Togetherness

Last night, we had a wonderful fellowship event at church—a free viewing of Disney’s “Frozen,” a retelling of “The Snow Queen,” by Hans Christian Andersen. We had a cross-generational crowd as congregational grandparents, young families, and some of us in-betweens gathered together. The children sang along with the choruses in the movie. Popcorn and cupcakes were eaten. It was a grand old time.

That was church.

In gatherings such as that, we begin to see what Jesus meant as he sought to bring people into communion with one another. There is a power to connection. There is hope in feeling a bond to other human beings. There is celebration as generations mingle. 

All of which calls into the question the contemporary church’s incessant need to heighten divisions. 

I have to give General Assembly points. Recently, the voted to open the door for gay marriage without hindrance, recognizing that the world has changed, and we need to flow with that change rather than paddle against it. But the GA allowed for those whose consciences compel them (for reasons I do not fully grasp) to refuse to do so. The GA attempted to allow everyone to remain at the table despite not being in agreement on who else should be there, following the example of Christ who welcomed a diverse montage to comprise the 12, some of whom I am sure had qualms about others seated there. But I fear their openness will go unrewarded. Those opposed to welcoming the gay community as the gay community into the confines of Christ’s fellowship seem intent on using the openness as grounds to throw up their hands and walk away from the table. It is akin to the crowd when Jesus refused to condemn the adulteress—rather than drop their stones and sit with Christ, they walked away, unable to accept his acceptance. 

Last night counters that. 

No one worried about who was there, or what the little ones did as little ones, or what else might be happening. For a couple hours, all was well. 

The prayer is for us to take that wellness into the world.

It is that wellness that is our hope. 

As we experience the power of being together, we experience the power of communion to overwhelm, overpower, and overcome divisions. I was struck a few weeks ago by an Op-ed in The Times that opined that peace in Israel has become less viable since the hardline divisions between Palestinian and Israel were literally cemented into place by a wall. Before the wall, both groups commingled, shopping together, eating together, working together, walking together, etc. They knew each other, attending one another’s family gatherings, even funerals, in acceptance that did not look at differences but commonalities. As the tanks rolled into Gaza this week, all the consequences of ending that communion became inescapable. If folks could stay in contact with one another, hope for peace is more real—you cannot really hate a neighbor with whom you shared a family funeral. 

The challenge, then, is to ask ourselves if our divisions are worth it. Are they worth more than peace? Are they worth more than hope? Are they worth more than life itself? 

That last question is the challenge Christ lays before us as he invites us to follow him. What is worth more than being with Christ? Christ offers life, even life that death cannot touch, life that is the Kingdom of God here and now—one wherein we can olive fully and freely as the children of God whom we are. Why we would we do anything that would take that from us?

Experience love, experience peace, experience God.