Built Together

Over the last couple weeks I've been listening to orchestral and soundtrack music.  A couple of my friends recommended it to me and I have to tell you, I love it.  There is a certain epic-ness to the songs.  One of my favorite songs begins with these low ominous notes on the strings.  As the song continues, a soft violin enters in.  It builds and then begins to fade as other instruments joyfully join the music as if they have just been awakened.  It's almost as if the violin is going in search of others to join the orchestral sound.  The song builds throughout until finally about two thirds of the way through the song the violin again takes center stage now accompanied by the full orchestra each doing their own part.  The song crescendos in a beautiful harmony that stirs the soul.  You can't help but feel the moods the composer is trying to convey.  You feel the despair present in the opening, yet the hope found in the violin and finally the joy found in the conclusion of the song and the unity of the entire ensemble.  As I listened to this I was struck by the beauty of it and the similarity that it has with the church, or rather with the church as it should be.

In one sense the church itself is the violin, yet at the same time the church is also the entire ensemble.  You see as the church we are called to be the hope of the world going throughout spreading the good news and be a witness to the very real presence of the Kingdom of God.  The Holy Spirit moves in our midst and desires greatly for us to communicate hope to the tired and broken world around us.  We communicate this not simply by going to church, but by being the church.  In order to be the church we must begin to see ourselves as the entire ensemble.  Whenever I think of community, I often get a picture of uniformity.  Everyone acting a certain way, dressed a certain way, even speaking a certain way.  This is a deeply distorted vision of community, but I think it's held by many people especially in our western society that trumpets the cause of the individual over living in community.  In the orchestra, each person has their own instrument and own music to play.  The sheet music is certainly not the same for everyone, yet they all complement each other to form a greater sound.  The distorted view of community would have everyone playing the same instrument and the same notes.  You would no doubt be bored within a few minutes of listening.  On the other hand, pure individualism would either be a bunch of solo acts or (more likely) simply a cacophony of noise with everyone looking out for their own interests without bothering to listen to the rest of the orchestra for their cues or timing.

In Ephesians, Paul uses a similar analogy to talk about community.  He says that we are being "built together." (Ephesians 2:22).  He's not negating our personalities and our abilities, but rather he is saying that those will be added to the strengths and gifts of others in order that God's kingdom may be known in all its splendor.  It means that the church communicates God's glory in everything they do.  They lift each other up when they have fallen.  They utilize their own passions and strengths to communicate hope to a world filled with despair.  They step out of their comfort zone and take a stand for the downtrodden and helpless.

I have some pretty incredible friends who communicate this message daily in their lives.  Sure you'll see them at church on Sunday praising God, but it doesn't stop there for them.  They go throughout the world enacting change.  I have one friend who worked alongside people from volatile countries working to enact much needed social reform that is seen as subversive there.  I have a friend who started a women's center in Iraq and trains Latinos to go throughout the Muslim world with the gospel.  The list goes on.  They see the life of Jesus and realize that to be the church means to "let His kingdom come, and let his will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."  It means realizing that the task of change is too great for any one person, but that the body of Christ when functioning properly can truly show the reality of God's kingdom here on Earth.

I was walking through the woods the other day with my camera.  A downed tree caught my eye because despite it having split near the base it continued to hang there.  As I looked, I saw a couple Mountain Laurels supporting the weight of this much larger tree.  They had even begun to grow around it.  What a beautiful picture of being the church!  We are to lift up the fallen, support those in need, fight against injustice, give mercy to the suffering.  We are to be built together.