Really missing my beautiful blogging friend today. Deborah Avila, The Girl with the Pen, from Ye Shall Know Me By My Fruits has been freed from a body that was totally incapacitated. Her poetry touched me deeply. This poem especially. She sings.
Facts: It’s -20, still snowing and I spent yet another night exercising my abs with a cough that refuses to submit to mind-fogging cough suppressants.
Reality: Spring is coming and poppies will bloom again. God is good and I choose to remember His benefits by re-blogging a photo of these glorious flowers.
Sometimes the organizations we form to celebrate connections end up separating us.
I realized this in the first grade, the day our friend Diana showed up at school after lunch with her short pixie cut hair full of bobby pins trying desperately to hold tiny braids together. It looked ridiculous. Earlier that day four or five of us were walking arm in arm in arm as little girls do, in a kind of six year-old chorus line. We were members of the French braid club. We had all worn braids that day and formed a band of sisters on that basis. I hadn’t noticed until Diana returned from lunch, that our basis for commonality excluded a sweet girl we all loved.
I think denominations are like that. At first we are excited about finding we share common beliefs with…
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.
– Hannah More
Note to self: And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:2,3)
“We need to be trued,” she said.
“Trued?” I asked.
“Trued,” she said. “It’s an old construction word meaning everything has to be in line before you can build on it.”
I called a dear older friend yesterday to tell her an event had been re-scheduled. She has just come back from spending several weeks alone, resting in the Lord.
“I’m so glad you called! Let me get my notebook. I thought this was just for me, but the Lord said it’s for more than me. It’s for you. It’s for His church.”
When she came back and picked up the phone this is part of what she said:
“We are the temple. We are the living stones and Christ is the cornerstone, yes? Well, we need to be careful that our foundations are true to the cornerstone. We all need to be in alignment with Jesus Christ. It won’t do to get in line with whatever stone you are near hoping they are true. Every stone must be trued with the cornerstone.”
“He is talking to me about stones,” she went on, “About cobble stones, about building stones, about precious stones, about polished and engraved stones, about prospecting for gold nuggets the size of eggs. This is a season of building. Personal building first — then building together — but we must become true to the cornerstone and nothing but the cornerstone.”
I remember a hugely impressive stone I saw a few months ago. We stood in a tunnel under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and touched an enormous stone about 11 1/2 feet high and 41 feet long. They called it a “master course stone” and it was a foundation stone for the western wall of the temple area where Jesus was brought as a baby, where his parents found him talking to the learned men while still a child, where he drove the money-changers and merchants out, where he taught, and where he wept when he saw its future. This stone was so perfectly dressed, with every tiny bit of extraneous rock chiseled off, that no mortar was needed to hold the massive walls and buildings together (we were told the temple was probably three times taller than the Dome of the Rock which dominates the Temple Mount now) but this also made it possible for the Romans to dismantle the temple in 70 A.D. just as Jesus predicted. The old temple was torn down within a generation of his resurrection. God doesn’t live there anymore; the dwelling place of God is now in mankind -his adopted sons and daughters.
The stone we stood beside sat on bedrock and was almost as big as a bus, but when it was laid even this giant master course foundation stone had to be moved and adjusted until it was in perfect alignment with the cornerstone.
Another illustration of being in alignment came through Susanne who commented on an earlier post this week. She included this quote:
“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
These words written by Mr. Tozer reminded me of this story:
I once sang with an amateur orchestra made up of members with widely varying skills. (It included a gracious group of experienced musicians who mentored young players.) At rehearsal I found the tuning somewhat disorienting. As I walked across the stage in front of the orchestra pit (it was a concert of scenes from opera) I could hear the pitch gradually rise slightly from one side to the other. This was the problem: the young musicians tuned to each other rather than to the piano which was on stage right. (Since a piano was included in the work and its pitch cannot be easily changed, the instruments needed to tune to it rather than the oboe this time.) At any rate, the concert master rushed in, having arrived late, and picked up the problem with a discerning ear honed by years of experience. He supervised the re-tuning of the instruments and everything was back in order.
