Imagination, according to Albert Einstein, is the first important component of the mind. Reason is its servant.
I love reading the early documents of the church as much for their glimpse into the early gatherings of Jesus-followers.
Imagine this. An event happened. Witnessed, documented according to the means of the time. An extraordinary event. A man, a teacher, predicted he would be killed by the religious/political leaders. Not only that (that would have been commonplace), he also predicted that he would return to life..
And it happened.
The story spread rapidly from Jerusalem through the eastern Mediterranean region both north and west and south and west. And also to the east. The message was that this was not a Jewish phenomenon. It was a human phenomenon. And the teaching was for all people—rich and poor, female and male, slave and owner. And the message was to turn the Roman culture of power structure on its head with a culture of love one another.
Small groups formed. People who had never associated with each other in a fellowship now worshiped and studied together.
At first, they must have gathered but also clustered into cliques along familiar societal lines.
Enter this general letter to Jesus-followers from his brother James.
His first advice for living in this new community (and he’ll address this in greater detail later) is this—forget your former identities and forge a new relationship.
OK, what he really says, “Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.”
So, when we gather, we should not gather into groups of rich and poor. The poor should think more highly of themselves (change in attitude) and the rich should realize in Jesus-terms it is easy to lose their riches and be humbled.
Jesus-followers and those seeking or wondering gathering for singing, worship, and teaching must not gather into socially (or other) defined cliques but should be one group.
Think on that during your next gathering. I think this is very like Alcoholics Anonymous (which I’ve not experienced) or an Emmaus Community (which I have). No artificial structures. All are accepted as they are (and could be).
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