An ancient tradition of the Faith holds the Church to be a type of rescue vessel. Pope Boniface VIII described the Ark of Noah as a prophetic symbol of the Church, each vessel adrift in an endless sea as a sign and offer of rescue for souls floundering in the chaos. As early as the second century, Tertullian writes of the Church as navis, as ship. This tradition lies behind the name of the space in which we worship: the Nave. The Church can well be understood as a ship of salvation, driven by the windy motion of the Spirit of God, and propelled by the collective energy of all in it steadily pulling their weight. It’s an inspiring image. But the practical reality of a close fit aboard even as noble a vessel as the Church would lead to problems, and this seems to have been on Jesus’ mind.
‘If your brother, your sister, a member of your family in the Faith, a kindred in Christ should wrong you, then there is a way to handle this.’ And though few take time to notice, there is a first condition that must be met before one person may address the sin of another. The ‘sinful behavior ’ must be directed at the person who claims the status of one offended. It’s worth considering how much discord in the Church might be laid to rest if this qualifier were applied. But supposing an offense truly exists, then step after tedious step is to follow. And if resolution still proves elusive, the offended party is then simply be done with the offender if need be, and move on. All this said, and in order to adhere strictly to the text, we should note that when Jesus says, ‘if your brother,’ the ‘you’ is singular. There is nothing in this prescription that calls for a collective dismissal of a supposed offender. It is a personal, even intimate, process. And it is ponderously slow. It imposes patience. One wonders if perhaps Jesus intends the tedium to bring perspective in order to challenge his followers not to indulge in being too-easily offended; and perhaps to discover a better way.
Jesus goes on to note that if a mere two of his followers can but agree, then God will respond. Is it truly so rare and wonderful a thing in God’s view, that Christians might actually agree on something? Is this why Jesus holds out this hope of God’s response, along with the promise that if just two or three will gather, then God will be present in their midst? It’s no great revelation to find that when we focus on the ways in which we disagree with one another, things become paralyzingly complicated. Perhaps in the concerted efforts of the Church and within the Diocese to provide relief for the refugees of Hurricane Katrina we may notice how much more we can accomplish, how much nearer we may draw to God, when we put our focus instead on the wonders, joys, mysteries, and blessings that all of us really want, and around which we gather and agree.
The refugees from the floods are reminding us of the far greater significance of our points of agreement. All of us want a place to call home, shelter from danger, nourishment for the body, and encouragement for the soul. All of us want to know that somebody cares about us, that someone is looking for us and is looking out for us. When we’re in trouble we all want to climb in somewhere, and find someone in there already, who’s as happy as we are that we’re all safe now, and with whom we can celebrate together.
Surely all of us agree that, in this moment and season of need, Christ has made of us the very vessel of rescue for others that God first used to rescue us. This is worth remembering. For someday these floods will have receded, people will have returned to their homes or founded new ones, and families will have made ways to reclaim their lives. Yet, even then, all around us, people will materially or spiritually be barely treading water; still starving in body and soul, still seeking a place that feels like a home, still looking for that community of people who care about them and who welcome the care that they offer in return. People will be out there still floundering, still wanting to know that there is a God who is looking for them and a people of God who are reaching for them. A people concerned with differences amongst themselves or with those outside won’t reach them or even care to try. But a people truly of God who have agreed to work together will continue to lift up their fellow human souls from chaos and confusion, out of death and dying and into the vessel of God’s own life. They will be a people fueled by the Spirit of God, a people who, but for the grace of God alone, have found their own rescue, and who agree to celebrate together for no lesser reason than that, by their rescuer, they themselves have been found.
Jim +
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