Saturday, July 5, 2003
Harriet Finney
In Perfect Harmony
Colossians 3:12-17, Matthew 18:20

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” (Col. 3:14)

The young boy sitting beside his mother in the small village church heard a tiny sound, and turning his head just slightly, he could see the puppy being hidden in the coat of the man a few pews behind him. The boy quickly looked away, before his mother might see him staring at the man and his dog,. This was a village, you see, where people wanted to live in peace and tranquility. And if anyone noticed something out of order, it was best to pretend not to see, so that nothing would disturb the harmony of village life . . . the sense of order and tranquility. Thus begins the movie “Chocolat”.

A song sung by members of the Jundaiai, Brazil, Church of the Brethren (Igreja da Irmandade), which Ron and I visited in February, expresses that same yearning for peace. [Paz, doce, paz; peace, sweet peace; Jesus, Prince of Peace, we seek you. Peace, sweet peace. AH!] Peace through the Prince of Peace. . . in our hearts, in our villages and towns ... in the church.

And certainly peace has been very important to us as Brethren since our beginnings almost 300 years ago ... peace among ourselves ... peace in the world.. In 1789 these words of instruction and guidance were written by Brethren leaders of that day: “We deem it our duty, obligation, and office to see to it that union, tranquillity, and peace be maintained, that all shall be united and of one mind, so that we may, according to the commandment of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, love one another sincerely.”

Peace ... tranquility ... all united and of one mind. . . . Is this what makes for perfect harmony?

I have heard the word harmony used most often as a musical term, so I asked a friend who is a musician, “What is harmony? Is it possible to have harmony which is less than perfect? ”

“That’s dissonance”, my friend said, “the opposite of musical harmony. “Dissonance” creates a conflict of sound – something which our ears want to resolve. . . . but which is necessary to keep the musical work from being “intolerably dull and boring.” Harmony, on the other hand, helps us resolve that musical conflict.

Paul wrote to the Colossians that it is the love of God ... the peace of Christ ... which brings us harmony, and helps us stay in tune, despite all our differences.

And yet even with all our efforts, we have not quite achieved the perfect harmony which we seek. It’s not really too surprising, is it?. Even the fictional village in Chocolat was not as tranquil as it might at first have appeared. There it was only as the false tranquility was shattered that true harmony could begin to emerge. I wonder if that is where we are now in the Church of the Brethren.

During this past year I have had the privilege of traveling throughout this denomination, meeting many wonderful people, listening to their stories, hearing their questions and concerns. We are not all alike. Our preferred musical harmonies -- our styles of worship, our languages and cultures (from PA Dutch to Appalachian, from Idaho ranchland to Los Angeles urban sprawl), all vary from place to place, as do our understanding of what it means to be Brethren, and the ways in which we express our faith through our service or preaching, in silence or by the raising of our hands and voices to God.

The picture which I have in my mind as a result of visiting with many of you and other Brethren from around the world is somewhat like a mosaic. There are many images, pieces, thoughts . . . all coming together to make a whole, with Christ at the Center. In districts, in the Dominican Republic, in Brazil, I have received gifts of hospitality, fellowship, and food. (Did you know that Brethren are good cooks everywhere, whatever regional specialties they serve?). In my conversations with you, I have heard much which gives me hope, which excites and encourages me, which helps me to see what it is which unites us, and which shows that we are in tune with one another through Jesus Christ.

It is also evident to me that there is a dissonance among us which we can no longer ignore. There is something out of order, and we can no longer pretend it is not so.

A few months ago a gentleman whose age is 80-something stopped me after Sunday morning worship. As a long-time member of the Church of the Brethren and a retired pastor, he wanted to know what I thought about the church’s future ... what my observations and reflections are about the health of our denomination. And then he said to me ... this man who loves the church, and whom I have known as a person of faith and hope, even optimism, .. He. said to me, “I am concerned. I am very concerned.” And I knew what he meant. He is concerned about the future unity of the church.

This churchman is not the only person wondering about unity or dis-unity among us. (It is interesting to me that we are not all anxious about the same questions nor worried about the same things.) We are concerned about issues on which we do not agree . . . the name of the denomination, our mission philosophy, peacemaking in a world at war, our understanding of homosexuality, our interpretation of scripture, the authority of Annual Conference. Add to these, our uncertainties about the proliferation of special-interest groups among us, conflicts in local congregations, a pastoral shortage, budget shortfalls, staff cuts, our identity as a denomination . . . you can name your own set of concerns. These are important issues to consider, study, pray about. And I wonder, with these differences, is there any way in which perfect harmony can be possible among us, beyond our singing? In other words, is there a way to keep our church from flying apart? Can we achieve true unity? Can we come together in Jesus’ name, as One Body, when we are not yet of one mind . . . and sometimes wonder if we ever can be?.

