The Church According to Jude

Jude 20-23

Jude is often overlooked, tucked there where it is, a kind of a prologue to Revelation, the fiery Steven Spielberg epic with dragons, angels, demons, the Four Horsemen, and all the other blockbuster special effects that make for a great action movie. Jude gets lost. He didn’t have much to say—just a pep talk to a congregation moving along to get along. But as with so many things, slowing down brings things into full view. When we walk by, we see things we miss as we speed by. Sitting still, we hear things lost in the buzz of travel when we are in the rush. The same becomes true of Jude. As he concludes his letter, he admonishes his congregation with a call to step into the presence of God.

Jude clearly reveals that the praxis of faith—practicing the faith in such a way it is not something we do, but something we are—takes hard work, faces some steep climbs, and some sudden plunges as we make our way to the pinnacle of experiencing the fellowship of God. 

Look at the work he describes—slowly.

First step—realize the task.

It is interesting to note how many who walk the path of faith lose sight of what the purpose of that walk is. Here is a summation of the work of the Church—

It is to foment a communal experience of God that leads individuals into a deeper communion with God and one another that calls them into embodied compassion within the world.

This work is what Jude means as he calls his congregation to “build themselves up.” They are to form a community that becomes a communion. A communion is a gathering of souls that become intertwined, interconnected, and interactive, sharing all aspects of one another’s life. We share a mutuality that means no one need suffer alone or in silence. We share a mutuality that means that no one need suffer want or hunger in any of their forms. We commit to walk together, be together, and work together, transforming and transcending our lives as they are.

Second step—pray.

This step is perhaps the most obvious and basic—no work gets done in the Church without deep communication with God. A lot of us are really good at talking to God, but not so much listening for God. Prayer is a conversation—both parties get to talk and both parties get to listen. As we converse with God, we allow God to reveal direction, priorities, and needs. God also identifies gifts, talents, and graces that will make the work flow. As we fall silent before God, we allow God to erase those assumptions, presumptions, and predilections that distract us from the task at hand. We allow God to correct us, focus us, and then implement us as tools for the Kingdom of God.

Third step—stay focused.

Here, Jude gives us two points on which to focus—one for here and now, and one for future pondering. Both are aspects of the same thing—the love that is God. Christ reveals the love that feeds us now, gets us through the present moment, and lays a foundation for all our words and deeds—love that is other-centered and self-emptying. The more we can focus on that love, the more options we find for present living. We find a broader base from which to interact with all the other people we will inevitably encounter every day. We find a foundation for peace, reconciliation, and the mutuality we hope to exist within. We are imperfect. Christ’s love helps us live within imperfection by rooting it in second chances and new opportunities. It opens a whole bank of slots for engagement with others. As we focus on love for the here and now, we begin to build a safe deposit box of hope for the future. If Christ removes the finality of mistakes, missteps, and misdirection, then we know that tomorrow holds mercy. Keep that continually in mind. Allow that to ease fears of tomorrow, to lessen anxiety about all the “what ifs” that so constantly beset us. Focus on God, all else will come into clarity.

Fourth step—accept everyone.

Jude really steps into it at this point, running through a veritable obstacle course of human beings between us and the communion we long to create. What stands most stubbornly in the way of lasting peace? Humanity itself. Over what are we most likely to stumble? Our own feet. Jude offers us help.

First, he recognizes that even in the most profound of fellowships, skepticism and doubt flourish. Human beings live with questions. It is part of our created curiosity. It leads to wondrous peaks of imagination, but it can also drive us crazy as it seems to pull the rug from beneath even the most solid of beliefs. As we seek to experience the love and mercy of God, begin with the wavering. Listen to their questions. Do not dismiss them. They cut a door that leads to new insight or a reconsideration of things that need reconsideration. They may be invitations to explore facets of God that we never before considered. We also may become the instruments of redeeming grace as we answer them, realizing our own experience has grace within it that someone else needs to hear. We may have faced the same or similar questions. We found God, now we have the invitation to share what we found.

Next, he tackles a more troublesome set of people—those headed for a crash. Often the ones headed for a crash are completely oblivious to it. That means they may not welcome someone pointing out the rushing wall rising quickly in front of them. Some of them, though, may have hit the wall and now lie in a heap at the base. Pick them up. They may be crying, whining, and totally self-centered in their pain—deal with it. God deals with us all the time, share that grace. Maybe they just need help recovering, and they are ready for the help. Maybe they can’t see the exit signs—show them. Maybe no one ever taught them how to tie shoes so you don't trip over the laces—teach them. In short, love them.

Finally, he shows the really hardcore cases—the unlovable. You know these people in your life. Here are the real problems. Here are the dark places. Here are the irreconcilable differences. The challenge here is to find peace and an ability to love someone that you cannot really like. This does not mean gathering in a circle to sing “Kum Bah Yah” with your worst enemies, but it does mean finding a way to coexist with them in such a way you can stop hurting one another. There are worse things than divorce. There are worse options than walking away. There are worse things than starting over somewhere else. The goal is to embody the love revealed in Christ that could love even those who crucified him. 

Now you see the work.

This is not going to be easy. It is not going to be quick. It is going to be life itself.

But wait a second—that was the point, right? To make faith practice into faith praxis? 

Here we go, the journey begins.