or today earlier - and as so often happens, found that I only ended up sharing about half of my prepared text. It seems the Spirit was nudging me towards a deeper reflection on the blessings and hardships of doing church in our tradition: one that is radically democratic as well as committed to discerning the will of God through the body. Not a priest. Not a rule. Not a law... we seek to listen to God through scripture, prayer and participation with the whole people of God in covenant.And by covenant I do not mean the dispensationalism that some consider wise, but rather a dynamic three way vow between God and believers in concert with the living Body of Christ. It is a style of church that is much more interested in discernment than Robert's Rules of Order (as valuable as they may be from time to time.) And it is a commitment born of St. Paul's insight that Christ has come again within and among us as the Living Body we
know as church. In this body not only are all parts essential for health, but the parts that are sometimes diminished or held in lower regard are now given special blessings in the upside down body of Christ.This took us into an extended conversation about how slow our work can be and how sometimes others grow frustrated that all voices have to be honored and heard - especially those accustomed to having their voices listened to because of power or prestige. At the same time we also acknowledged how deeply we own our commitments when we live into the patient promise of this unique charism. All of which moved us into this musical summary of our highest ideals for the body of Christ.
photo credit: ben garver
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