Joyeux Noel (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/)

The other night as I was sitting with friends discussing faith, movies, poems and more, one lady asked about Jesus’ statement,

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matt 18:20Matt 18:20
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.  

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She was wondering how does this verse relate to the idea that we are “in Christ.” If we are “in Christ,” what is the difference with His promise to be in the midst of us. Isn’t He already in the midst?

One man began talking about how that statement precedes a discussion about forgiveness and how Jesus connects his presence to unit divided people in Him. (There’s much to ponder in this). This discussion spilled over into today (via email) and the film Joyeux Noel came up as a dramatic representation of this. As I listened and pondered the various thoughts, I made a few notes this morning and thought they’d fit here.

If you think about this in light of the Lord’s prayer, you’ll note that the prayer is in the plural pronoun of “our.”

Our Father who art in heaven…forgive us our trespasses….deliver us from evil

The modern world has had difficulty thinking in terms of “us” and instead focused on “I” (as in the individual). But Jesus and the Father reveal a way of life that both affirms personal existence while placing that personal existence in an inseparable relational context (onto-relational). It might be interesting to notice all the ways Jesus speaks of our existence in relational ways as opposed to individualistic ways. The Eastern world gets the idea of the group, but often loses the idea of the person. There is a longing to merge into oneness with the cosmic spirit. Even some Christian mystics used language like this.

But Martin Buber helped me see the the goal of communion is not lose of personal particularity but step out into encounter between the I and the Thou. So we live in Christ, we live in one another, we pray in one another, we suffer in one another, and yet we are each members (arm, foot, tongue, ear, hands, etc) with distinctive particular gifts. In one sense, this is a form of the Triune life revealed by Jesus being lived out in the midst of His people (His body). From distinct personalities to distinct bodies and distinct histories, each of us is unique. But our uniqueness is not to be understood outside of “one another.”

Our particularities are meant for one another (Rom 12, 1Rom 12, 1
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
12 ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  

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My community vs your community. Red state vs Blue state. Home church vs traditional church. Man vs Woman and so on. Each community of affinity builds part of its identity by noting the communities they are opposed to.

Only in Christ can we discover the way (the truth and life) to live as distinct persons in relation with other distinct persons in a distinct community in relation with other distinct communities. This is the fulfillment of the 12 Tribes who are not at war with one another but join under one head, King David. King Jesus brings and is bringin all the tribes of the world under one head.

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