Both stories give the same message. When the stones are all lined up with the cornerstone the building has integrity and stability. When the instruments of the orchestra, which all have their unique qualities, are tuned to the same pitch, even though each instrument plays a different part, the result is harmonious unity. When the Church, the universal Church, is in alignment with Jesus Christ, our cornerstone, we are in alignment with each other. We are in tune with each other. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the Lord.
The Church is not a man-made edifice, nor is it a group of people aligned to a particular doctrinal emphasis or administrative style or methodology or personality. The Church is the body of Christ with all of its members intact. The Church is me and the Church is you trued to Jesus Christ.
The Church is Christ in me and Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The Church is made up of living stones with Christ as its head -an organic, breathing, growing and moving force of love against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.
You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”
And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. ( 1 Peter 2:4-9)
We are obviously not in unity of the faith yet. We need each other, because going it alone is a sure way to lose perspective. We need the concert masters who are part of the orchestra (and not soloists!) who can keep us tuned to the Maestro/Master Musician and in time with Him, so we will be in tune and in time with each other. We need the whole orchestra playing together without rivalry over which section is the greatest. We need the builders who keep their eyes on Christ and help us stay true and in line with Him, (and not themselves!) because Jesus showed us who the Father really is.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16) (emphasis mine)
I usually walk along the dirt road that runs beside the edge of the little lake. But this week the lake was frozen so I walked on the other side, on the lake itself. I have often tried to take photos from the road, but it’s hard to get down to the water’s edge. There are thick brambles and bushes growing along the shoreline. This time I saw the thicket from the other side and realized I had to walk quite a distance before finding a break the width of a snowmobile to get through. I wanted to walk back on the road. I had a completely different perspective of a familiar place as I walked on the lake ice. It made me think about the jokes about walking on water (when the water is quite solid in this part of the world this time of year.)
The thought came: The thing about walking on water is that you have to get out of the boat.
Something else happened yesterday that caught my attention. It was a minor thing, really. I was invited to join a group that prays for a person whose books and ministry I admire. They arranged for a meet-and-greet type of conference call and I was looking forward to making new friends. When I called the number a recorded voice said that number could not be reached from my location. I tried several times. Same result.
I haven’t verified it, but I assume the problem is that I live on the other side of the border from the people hosting the call. It’s frustrating sometimes but we are accustomed, living so close to the USA, to receiving offers on TV and other media that are not actually offers. They are not valid for us. There are 800 numbers we can’t call, videos on the ‘net we can’t see, books and other materials that can’t be shipped across that line.
I thought about the Ktunaxa people who have inhabited this valley for centuries. The valley here, between the Rockies and the Purcells, runs north/south. The western and central border between Canada and the USA, with a few exceptions, is a straight line drawn from the Lower Mainland to the Great Lakes. It did not take into consideration that it would divide a first nations group with common language and culture and cut them off from each other.
My emotional reaction to the inaccessible conference call was out of proportion to the event. These are lovely people who certainly didn’t suddenly pull in the welcome mat. There will be other opportunities to connect. But my embarrassing feelings prompted me to ask the Lord what he was trying to show me here. That’s when it all came flooding in and I wept as I felt His heart.
So often people are cut off from each other in the big C church -the universal church, the ekklesia, the called out ones. We have been cut off by man-made borders and administrative divisions. These borders act like the hedge of thorns around the lake and keep us apart and from accessing what each side has to offer the other. Someone explained to me once that in the way a trellis is meant to support the vine so it might grow and flourish, an organizational structure in the church is meant to support the healthy growth of its people. When the vine is putting the bulk of its energy into supporting the trellis, it’s time to make changes.
