Coming Together

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
-Philippians 2:3-4

I had the privilege of officiating a wedding several weeks ago of a former member grad student in our church community.  

It was a wonderful celebration; a coming together of two unique and wonderful families, who both brought such richness into this celebration. Long after the ceremony was over and the wedding feast had been served, the music was blaring and (mostly younger) folks flooded the dance floor to express their joy. 

But it was a little later in the night when a moment caught my eye. The young bride was every bit of a party dancer. Free and spunky, she loved expressing her joy without reservation: arms up, singing along, laughing with bright eyes. The groom's mother was full of her own joy, without question. But her way of expressing it was absolutely not on the dance floor jumping to "Cotton-Eyed Joe."
 
But at one point their eyes met. The young bride had a huge smile on the dance floor and motioned an invitation to her new mother-in-law. And though it was not her normal style of expression, there was hardly a moment's hesitation before she rose from the chair and headed out to meet her new daughter in the middle of the crowd, with a big smile and willingness to join into the dance. 

That little moment was a living image of the healing power of God's kingdom. This is a reality where people come toward each other. It's a place where there is a willingness to enter into someone else's interests before their own. It's a world where comfort zones are not as important as sharing joy together, however that may look. That small moment of jiving there on the dance floor, new daughter and new mother learning to be family in a new way-- that's a glimpse of God's kingdom. That day, even after officiating the ceremony and speaking about that very thing, I needed to see a physical reminder of how much joy there is in coming toward one another. 

We talk a lot about how divided the world is. But this intense division has long-reaching impacts beyond ideological differences. It can cause us to withdraw in all areas, from everyone and everything. It can cause us to have less energy to lay aside our own interests for the interests of others. It can make us hesitant to enter into anyone's reality because relationships feel like they might be full of all sorts of landmines. And most of us are already tired. Maybe it's just better to keep to ourselves. One in the chair. One on the dance floor. 

But Jesus refuses to let us live that way. Real community means really sharing. Sharing experiences, sharing meals, sharing stories, and sharing our full selves. That sometimes means we won't look particularly impressive. It means we might have to listen to stories we can't easily relate to or participate in activities that don’t come most naturally to us, for the sake of connection. 

But every time we do that, we heal the world just a little bit of the disease of isolation and loneliness. Every time we actually look to another's interests, we make space for the work of Jesus in us, and through us. 

Where can you move toward another today? 

Jesus, open doors for new connection and new understanding with others today. 

Peace,
Keith

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