Unity
This week's goodness is on Ephesians 4:1-6:
These verses put things in perspective. I was reading them this morning, and it struck me how unattractive the term "prisoner for the Lord" seems. I mean, who wants to show up to church and have to take off their belt and shoes, get wanded in by the ushers and then spend the whole time praying for cigarettes and protection from their lecherous cellmates? But a prisoner in Paul's day was someone under supervision, without freedom. There was no gym, no commissary, no conjugal visits. No TV. It was simple, and their options were limited and defined by their captor. It was not possible to be unaware of your situation. Paul entered willingly into this kind of relationship with God.
But that brings us now to the perspective. Paul is talking about simplicity and being subject to a greater power and then he pivots the discussion to talk about unity. There is only one Church and all Christians are part of it. I believe that disregarding this perspective is what is behind the evils of denominationalism. How many good Christian hours have been wasted arguing how many angels would fit on the head of a pin, or what precisely happens to the bread and wine during the act of communion? Did Christ die for that? Do people beg at the altar to be filled with good doctrine?
Paul tells us to be gentle and humble, patient and loving. If we were like that, churches wouldn't split for reasons better suited to Junior High cafeterias. Are we baptized into a particular color of choir robe? Did Christ die so that we could be free of the company of annoying people? Is our hope and salvation wrapped up in what brand of furnace heats the building, or how casually we get to dress when we're in it? We should be gentle and humble. We don't have all of the answers. Like a prisoner, we've all done wrong things and should humbly keep that in mind. We should be patient, because not everyone learns at the same rate, and loving, because if not for love, none of us could be free.
I believe it is as sinful to cut yourself apart from other Christians or other churches as it is to cut yourself off from your own family or friends. It is rooted in a kind of arrogance, like their company isn't worthy of you, or that your problems are somehow their fault entirely. You're lifting yourself up, putting yourself in a different class, and severing relationship. "I will pretend that the body of Christ only extends to those people I like." Jesus reached out to some pretty wretched people. And there was no shortage of confusion in those days. Do you have better insight and taste than Jesus, or just a worse perspective?
Jesus died for everyone, not just those people you would be comfortable having over to your house. Setting yourself apart is what the Pharisees did. It is the opposite of humility. It is the opposite of compassion. It is the opposite of love. When you decide to form your own exclusive circle of friends who will be more Christian than the other Christians, you're like a monkey who climbs a tree for the purpose of flinging his own dung at the other monkeys. Is that what Christ modeled? Or did he mix freely with the pharisees and the tax collectors, righteous men and the depraved?
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." We have more in common than we think. And in the places where a person or group is in clear error, isn't it better to address it gently in the context of a relationship than to build a wall and fling our dung at them over it? We're part of the same family, even if some of us happen to be the crazy uncles and scandalous cousins of that family.
I get the same feeling listening to Christians complain as I do listening to prisoners. There's a lack of perspective behind it. When I hear prisoners indignantly complaining that they don't like the food, or that they should get more TV, free college, time off for good behavior, etc, part of me wants to shake them and say "Dude! You're a prisoner! That means you're in jail! Look around you! You're here because you did something bad enough that the only choice was to lock you up." And they might respond "Yeah, but all I did was kill a family for crack money. It wasn't my fault. I was high. But these other people are rapists, pedophiles, drunk drivers, and all sorts of people who did things I never did. I don't belong in here with that kind of person and I don't deserve what they deserve." It's a complete lack of perspective, and it's the same thing that warps us as Christians.
In my many years as a sort of part time minister, I've heard all sorts of seething contempt from Christians directed towards other Christians and other denominations. All I can hear are the words of the prisoner: "Well, I never did the things those other people did, so I don't deserve to be lumped in with them." It's arrogance, and it's a wrong perspective. Yes, some sins are more outrageous than others, but sin is sin. Unless Jesus' death on the cross was only enough to cover you, you're in no place to be deciding who is more deserving of special treatment, or who is worthy of your company.
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." As Christians, we all have access to the Holy Spirit, if we want it. Why should we then squabble amongst ourselves as if we didn't? We should make every effort to make peace with each other. When you're with family, isn't it better to put aside your differences and celebrate the fact that you're bonded by love and blood? Do you alone get to decide who is part of your family? Why should we be arrogant enough to believe we can decide who is part of Christ's? If we're family, and I believe we are, we should celebrate our bond of love and blood. Any differences important enough not to set aside should be addressed in relationship, with love and humility, not through arrogantly disowning these other people Christ also bought. There is one God and one Body bought by one Christ on one cross. Let's focus on that.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
These verses put things in perspective. I was reading them this morning, and it struck me how unattractive the term "prisoner for the Lord" seems. I mean, who wants to show up to church and have to take off their belt and shoes, get wanded in by the ushers and then spend the whole time praying for cigarettes and protection from their lecherous cellmates? But a prisoner in Paul's day was someone under supervision, without freedom. There was no gym, no commissary, no conjugal visits. No TV. It was simple, and their options were limited and defined by their captor. It was not possible to be unaware of your situation. Paul entered willingly into this kind of relationship with God.
