use in worship or study on a particular day. Christian lectionaries are usually built around the Church Year, but they are sometimes centered on the secular calendar (as with programs that guide a person through reading the Bible in a year). Christian lectionaries generally include a reading from the Hebrew Bible, a Psalm, a reading from the Epistles, and a Gospel reading.”

(That quote is from the VANDERBILT DIVINITY LIBRARY. Visit ‘em . . . it’s a great resource.) Two other excellent resources, with abundant and eclectic lectionary material are TEXTWEEK and DEACONSIL.COM.

I use the lectionary as a direct or indirect inspiration for my And Yets. Click on the highlighted scripture(s) if you wish to read them.