A glimpse at the banquet to come

Alcoholics Anonymous created a relatively safe environment for those who had fallen victim to a cruel taskmaster; a slave driver; a heart breaker; the demon rum; to find freedom from that curse. (I have other names, but they simply aren't suitable for a family newspaper.)

I say relatively safe to acknowledge that every group, every gathering, every meeting is wholly dependent on the attitude of each person present - the first-timer as well as the keeper of the door.

Every human fellowship is similarly constructed, focused on the one uniting aspect that first drew diverse people together; whether that be sporting events, the bar scene, even our jobs.

Mankind has always self-segregated. Sports guys like sports guys; shoppers love shopping together, sharing the discovery of a treasure, celebrating when a long-sought item is finally found. Young mothers gravitate toward other young mothers; bowlers have their leagues, the list is ever-growing, and thanks to technology, now we have Google+ and can segregate our family, our friends, our acquaintances, and our co-workers into circles.

I wonder if they have a kitchen table group? I am most comfortable at my kitchen table, even though I am surrounded by desks for most of my waking hours. Other table sitters reveal themselves upon entry into my kitchen and words flow faster than I can pour the tea.

Segregation developed a bad reputation as the nation endured the Civil Rights movement, and rightly so. Skin color was never meant to be a factor in self-segregation. The very thought -- that the color of a man's skin somehow makes him lesser than others -- was evil at first thought and remains evil to this day.

When we added church into the mix, as more of a destination, a place that we go to, rather than as a description of the conglomerate of Body of Believers worldwide, things immediately and dramatically changed.

When the church self-segregated, building beautiful houses of worship, designating one day as holy rather than recognizing that holy doesn't take a holiday; replacing the commandments of God with the traditions of men, putting in place obstacles to faith with every new generation; we revealed our complete lack of understanding of what it means to come out of the world to follow Christ.

Yet, we persisted. And although it took hundreds of years, we've pretty much self-segregated ourselves into a place of ever-diminishing relevance and ever-diminishing credibility.

This group believes thusly while another group believes this and that. That's an admittedly simplistic description of the things that divide us, especially given the fact that over millennia blood has been shed in favor of one belief or another. Small wonder that today's seekers of truth look everywhere except the church to find it.

I love the fellowship of corporate worship. My spirit leaps for joy whenever I meet a fellow follower. Finding a relatively safe place to learn more about the One who has loved each of us from first thought is like finding a rare and beautiful gem, and it's getting rarer by the day. Instead we find various groups, knitted together by tradition, effectively shutting out those who would dare question and those who would dare go more deeply into the faith, not because they dare to question or dare to go deeper, but simply because they're not "like us." And if any should dare to question the validity of the traditions of men that have been in place for so many generations that they have the veneer of truth, but are instead a grand and elaborate deception, then that believer is taken aside and gently remonstrated. If they persist in their questioning, the gentleness soon disappears and a rent in the fabric of faith appears as they are not-so-gently shown the door.

We come today to a tradition of men that opens the season of Lent. Although I have never been a member of a faith tradition that observes this solemn season with introspection, fasting and reverence, it does provide, at least in our community, an opportunity for the church - as a conglomerate Body of Believers - to gather in corporate worship, to learn more of the One who came in response to the great love his Father has for this old world, then to break bread together, providing the barest glimpse of a future banquet where denominations, groups, sects and cliques see their walls of self-segregation torn down in favor of the unity Christ prayed we would one day have.

And every year, when this season of tradition looms, I am torn. I know that as each lesson is presented, it comes from each speaker's unique perspective. Some at the pulpit believe thusly and others believe this and that - at best - a confusing mix of liturgy I also know, because it has been true for all of the years that I have covered the Community Lenten lessons, that I will find true faith and true fellowship there and my spirit leaps for joy.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20 (NIV)

I don't have all the answers, but I know and love the One who does. Let's walk in his love and discover him together.

Dawn