In the past few months I have been running into rules and regulations in various denominations that, while preserving the integrity of the structure, do not promote love and connection between all the members of the body of Christ. Like the berms that were meant to protect the city of High River when the flood waters came, instead the rules have served to keep the stagnant water in, and those who wish to bring help out.
At its roots Protestantism was based on protest over doctrine. I believe sound doctrine is extremely important, but sound doctrine states that without love there is no sound doctrine. Denominational lines start forming around people who have something in common, but within a generation or two the habit of protest becomes evident as they assert their differences and proudly glorify themselves like Junior High students at a pep rally chanting “Colonel Irvine is the best!!!” (yes, my Junior High was called Colonel Irvine) “And we are going to beat the pants off the rest of you!”
Lines draw by men cut off communication. Even if you agree on essentials of faith, if you are not a card-carrying, tithe-paying member of a denomination you are not fully accepted. It feels like rejection. The message perceived by “outsiders” is: You are not one of us.
As I walked along the lake, cut off from the road by the thicket it reminded me of the way the church, at least in my town, functions. There are points of contact, but they are few and far between. We are like the Ktunaxa – one tribe, one people- but artificial lines have cut us off from each other. I felt the Father’s heart grieving over this artificial separation and I wept. I love His church, His whole church, and not just one self-protective isolated part of it. This is not the way it is meant to be.
Sometimes following Jesus means getting out of the boat.
Jesus: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34,35)
I didn’t intend to. In fact the only reason I went out with this guy, who was persistent enough to ask eight times, was to prove to him that we had nothing in common and that it would be colossally boring.
It wasn’t. He talked to me like I had a brain. All my male friends were boys I had grown up with; this was a man. That fact was kind of intimidating so I said goodnight and that was that. But…..later I needed an escort to a posh event with the opera company I was a part of and none of my male friends would be caught dead in a place like that. I was desperate so I asked him, and he obliged. One of the women at the reception asked me how I snagged a “gold key blazer man.” I didn’t even know what that was, but the fact she was impressed made me look again. He drove me home and we sat in the car and talked for hours. We went out several times after that. He bought me expensive gifts. He took me to fine restaurants. He introduced me to his friends who were in a different world than mine.
On Boxing Day, all those years ago, my brother and I were at our grandmother’s house. I remember being a bit of a grouch and not wanting to join in the usual annual family crokinole tournament. I overheard him ask Grandma, “Sheesh. What’s the matter with her?”
“Nothing,” Grandma said. “She’s just in love.”
I was a bit annoyed and then I realized, Oh my goodness! She’s right! I miss him and I would rather be with him than with my family on Christmas! Oh, no!
The “Oh, no!” was because I knew this demanded a response and would change my life and mess with my plans.
It did. But in a good way.
We’re still together and we still talk and talk on long drives to visit our grandchildren.
In the Bible God often uses the image of the bride and the suitor -in Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Hosea, and again in Revelation where He talks about returning for his bride.
I remember singing this old carol with a small ensemble in a concert once and the bass protested that He had no idea what the words meant or how it related to Christmas. Men sometimes have difficulty with the whole concept of being the object of God’s pursuit. Some of them become quite angry at songs they call “Jesus is my boyfriend songs.” My husband says it’s because men like to see themselves as the one who initiates. (I think the Lord obliges and uses other human experiences like Father/son and shepherd/lost sheep as well.)
The bride image is one I understand though. I hear the Lord throwing little pebbles at my window in the night and softly singing, “Come away with me.”
This ancient Cornish Christmas carol, “Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day,” reminds me that everything he did, from laying down his right to be recognized as the king of the universe, to washing the feet of his disciples, to laying down his life and conquering death was to pursue us and invite us to dance with him -because He is in love with us.
Mother and Child Hooked rug by Margaret Forsey of Newfoundland
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you.
Mary did you know that your baby boy will make a blind man see? Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.
The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again. The lame will leap, the mute will speak, the praises of the lamb.
Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.
Charis: Subject to Change 