I believe that Paul's epistle to the Colossians speaks a word of hope -- of good news which can unite us, and which offers the possibility of true harmony in the Church of the Brethren in 2003. First of all, Paul tells us: Jesus Christ is the center of our faith [1:17 - “He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.]. Jesus Christ is the focus of our life together in the church [1:18 - “He is the head of the body, the church.”]. Jesus Christ is the One who calls us to obedient discipleship. [Col. 2:6-7 – “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, . . . just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”]

In other words these words from the epistle tell me that our center -- our unity -- our harmony is not dependent on our efforts, nor on whether we are in agreement with one another. It is not dependent on our speaking the same language. Our unity is found in Jesus Christ. [Col.1:17]. And that comes to us as a gift of God’s love. Because of that gift, we know who and whose we are. “You are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.,” Paul said. That is our identity; we are persons chosen by God, invited to a new life in Christ, and clothed in the brand-new wardrobe given to us by God. We are holy and beloved, living out a life of faith and thanksgiving and prayer.

Have you noticed how often Paul speaks of prayer as an integral part of the life of faith? In this epistle to Colossae, as in others of his letters, he frequently writes about prayer, with the assumption that prayer is already an integral part of their life of faith. Not praying was not even an option. [Col. 4:2]: “Devote yourselves to prayer,” he said, “ keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.” Paul continues to encourage these early church members in their prayer life. For example, in the long list of greetings which are found at the close of this letter is one which I find especially interesting. [4:12] It is from “Ep’aphras , who is one of you, [Paul tells them], a servant of Christ Jesus . . . And then there is a testimony by Paul to Epehras’ prayer life. “He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf.” How many of us wrestle in our prayers on behalf of the church as we seek God’s will? Or do we sometimes tend to have the answers to our prayers all worked out ahead of time, and tucked away in our pocket to use as needed?

To try to be in control of my prayers and their answers is especially tempting for me when I am praying for a difficult situation, or for persons for whom I may prefer not to pray. The title of a recent article by Stephen Doughty, “How Do We Pray When We are Divided?” made me pause and think. How do we pray for the church ... for one another ... when harmony and unity seem to elude us? Am I willing to hold my desires for “harmony” in the light of God’s will through the Holy Spirit? When prayer is difficult because of my own feelings of distrust or fear or anger or bitterness toward others, I especially need to be reminded of the words of a Benedictine monk who said,“ Pray as you can, not as you can’t.” It is when I cannot pray because I do not have the words, or because there is less than perfect harmony in my own heart, or between myself and my brother and sister, that I need to be reminded of the promise in Romans 8:26. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Do we trust God enough to allow the Spirit to help us pray for the church not knowing what the answers will be, yet willing to receive the gift of God’s will through the Holy Spirit?

As we prepare to move into a time of prayer, I would like to share with you a dream which I had recently. In my dream I was looking down into a very deep hole. It was so deep that I could not see clear to the bottom because it was dark down there. Now one thing you should know about me is that I do not like looking down into deep dark holes; I do not like heights from which I can see a long way down. I do not even like to walk over grates on city sidewalks because I am afraid that I will fall through and end up somewhere “down there”. Holding Ron’s hand is reassuring, but still I do not like it and breathe more easily when I am “safely across”. Now I know that the likelihood of my falling through the little holes on the grate is very small, but the sense that I may fall out of control is very real to me.

Well, there I was in my dream looking down into a very deep hole, when I felt myself starting to fall. And at that moment a voice said to me,”Just let yourself fall.” That was all, but I was no longer afraid. I knew it would be all right.

Can we trust enough in a loving God to LET ourselves fall, knowing that we are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, . . ?

Do we trust one another enough to live in harmony, not because we all agree on questions which come before us, but because we LET the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. Because we LET the word of Christ dwell in our hearts, to which indeed we were called in the one Body?

As we enter into this time of prayer for our church, for this conference, and for unity and harmony in Jesus’ name, I invite us to trust enough in a loving God to “just go ahead and fall,” knowing that God through the Holy Spirit is in our midst, bringing us together in Jesus’ name . . . For as Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 18:20:: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”