In order to move forward with a shared sense of purpose, our church’s primary goal and challenge for the season ahead will be to clarify what it means to love the city with the heart of Christ. Those final words - with the heart of Christ - are especially compelling to me. This Lent, we are exploring the Old Testament stories in which God does an incredible amount for God’s people - manna to fill their bellies, water to quench their thirst, the law to shape their life. I’ve argued that, in Christ, we find the fulfillment and perfection of all that God had already been doing for God’s people.
What is most striking to me about Jesus is the clear witness that doing for is not our goal. The story of Jesus is the story of Immanuel - God-with-us. Philippians 2:6-8 reminds us that Jesus Christ “did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” (NRSV)
What God does for God’s people makes an impact and matters greatly. But even Jesus Christ did not exploit his power and authority as God, as though it was enough to send down blessings from high in heaven above. Instead, Jesus humbled himself to be with us. And by doing so, Jesus clearly shows us that to love with the heart of Christ requires us to overcome our unspoken assumptions. Doing for others so often implies that ‘we’ have something that ‘they’ need. And ‘we’ who have what ‘they’ need have all the power and authority to decide whether to give or teach anything to anybody.
That assumption is what leads us to act as though what we do for our under-resourced neighbors is the all important question. When we are seeking to love with the heart of Christ, the more important question is how do we tear down the wall that presumes ‘we’ have all the answers and resources that ‘they’ simply need to receive? In other words, how do we choose when and whether to act in a way that creates the space for us to love one another in the way that Jesus Christ first loved us - to love with humility; to love as equals; to journey with each other in the family of God?
I don’t have simple or easy answers to these questions - there are no cookie cutter answers or programs that would work for all people in all times and places. But one brief example of how we are starting to try - some of our unhoused friends for whom we have provided food at Kairos are now working with us to provide food for our Lenten recital series. Sometimes, God turns our world upside down and does something radically different - most of the time it only takes a subtle shift in how we look at and value one another to create the space for the heart of Christ to flourish.
What we will do going forward is unlikely to change all that substantially from the kinds of things we’ve done in the past. No matter what, worship will anchor our weekly rhythms, we’ll still be blessed by the musical gifts of the choir, small groups and Sunday school classes will be offered, and we’ll still eat well at Kairos, oyster suppers, after church lunches, etc. The main goal of clarity in our purpose is to start shifting how we structure, plan, and coordinate events. Over time, my hope is that what it means for us to love the city with the heart of Christ would be so clear that any further changes to how or what we do will be obvious to anyone paying attention.
The Leadership Board will continue the work of clarifying what it means to love with the heart of Christ. We will determine next steps at our upcoming meeting (3/18 at 6pm in the Library) and continue to seek further opportunities to invite everyone into the conversation. You’re invited to come listen to what the Board has to say next week and to continue to share your thoughts, questions, and concerns with us at any time.