ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
May 3, 2022
Tonight, there is pain in the Body, the Body of Christ. There are moments when part of the Body breaks off, spends time in the desert, and then later returns with a heavy and contrite heart in the realization of just how wrong it was. History has shown us this movie way too many times, yet we remain incapable of learning anything. They say, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” and sadly, it is the historians who see rather clearly the avoidable tragedy in the making, yet no one will listen.
Let’s be honest, the church might be the absolute worst when it comes to paying no attention to its history or even the message that gave it life. The scriptures are filled with the word “remember,” and sometimes it is an invitation to remember one’s historic pain as a doorway to greater compassion; sometimes it is a reminder of God’s immeasurable grace in another time, yet a grace that is the same yesterday, today and forever; sometimes it is a reminder of sin that led to the suffering of others, but with a merciful invitation to learn from it and never repeat it. In the last week, I have watched the church fail at all three. We can do better! We must do better! God sort of expects us to do better. Who is in?
We always need your help, O Gracious God, but we might need a bit more help than usual right now. By faith, we believe it is already present, so the need is really for us to make a way for your help, sort of like a way in the desert where the mountains are made low and the valleys are lifted up, where the uneven roads are made smooth and the crooked paths made straight. Your help is there, and we are ready to make a way. Amen.
