Fellowship

"... if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..." (1 John 1:7).I feel a bit of a rant coming on...you have been warned!

We all know the nation is divided politically (and no, I'm not going to dwell on politics), that "left," "right" and "middle" can't seem to find ways to get along. No one can seem to find ways to even talk to one another, let alone work together. There are lots of candidates promising lots of things, most of which they will never be able to deliver, and people are lining up along partisan lines, ready to go to war against each other. Even now, as I sit here in my "other office," voices are getting loud across the room and it's about politics.

At least we don't have any division in the church.

Yes, that last sentence was sarcastic because as divided as the culture has become, the church is even more so. In fact, we have led the way in many ways. We argue over modes of worship and modes of baptism. We fuss and fight over roles in the church and whether or not we should raise our hands or speak in tongues. We divided over minor details of theology that most people don't even understand.

And all the while, we forget that we are in fellowship, like it or not, with anyone who follows Jesus. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we are in fellowship with one another. We are brothers and sisters. Or, as John Wesley put it, if your heart is as mine, give me your hand. We cannot all agree, but we can all love. (It's not up to us to sort out all the ways we are each wrong theologically anyway—as I understand it, that's God's job!)

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. As a kid growing up, we did not observe Ash Wednesday in my home church, but we did do Lent. Sort of. We at least changed the color of the altar decorations (paraments) to purple. And we had Lenten breakfasts with fellow churches. But over the last thirty years, Lent has become a very important discipline in my life. I don't get into the "giving up something" myself, but I know for many that is helpful. For me, Lent is about taking forty days and focusing on the cross, preparing my heart and life to really grasp the love of Christ demonstrated on the cross. Lent is a powerful time for me, different every year, but still powerful.

So yesterday, in between burning the palms to make ashes and applying them to our heads, I came across a sarcastic post on Facebook by a Christian author and blogger (when did "blogger" become a job title or a position of authority...but I digress) that said, basically, people who observe Lent aren't really following Jesus. To be a real Christian, this post said, is to forego Lent and do what this blogger believes is best.

What rank spiritual arrogance!

And yet, I've heard it in many quarters lately. "I don't do it your way, I do it the Spirit's way," which is basically a way of saying, "I'm going to do it my way and blame the Holy Spirit." Do you remember what Paul says in 1 Corinthians? Paul is giving instructions that appear to be contrary to what was being taught in Corinth. Whomever was doing the teaching was claiming they had a higher revelation, or at least a better or newer one, and so Paul gives his correction and then (sarcastically?) says, "and I think that I too have the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 7:40). We can infer that those who were bucking Paul's authority were claiming to have the Spirit on their side, and perhaps even claiming Paul did not.

Spiritual arrogance causes us to claim we alone have the power and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, when in reality the only person who knew that for sure was Jesus. Spiritual arrogance causes us to discount other believers only because we disagree with them. Spiritual arrogance causes us to claim that we alone are correct, we have the only right interpretation and we alone are led by God. And yes, I have heard Christians claim exactly that.

And all the while, John tells us that we are to have fellowship with anyone who walks in the light of Christ. He does not say we have to agree. We're just called to love one another and trust that they, too, might have the Spirit of God.

Well, perhaps this is enough ranting for today. Some thoughts on why Lent has been important to me and other matters of spiritual unity can come in a later post...