With or For The Church of the Reconciler?
“They shall name him Emmanuel which means God is with us.”
“Remember I am with you always.”
“The home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God.”
Book Providence again this week. The kairos of the right book showing up at the ripe time. A jangling event happened at the Church of the Reconciler and I started Samuel Wells A NAZARETH MANIFESTO: BEING WITH GOD.
Wells, former Dean of Duke Chapel, now Vicar of St. Martins in the Fields in London, makes a case for the power of 'with' to describe a life and death that matter: with God and with one another. "We have stumbled on the most important word in the Bible. With is the most fundamental thing about God. It's all in that little word with. God's life, action, and purpose are shaped to be with us."
Wells explores the dance between for and with. A life for others is no slouch. People work hard to provide for their family. Great love goes into preparing a daily meal or special holiday gathering for family and friends. Excellent effort and expertise are exerted to provide quality goods and skillful services for clients, patients, and customers. There is a great heritage of generous giving and service for the needy, less fortunate. Praise God for all God and others do for us and us for them. Yet...
Living life in the for mode can be self-protective, vulnerability avoiding, distance maintaining, even a way to stroke our ego and salve our conscience. With is a little more messy, give and take, level playing field matter. Like God breathing life into mud chunks...
I shudder at the times I missed and messed up with my kids growing up. I was around, in the bleachers freezing and frying for their ball games. With Dianne office-locked with her job, I arranged my pastoral day for as many as three daily car pool drop off/pick ups for the kids. But the really great with times were fewer: occasions things settled down, like the second or third day at the beach when I got just to enjoy and be with them.
Even now when I am gone for a few days, I surely miss the good food Dianne prepares for us, but mostly miss just hanging out with each other. In the busy bee life of a pastor (most any job or profession) the really good with times are when mutual human relationships trump who is in charge.
I am confident that people will continue to give for, do things for, drop off food and stuff for such real, raw Jesus enterprises as the Church of the Reconciler in downtown Birmingham - an organization that is guided by persons experiencing homelessness and poverty. The messy/fleshy sweaty/spiritual thing, however, is being there with people, give and take from both directions. Serving and being served goes both ways. We discover common fears, tears, hopes are with us all. Wells affirms that it is more important to be with people than try to fix them.
So, with God's grace, our self-protection can decrease and self-giving can increase. That grace gives us courage not instead of our fear but in spite of our fear. Several of us are off for worship and the food line at the Church of the Reconciler this morning. Maybe differently dressed, but surely same souled.