"It Will Be Done... I Am There."

"I ask for the desire to pray and meditate on behalf of my community of faith.  May we learn patience, tolerance, compassion, empathy and gentleness.  May we abstain from anger, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, discouragement, shame, self-centeredness and ignorance.  May we know and follow Jesus more intimately, seeking justice, loving kindness and walking humbly."


Matthew 18:19-20
¹⁹Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’


1) "...if;" "...if two of you agree on earth;" "...I am there among them;"  Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there;" "...truly I tell you;" "...again;" "...if;"


2) If two of us agreed on anything it would be a miracle, indeed.  I am so discouraged by people running off, making decisions on their own without actually consulting the body, taking action on those decisions and then the consequences come back to my study.  Every individual thinks they know what is best and will be dammed before they consult with the rest of the community.  It just makes more work for those few of us trying to hold the whole together.  Everyone thinks their little piece is more important than the whole.  Today, I am discouraged... good thing I don't go in to the office today.  And then of course, I'm just thrilled when certain people take initiative.  Because some people take initiative and when something has gone astray, it already coved because someone was looking to that.  So what's the difference?  Is it the who?  Is it that I like some people and their decisions and I don't like other people and their decisions?  Maybe.  But it also seems that some people make decisions that don't take the whole into account.  I do trust some people's competence more than others.  I have reason to trust some peoples' competence more than others.  We live in a time when we are so inclined to isolationism in the church.  We are so much better as a body than as isolated cells.  Maybe I'm grieving the way the church used to be - with a centralized authority.  Do I need to let go of the notion of centralized authority in the community of faith?  God help us all.


3) what is the invitation in all this?  To continue to reflect on ways to praise individual initiative and yet still call us back to accountability to the whole body.


"God help us all as we continue to figure out church in the 21st Century.  Help us to maintain a sense of connection in the body, even as we reorganize and discern distinct and diverse ways of being in the world."


Breathprayer: "It will be done... I am there."