A cartoon from some magazine sometime back showed a classroom. On the chalkboard were two words, “ignorance” and “apathy.” Two stoners are in the back row and one looks up at the board with great effort, and with further strain reads the words slowly aloud, and asks his buddy, “what do those words mean?” His friend doesn’t even bother to look up when mumbling, “I dunno and don’t care.”
Malaise is just a cool sounding word, but if you have it, it’s hard to be excited about it.
Dad and I were talking tonight about how agitated so many Christians are about the state of our nation and all up in arms in Tea Party rallies and the like, yet, there are churches protesting “The Response” time of worship and prayer, and the stadium at best looks like it will be 20% full.
A family friend who is a pastor has a great idea for a way to remember the 10th anniversary of 9/11 this year. He is trying to get all of the churches in his county to gather together for a countywide church/prayer service that morning, in lieu of normal Sunday morning services. No sermons, no sectarianism. If you worship Christ, you’re invited. He has gotten a lot of negative feedback and even opposition. “What? You mean no regular services? What about our offering? What about our liturgy? Who will get to speak? How much time will be given to each?” And so on.
St. Paul said,
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
We are the Bride of Christ. We will one day rule with Him. Yet we are all too often more like schoolchildren fighting over which game to play over recess. Then when someone finally tries to take leadership, everyone turns against them, complaining about the choices made and/or stomping away to just sit against the fence in a fit of pique and waste the time until the bell rings and everyone grumbles back to their seats, miserable. That’s a real witness to the joy and power of Christ.
It reminds me of all too many faculty and committee meetings.
It reminds me of what I see coming out of Washington.
Hey, wait. Isn’t that what got us bent out of shape in the first place? We say we can do better, and then we demonstrate that Washington actually does represent us pretty well after all.
SDG
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