Thoughts from Culhwch

Last night I continued writing on my recent theme of sin and community. But I wonder if there’s more I can say on that topic. Ryan pointed out that maybe this topic has something to say about the divisions of the church, so I think I’ll explore it a bit.

I find that I seem to have many different feelings on the current state of the church. I suppose my feelings shift around in various ways. But I think we must all cling to some kind of vision of the Church’s reconciliation. I’m not calling for an end to denominations, though I might eventually come to such a position, but I am sure that we as Christians must learn to work together for the spread of the gospel, that as long as we persist in cutting short our ministries because of disagreements, both minor and major, we ultimately fail to accomplish the work set before us.

So the question is, how does Christ’s suffering, both for other churches and for my own (though there is only one Church) unite us?

In the first instance, it means that Christ’s death covers the sins of my church and my neighbor’s. It means that whatever shortcomings cause us to stumble along the way have been covered by that atonement. I cannot say of my church nor of my neighbor’s “You are too sinful to be counted among Christ’s children.” For wherever Christ’s sacrifice has begun the process of reconciliation, I encounter not human failing but God’s power being “made perfect” in our weakness. Whereever brother’s and sisters meet in Christ’s name, Christ too is there. Therefore, just as to deny that God is at work in my brother, is to deny Christ,  likewise, to deny that Christ is at work in my brother’s congregation is to deny Christ.

But Christ is not only at work in my congregation, and in my neigbor’s, but also between our congregations. This means that the sins that we have committed against each other, that I have committed against my neighbor’s congregation or likewise his against mine, have also been covered by Christ’s sacrifice. If we relate to each other then, upon that common ground which is Christ himself, then we have Christ calling us together, taking upon himself the ways we persecute one another, the ways we hold each other back, the ways we feel persecuted, the ways we feel held back.

All this should change the way we view our fellow believers. For not only did Christ suffer for us all, he also taught us to lift up those who persecute us. At the same time, we learn to be weary lest we persecute others.

Finally, in any relationship on earth we are aware of the mis-steps and the times we, sadly willingly, harm one another. But this suffering Christ teaches us not only that we have been forgiven, He also teaches us to forgive, and then gives us the ministry of reconciliation. How do we respond? I think we lift one another up in prayer, realizing that what we pray for we are likely also called to be integral in meeting that need.

If we are to come together as one Church, it is through not only the shared sense of Christ having suffered and died to forgive us, but also through the Christ who has suffered and died to heal the divisions between us.

Thoughts?