A special welcome to everyone joining us in worship at Kingston today.
Matthew 23:1-12
Piety was once something to aspire to. Now its connotations are a negative. Nobody likes the person who is so heavenly focused that they are no earthly good. Pious people can make us feel un-worthy, judged, un-dignified. They make us feel guilty for some of the things we laugh at, the music we listen to and the movies and TV shows we watch, the people we associate with…
Who needs that kind of burden?
This is one of the reasons I don’t make a habit of wearing a habit. I am not ashamed of my office but I really dislike how people modify their behaviour in front of the reverend. And let’s be real…, I’m not that reverent really! How can a relationship be properly beneficial without transparence and honesty? For Jesus, piety was not a demonstrative discipline to be flaunted for admiration. It was defined by the secret random acts of kindness that often nobody but God see. It is the quiet putting aside the desire for the affirmation of others and reveling solely in the affirmation of God.
Rev. Michael Duke
