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"I appeal to you brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you may agree with one another, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought". So says St Paul in his 1st letter to the Corinthian church, one of our readings for today.
But that's "pie in the sky" talk isn't it ?
"No divisions" ? "Perfectly united in mind and thought"? There's no doubt that
Paul was a very intelligent man, and he certainly seems grounded in much of his
teaching, but surely this aspiration is a non-starter ?
Surely it's an unreasonable, unattainable objective - we might just as well cry for the
moon - even an ocean of tears will not deliver the moon into our hands, and surely
being perfectly united in mind and thought is about as obtainable as the moon ?
It wasn't so very long ago that we nearly had a crises over what to sit on in church ! So how are we going to unite over anything that may mean even greater change than the colour and substance of our chairs ?
I have to say I don't think there's much hope for the church, either here in Malvern or indeed anywhere else if we're just left to the devices and desires of our own hearts. The lessons' of history, the lessons' of the Bible are quite clear as to the outcome of such misguided belief in ourselves - disaster. The Old Testament is indeed a testament to the wilful neglect of God's purposes by his people, a story of the disasters that befall them, with only the grace of God bringing them back from the brink of extinction time after time. But this grace was unavailable to those who didn't want to receive it, for God never forces anyone to receive him against their will. And so for some, those who didn't want to change, those who didn't want to repent and open their eyes to the Kingdom of heaven, there was only darkness and the shadow of death. And the same is true now.
I think much of the church is passing through just such a phase today. And I think many in the church know very well that the church has entered a time of turbulence, an uncomfortable time, a time when many of it's cherished ideas of what it is and what it's for are being severely tested. It's a tectonic time, the great plates that form the foundations of the church are moving with the result that parts previously hidden and almost forgotten about are being raised up, and others parts currently held high as important and unassailable are being buried.
Not that this movement is due to the will of its people - on the contrary. This movement is, I believe, the work of the Holy Spirit as he moves powerfully within our structures, traditions, teaching and experience to mould and re-create the church that is his body.
The problem is how we respond. We can choose darkness and the shadow of death as we vainly cling to the walls as they collapse around us, or we can choose light. We can choose our own way, or we can choose God's way.
We can choose to follow our own hearts and minds and be forever divided, or we can choose to be united. St Paul concludes his discussion on division within the church by saying in 1 Cor 2v 16 - "but we have the mind of Christ".
Here then is the key that unlocks the closed doors of an individualism that blocks out
God's purposes and grace, and replaces darkness with light and fear with rejoicing.
When we seek to know the mind of Christ above all else, when we long to be one with
Christ more than we desire to stay where we are, when we lose ourselves in him, it's
then that we find ourselves, our divisions diminish, our path forward becomes clear,
dark shadows flee away giving way to light and life.
The only way that the church will survive the shaking of its foundations is if it seeks
with all its heart and soul and strength and mind, to know the mind of Christ.
It has to lay aside all other considerations.
And if you're not sure of what's on Christ's mind, then the fact that St Matthew
places the beatitudes in the fore front of Jesus ministry, right after the calling of the
disciples, tells us something important about Jesus' understanding of his mission.
Read the beatitudes [Mt 5:3-12],from The Message Bible.
Clearly there are many other parts of scripture to be considered too, but the beatitudes are a good place to start. All of our decisions must be made in the light of the mind of Christ - when we do that, we're in with a chance of getting them right.
Listen to what Isaiah says...
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned ...... they rejoice before you as people
rejoice at the harvest... ..you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across
their shoulders..." Isa 9:1 -2
This could well be a picture of the church..... the light that dawns is the light of the
mind of Christ, the yoke of burden is the yoke of human wisdom.
Clinging on to our own piece of beloved foundation stone, we may discover it's
become for us a millstone around our necks. Division is death.
There's only one stone that's important; the one that many builders reject because
they don't recognise it as the cornerstone. They're too busy looking for the stone that
looks most like the one they carved.
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, Jesus Christ is what holds the church together, and the
reason that it's crumbling is because too many Christians have forgotten that.
And as the structures crack and crumble through lack of strength, I'm sure the Holy
Spirit is giving some a helping hand to the floor, while raising up others who thought
they were alone and too weak to survive the shaking.
Jesus said to his first disciples - "come follow me".
He continues to say that to any who would listen to him today.
He calls us to follow him, to become his disciples - why ?
Because he wants us to understand him. His desire is that we might know Him, that
we might be one with Him, and being One with Christ can only happen if we take
enough care and attention to what he is saying and doing, and allow him to transform
our minds into the likeness of his own.
Charles Wesley once wrote "Jesus, confirm my hearts desire, to work and speak and think for thee; still let me guard thy holy fire, and still stir up the gift in me". Only when our hearts desire is to work and speak and think in and through Christ, guarding His Spirit not our own, and allowing him to stir up in us all the wonders of the most Wonderful God, - only then will we become united and build a Church fit for ministry in the 21st century.
Those who seek after their own minds, who put their energies into their own plans and ignore what God is doing, for them a time of darkness awaits as they sit in amongst the rubble and dust of what had become vain idols.
So it's up to us. We are given the choice. Jesus says to us personally and corporately,
"come follow me". It was, and it continues to be, the most wonderful, exciting,
challenging, scary, encouraging, beautiful call, anyone will ever have.
"Come, follow me" means walk with me, sit with me, lie with me, eat with me,
speak with me, sing with me, weep with me, listen to me, challenge me, learn of me.
Come, know my mind, know who I am and what I desire for you and the peoples and
creatures and plants and oceans and forests of the earth.
Don't worry about buildings, don't get anxious about traditions, don't fret over
interpretation of doctrine, don't ever think that I can't cope with your mistakes.
One thing I ask and one thing only, that you come and follow me - and I will lead you
into a city not of rubble and ruins, but one that shines with the glory of God, brilliant
like a precious jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal, walls decorated with every kind of
precious stone, emerald, topaz, amethyst, sapphire, and adorned with pearls and gold.
"This city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. For the glory of God gives
it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Rev 21:23).
We're privileged to be called by Jesus at such a time as this, whatever our age or
circumstance.
It's not an easy time, there is serious work to be done and the outcome in the short to
medium term is far from clear. But we know that God is faithful and we can trust him
in all things, and let's play a full part in the work that God is doing in transforming his
church.
Let's be united and seek together to know the mind of Christ above all things, as we
answer his call.
Ian Spencer
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