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Among all the miracles contained in the books of the New Testament, perhaps the most astounding is the emergence out of a scattered, disheartened, confused, and weak collection of a few hesitant believers of the enduring foundations of the Christian Church. How did this happen? What enabled this tattered remnant to weave itself into the "seamless robe of Christ"? Their secret was no secret at all, really. Beginning with the event of Pentecost, the early Christian believers devoted themselves wholeheartedly to building a distinctive community of faith, unique to the world. May is anniversary month for the saints of Saint Giles. It was on May 3rd, 1964, that this church was officially begun, and its origins, as many of you remember who participated in this genesis, were rooted in a study of the Acts of the Apostles – particularly in how the disciples went about organizing the Church. The thought ran something like, "wouldn’t it be fun to start our own new church!" And as quietly as that, the kingdom grew! In Acts, the post-resurrection, post-ascension band of believers is shown trying to discern what sort of spiritual glue it is going to take to establish and maintain their identity. Before his death, Jesus spoke often about what should be the true nature of this new community. In Mark 10:42-44 he responded to the petty but disruptive rivalry among the disciples by proclaiming that "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave to all." Yet until the event of Pentecost, the disciples were incapable of carrying out this mandate. They were the cast-out ones, the community’s scapegoats, and the violence of Jesus’ crucifixion had effectively served to rally their persecutors more closely around them. At Pentecost the inclusive, rather than exclusive nature of Christian community was demonstrated. The Gift of God’s Holy Spirit makes communication between people of all languages once again possible. And judging from Peter’s new posture of poise and power before the people, the gift of the Spirit also gave the disciples the ability to stand together in peace in spite of their violent ostracism from the rest of the old community. This new type of community endured beyond the first generation of Christians. Paul found himself reminding the church at Corinth that its very foundation was Christ. With Christ as the bedrock and cornerstone of the community, there is no room for any violent or exclusory tests for communal membership. As Christian communities continue to struggle to remain faithful to the image of community as ordained by Jesus and practiced with varying degrees of success by the early church, there is one more model we may turn to for inspiration. So obvious that it may be overlooked, the uniquely Christian notion of a triune God, the doctrine of the Trinity itself, serves as an illustration of how we must remain united in community. Father, Son and Holy Spirit stand together in a unified relationship, untainted by any struggles for superiority. The power and comfort we find in a Godhead which is "three-in-one" must be reflected in our life at Saint Giles where we are many, and varied, yet united in Jesus Christ. Blessings, Jim |
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