Good Crazy

In John 17, Jesus earnestly prays for the Church, "that they all may be One." That's the whole point of Synod Assembly - being better together - which several of us are attending right now in Worcester. I like meetings as much as the next person, but there's no question that getting together makes stuff happen.

In this Sunday's reading from Acts, following a long meeting in Jerusalem in Acts 15, the early church veritably explodes with divine activity in Philippi. Paul heals a girl of mental illness and frees her from exploitation; Paul and Silas stay up all night in prison singing hymns and converting their fellow prisoners, God brings an earthquake to liberate them and abolishes the Philippian prison, and they practice suicide prevention to help save their jailer's life. Through the power of the Spirit, they love their enemies and cast fear into the hearts of their oppressors. Our Synod Assembly agenda is no less relevant, and I pray that Spirit will empower us to make no less of an impact.

Maybe Jesus was crazy to think that Christian denominations could ever be One. But don't forget that during the famous Good Shepherd chapter of John 10, people accused him of being demon-possessed when he proclaimed, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." Now that's one crazy guy we all should follow.

with love, Pr. Chelsea