But that brings us now to the perspective. Paul is talking about simplicity and being subject to a greater power and then he pivots the discussion to talk about unity. There is only one Church and all Christians are part of it. I believe that disregarding this perspective is what is behind the evils of denominationalism. How many good Christian hours have been wasted arguing how many angels would fit on the head of a pin, or what precisely happens to the bread and wine during the act of communion? Did Christ die for that? Do people beg at the altar to be filled with good doctrine?
Paul tells us to be gentle and humble, patient and loving. If we were like that, churches wouldn't split for reasons better suited to Junior High cafeterias. Are we baptized into a particular color of choir robe? Did Christ die so that we could be free of the company of annoying people? Is our hope and salvation wrapped up in what brand of furnace heats the building, or how casually we get to dress when we're in it? We should be gentle and humble. We don't have all of the answers. Like a prisoner, we've all done wrong things and should humbly keep that in mind. We should be patient, because not everyone learns at the same rate, and loving, because if not for love, none of us could be free.
I believe it is as sinful to cut yourself apart from other Christians or other churches as it is to cut yourself off from your own family or friends. It is rooted in a kind of arrogance, like their company isn't worthy of you, or that your problems are somehow their fault entirely. You're lifting yourself up, putting yourself in a different class, and severing relationship. "I will pretend that the body of Christ only extends to those people I like." Jesus reached out to some pretty wretched people. And there was no shortage of confusion in those days. Do you have better insight and taste than Jesus, or just a worse perspective?
Jesus died for everyone, not just those people you would be comfortable having over to your house. Setting yourself apart is what the Pharisees did. It is the opposite of humility. It is the opposite of compassion. It is the opposite of love. When you decide to form your own exclusive circle of friends who will be more Christian than the other Christians, you're like a monkey who climbs a tree for the purpose of flinging his own dung at the other monkeys. Is that what Christ modeled? Or did he mix freely with the pharisees and the tax collectors, righteous men and the depraved?
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." We have more in common than we think. And in the places where a person or group is in clear error, isn't it better to address it gently in the context of a relationship than to build a wall and fling our dung at them over it? We're part of the same family, even if some of us happen to be the crazy uncles and scandalous cousins of that family.
I get the same feeling listening to Christians complain as I do listening to prisoners. There's a lack of perspective behind it. When I hear prisoners indignantly complaining that they don't like the food, or that they should get more TV, free college, time off for good behavior, etc, part of me wants to shake them and say "Dude! You're a prisoner! That means you're in jail! Look around you! You're here because you did something bad enough that the only choice was to lock you up." And they might respond "Yeah, but all I did was kill a family for crack money. It wasn't my fault. I was high. But these other people are rapists, pedophiles, drunk drivers, and all sorts of people who did things I never did. I don't belong in here with that kind of person and I don't deserve what they deserve." It's a complete lack of perspective, and it's the same thing that warps us as Christians.
In my many years as a sort of part time minister, I've heard all sorts of seething contempt from Christians directed towards other Christians and other denominations. All I can hear are the words of the prisoner: "Well, I never did the things those other people did, so I don't deserve to be lumped in with them." It's arrogance, and it's a wrong perspective. Yes, some sins are more outrageous than others, but sin is sin. Unless Jesus' death on the cross was only enough to cover you, you're in no place to be deciding who is more deserving of special treatment, or who is worthy of your company.
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." As Christians, we all have access to the Holy Spirit, if we want it. Why should we then squabble amongst ourselves as if we didn't? We should make every effort to make peace with each other. When you're with family, isn't it better to put aside your differences and celebrate the fact that you're bonded by love and blood? Do you alone get to decide who is part of your family? Why should we be arrogant enough to believe we can decide who is part of Christ's? If we're family, and I believe we are, we should celebrate our bond of love and blood. Any differences important enough not to set aside should be addressed in relationship, with love and humility, not through arrogantly disowning these other people Christ also bought. There is one God and one Body bought by one Christ on one cross. Let's focus on that.
Comments
Post a Comment