The Genius of Church
In nursing school we were assigned to work in teams with people we did not pick. We were forced to cooperate to get things done at the highest level of expertise possible. We were graded on getting things done with people that were not necessarily our friends. Welcome to the genius of church.
Over the long history of Christianity, one thing is apparent: it has brought people together that would ordinarily have nothing to do with each other. We come from all walks of life, and because of our calling, we are to care for each other — even if we don’t like each other.
On a vacation to England a few years ago, I stopped on a Sunday morning to worship at St. Paul’s cathedral. There were about four-hundred of us tourist-type worshippers. The regular congregation consisted of about one-hundred people. We all knew the words. We all knew when to stand or kneel. I looked around the room. There were people there from all over the world. We were all doing the same things at the same time — and for the same reasons. I did not know anyone there, but I knew them all at a deeper level than mere friendship or family tie.
The human family consists of billions of people over many thousands or millions of years. We look to the sky and to each other for hope and inspiration. Everyone has a church. For many people, it has more to do with family or job, but we keep the door open for anyone else — just in case that person might be an embodiment of the Lord. One of our beliefs is that we never know if there might be an angel among us. Deity may be revealed in the outcast, so we better include him or her too.
Paul called the church “the manifold wisdom of God” — and it is. There is nothing on earth that functions just like it. It outlives all sorts of philosophies, trends, political parties, and even countries. It is resilient. People have tried to kill it or boo it out of existence. It just keeps growing. Apparently the Genius behind it is greater than its obstacles.
