Part of today's piece from Stanley Hauerwas' work made it into my sermon a few weeks ago. It is really thought provoking (his piece that is).
By being that kind of community (that is the "church") we see that the church helps the world understand what it means to be the world. For the world has no way of knowing it is world without the church pointing to the reality of God's kingdom. How could the world ever recognize the arbitrariness of the divisions between people if it did not have a contrasting model in the unity of the church? Only against the church's universality can the world have the means to recognize the irrationality of the divisions resulting in violence and war, as one arbitrary unit of people seek to protect themselves against the knowledge of their arbitrariness.
When our witness is one that brings together the entire spectrum of people among us (think wider than wide and higher than high) the world begins to look out of touch with the wonder of God's gift of life that spread over all humanity. The church is the contrary vision that is alive. The church is the agent that pulls the world into a new light. Now...are we this church alive and pointing to the reality of God's Reign?! That is why we constantly pray: "your kingdom come, you will be done." We are being invited to be exactly who we are as ones who are called followers of Jesus - the church. As we can expect, this does not mean that people will understand or go along with the way we lead. And yet, we must lead...we must care for the world...we must let our light shine...we must be how the Reign of God is demonstrated in terms of real life within real communities that reflect the universality of God's image.
Connection: Wow...what a day we have before us as the church alive in this time!
Be for us our guide and strength, O God. Be for us our backbone and our confidence...our imagination and our practical embodiment of your Reign. Praise to you for this new day in the age of your coming Reign. Amen.
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