Once a parishioner told
me--referring to a statement I had just made--"I hate that
song!" The song to which he
referred was "They'll Know We Are Christians [by our love]. You may know how it goes:
We are one in the
Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
We are one in the
Spirit, we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that
all unity may one day be restored.
Refrain
And they’ll know we
are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know
we are Christians by our love.
We will walk with
each other, we will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with
each other, we will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll
spread the news that God is in our land.
We will work with
each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with
each other, we will work side by side,
And we’ll guard
each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.
All praise to the
Father, from whom all things come,
And all praise to
Christ Jesus, his only Son,
And all praise to
the Spirit, who makes us one.
I think he didn't like the "sappy"
sentiment, because he had seen plenty of conflict in the church. However, the
song may well be parsed as addressing a time when Jesus returns and the stuff
that we have gotten into conflict over will fade away. In the meantime, however, we have a community
to tend and a friendship with Jesus to cultivate or, as St. Paul might say, our
Lord Jesus Christ to put on.
I've grown quite fond of the
writing of a seminary professor and blogger named, Dr. David Lose. Dr. Lose has recently assumed the presidency of
the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. In a commentary on our gospel lesson he urged
preachers to ask their congregation members to think about sort of community
they want to be. Here's how he put it:
"So what kind of community do we want from our congregation -- largely
social, somewhat superficial (which is, of course, safe)? Do we want something
more meaningful or intimate (which is riskier and harder)? Do we want a place
that can both encourage us and hold us accountable? Are we looking for a place
we can be honest about our hopes and fears, dreams and anxieties? Do we want
somewhere we can just blend in or are we looking for a place we can really make
a difference?"
If you take the passage from
Matthew's gospel as a model, the "accountability" peace may be a bit
stronger than most of us would be comfortable with in most circumstances. But Jesus' point is well taken that conflict
between folks in a community can lead to the community coming apart. Better for two individuals--both of whom may
feel sinned against--to listen to each other and try to work things out between
them. One of the techniques used in
mediation of a conflict has one person summarizing the other person's point of
view until that person declares that his opponent has summarized his view
correctly. Then the roles are switched.
The apparent shunning advice that
comes if the offended person and the whole community can't work things out
seems odd coming from Jesus' mouth.
Could he be confronting his disciples' attitudes? After all, Jesus hung out with Gentiles and
tax collectors regularly--including Matthew, himself a former tax
collector. Is he really saying that you
should never give up trying to reconcile with even people you find
difficult? For he goes on to say that if
two of the disciples agree on earth about something on earth, God will honor
their agreement by doing what they ask.
What a radical statement!
And I don't think Jesus talks
like this about getting stuff from God, but rather about how God can work in a
relationship when people have reconciled with one another. Reconciliation in the context of this passage
would be, I think, loosing the bondage of our sins and binding ourselves to
God's way of justice and peace.
St. Paul talks about this same issue
in the letter to the Roman Christians. He declares that in loving your neighbor
as yourself, you will do no wrong to your neighbor. And in doing "no wrong" you will
avoid not only sins of the flesh, but also "quarreling and jealousy." He calls this "putting on the armor of
light" and "putting on the Lord Jesus Christ." We will live in a reconciling spirit when we
"put on" Christ. We will
create a community in which our decision to love others and doing no wrong to
them makes our community a place where we can--in safety--be honest about our
hopes and fears, our dreams and anxieties, to quote Dr. Lose. Yes, a place where we can be both our honest
selves and our best selves, living out our decision to love others and do no
wrong to them.
As fallible human beings, we can
never achieve the ideal of community in which no wrong is ever done. But in the spirit of Matthew's gospel, as
community committed to "putting on" Christ, our community can renew
itself, can tend itself, by seeking always to find out how people who are at
odds with one another can be reconciled.
Perhaps the third verse of the "sappy" song says it clearly
enough:
We will work with
each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with
each other, we will work side by side,
And we’ll guard each
one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.
And they’ll know we
are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they’ll know
we are Christians by our love.
David Lose, “What Kind of Community Will We Be,” Dear Working Preacher, August 28, 2011.
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