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The flow of unity - Pastor's Pen for 19th June 2022


Waitangi Waterfall after heavy rain, Omeru Reserve, Highway 16

If you've ever rafted over a waterfall you know there is really not much of an option to change your mind past a certain point.

With waterfalls, gravity rules. Aside from the expected eddies and stopper waves folding back on themselves, and the drift of spray, there's pretty much only one way for the water to go. A singularity, a unity of direction.

That's the opposite of what we see with human societies and nations at present. Covid, conflict and looming financial crisis are front of mind. The cost of petrol seems a kind of indicator for all this.

Brother Roger of Taizé wrote:

'In these years when contemporary society is moving from one crisis to another at an ever more rapid pace, Christians are being shaken too. They are experiencing the subtle sickness of disintegration.

At a time when the ever growing number of people with no knowledge of God staggers the mind, the weight of Christian disunity is a heavy burden to bear.'

These words were penned forty years ago but seem more than relevant now. The human condition is the same as ever. Our politics are shallow and tribal, our opinions ill-informed, and our solutions turn to violence all to quickly.

Currently, we are seeing the spotlight turned on Arise Church and various large Christian organisations whose practices are coming into question, and we would do well to look at ourselves with sober judgement. We have an opportunity to reflect on how we treat those who have no power and no voice. We should be good at this stuff as Jesus followers. However, so often the churches are not. Unity does not come by clever shopfront window-dressing while hiding human failings and inconvenient truths, but rather by bringing them to the light of Christ to find hope, justice and healing.

Apostle Paul considers that part of 'living a life worthy of the calling' is that we are 'making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' (Eph 4: 1-2). This should never be at the expense of truth and love for those in distress.

In this season of Pentecost, in the midst of this shaking, let us seek the knowledge and love of God, and an overflow of God's Spirit that carries us in the same direction, a persuasive flow of unity as we figure out how to be authentic Jesus followers in these particular times.







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