Given by Neal Washburn August 29, 2021
Everyone has traditions they follow. Traditions are not laws but rules/rituals we follow. Traditions are past down from generation to generation. They are open to interpretation by individuals on how they are followed. Traditions can be welcoming or they can be alienating. Each new generation decides whether to strictly follow the tradition or change it. Jesus shifted traditions. He did things like healed the sick on Sabbath, associated with sinners, and ate with unclean hands. He and the disciples were flipping the script on traditional activities. The Pharisees were so concerned with the law that they became blind to the spirit of the law. Sometimes, after an unfair law is changed, the traditions that went with it, stay. This occurred when slavery was abolished. The tradition of discrimination and oppression continued under the “Black Codes”. Women and the LGBQ+ community also faced unspoken traditions of discrimination and oppression. It is not enough to be against racism and inequality. We must be actively supportive in erasing these traditions. We must look inside ourselves to make sure old traditions are not lurking there. The greatest commandment is to love God and the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the greatest tradition.
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