Within the Church communication and conflicting about anything thought important is very difficult. But I recently experienced in the middle of this conflictual moment something originating in another world. Saturday of last week I had a long two hour conversation with a very lovely disciple of Jesus who disagrees with me about the political world but who desperately wants to announce “nothing but Jesus and him crucified.” We sat together for two hours “in the name of the Lord”, asking for his presence. It was conflictual, respectful and absolutely lovely. It was more than “iron sharpening iron.” It was Jesus sharpening both of us-sculpting again our images into his image. I was way better after this time with her. I was blessed.
I saw Jesus above all the powers. I experienced again the immersion of the Spirit of God in the world. I became a disciple again. Saturday at the end of the conversation we celebrated the Lord’s Supper and the miracle of Jesus happened again. It was the eternal Gospel working in two people who live in a culture of false gospels-a culture of more heat than light-of more hate than love-of way more blue and red than Jesus. I was moved again to know Jesus experientially, movingly, primally.
The two of us on Saturday afternoon, according to the world we live in presently, could be described as a very odd couple. The colors did not match-blue and red. But something was happening in the heavenlies. His light changed our colors. We were defined by someone before, and beyond this moment or this country. The colors in the room changed-not because our views changed but because Jesus was prayed back on the throne in us and over us. I do not find this Unity of the Spirit enough in the church these days. But I hold onto Saturday afternoon. For Saturday I know we experienced a culture crossing into a much harder, bigger and glorious world. We moved away from the false political Gospels – fraudulent ways of describing what is wrong and who or what might deliver us all and make things right.
Various versions of a uniformity Gospel, easily threatened and combative when questioned persist stubbornly. While uniformity as a political and theological doctrine is universally condemned it is nevertheless, universally practiced. Yet uniformity has no future. When Christ fills all in all it will be His unity– all cultures, politics, theologies and ethnicities coming together in a new heaven and a new earth. Even then we will vigorously disagree and argue and want to run out of the room. But the Glory will change our colors. There will be nowhere else to go; no place to hide from the Glory of God and no place to hide from each other.
So what about now? Let me be perfectly clear, my discernment on the world I see right now has not changed. I will continue to speak out and it may upset some. You may speak your mind and upset me. That is just part of the deal. I know I will still be the same old heretic.
But when I submit this dispute to scripture’s revelation it appears to me that our disagreements and arguments today are like the ones in Rome long ago-utterly insoluble-no agreement possible. So what on earth are we to do? “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you in order to bring praise to God.” End of story!