Scripture: Psalm 133:1-3
Journal: How do we live together in unity?
Concretely, what does that look like?
Reflection:
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in
unity. It is like precious oil poured on
the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the
collar of his robes. It is as if the dew
of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalm
133:1-3)
I love the description of
what life is like when God’s people live together in unity. It is so rich and beautiful and
inviting. It is so vibrant and healthy
and life-giving. Who wouldn’t want to be
a part of a community like that? The
problem is that the psalm never tells us how to do that. And the how seems to be the elusive
part, especially in this broken and chaotic world. How do we live together in such a way that it
causes God to bestow his blessing, even life forevermore?
Maybe it has something to do
with who we are to be to each other. Maybe
it has something to do with consistently showing up with each other—listening,
being truly present, paying attention, really seeing and hearing each
other. And maybe it has something to do
with creating a place and a space of belonging and acceptance, a safe space
where each of us can come out of hiding and be real and vulnerable with one
another, without the fear of being judged or fixed or attacked or criticized. Maybe it involves a commitment to speak love
into each other’s deepest fears. Maybe
true community is to be a place that creates in each of us a desire to become
more.
But I think that living in
community also involves a refusal to act out of the old self and its
practices (Col. 3:9). It involves a
refusal to attack and criticize and judge.
It involves a refusal to protect and rationalize and defend. It involves a refusal to blame and disparage
and belittle. It involves a refusal to
hide and to cover and to posture. It
involves a refusal to create a narrative for (or about) someone else. It means that we give each other the benefit
of the doubt and refuse to assign motives or intent to someone else. It involves a willingness and a commitment to
take off our old self and its practices, while refusing to try to rip
the old self off of others.
True community is a place
and a space where we are all invited into the beauty and the life and the
abundance of the new. It is a
place where we become—and help others become—our best (truest) selves. Now that really is good and pleasant!
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: O Lord, may the way we live together always
be good and pleasant in your sight, for only then will we be able to experience
life the way it was intended to be.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment