My favorite quote of Dietrich Bonhoeffer might be the one found in Life Together where he says, “Christian brotherhood is not an ideal we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” I am learning from a lifetime of church work that while we can’t manufacture true community, we can begin to live into it. In fact, we must. This is the participation in the life of God that the table invites us into.
For community to be real, our focus must be on what pulls us forward and binds us together, not what we disagree on. This is hard right now. When we come to an impasse, the call of Holy Communion is to come back to the table and work it out instead of going our separate ways. When we can’t imagine moving forward together, the lens of Communion gives us the opportunity to let God reenvision and refashion us. In divisive times, disagreements have led to entrenched requirements that people on the “other side” see it our way, or at least follow our rules . . . or we simply take our toys and go play somewhere else. How typical of North American culture these days, but the table compels us to be different than the world.
What does it mean to be in real community, daring to participate in this new reality Bonhoeffer speaks of? Disagreement has always been part of the story of denominations and faith movements. Yet, by the grace of God, the Spirit ushers in and messes with us, even in the midst of the mess we make of ourselves.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” As I have revisited the Gospels and the book of Acts in recent years, examining Jesus and the early church in their repeatedly bold actions on behalf of gentiles and Samaritans, I have come to the conclusion that the arc of Christian history is also long, but it bends toward inclusion. Yes, there are difficult practical matters to work out in this moment of impasse in the United Methodist Church. But as people of the table, we are willing to do what it takes in the messiness of what it means to be in community together. First and foremost, we must focus on following Christ.
After that, we may need to decentralize decisions we can’t agree on corporately and allow for contextualized ministry, trusting in the workings of the Holy Spirit. It seems to me this is the only way forward for the United Methodist Church, unless the definition of being God’s church is that we must be like-minded thinkers and like-minded actors. As I have said before, how conspicuous that the culture wars that threaten to splinter us apart are over matters that are not even mentioned in the Gospels or the ancient creeds.
The United Methodist Church and our predecessors have made it through divisive issues such as slavery, voting rights, temperance, civil rights, and ordaining women. It is the most evenly widespread denomination in the United States, so there will always be cultural issues to sort through. But this is a moment where we must decide whether to stay at the table and work it out or not, and to me, that’s the very definition of church.
John Wesley said, in his sermon “Catholic Spirit,” “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.” He also said, in his sermon “On Schism,” that “it is evil in itself. To separate from a body of living Christians with whom we were before united is a grievous breach of the law of love,” and hence it “is only when our love grows cold that we can consider separation.” He continues, “The pretenses for separation may be innumerable, but want of love is always the real cause; otherwise, they would still hold the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
The table is a radical table, because it brings us back to what connects us, which is not agreement or like-minded thinking but community and love-minded thinking. We are bound by our belief, yes, but I’m reminded that in early English, the word “belief” was pronounced “by life.” How we love those we don’t agree with is the very definition of Christian fellowship.
-- Stephen P. West, copyright 2022
