6. You are Called to Communion

Betty Ross and Bruce Banner (the Hulk)

Bruce: You found me!
Betty: You weren't that hard to find.
Bruce: Yes.....I was.

“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found lost sheep!'”
- Luke 15: 4 -   

I don’t know about you, but oftentimes I am that lost sheep.  Sometimes I am not paying attention (or, rather I am paying attention to all sorts of distractions and other attachments) and I stumble away on my own path and become lost.

Sometimes, I knowingly choose something which is foolish or sinful, and which ultimately leads me into a thicket from which I need to be rescued by the Hand of Grace.

But sometimes I am a bit more subtle. Sometimes, I attempt to continue on, to stay with the group and go with the flow, and all looks relatively normal on the outside. But on the inside, my heart is not in it. For whatever reason (hurt, fear, anger), I am attempting to protect myself, that most intimate part of myself, and keep my distance.

And you know what, I still end up lost.

I get lost because I become disconnected from both the Shepherd and the other sheep. I don’t feel a part of the whole because I’m only giving a part of myself. And because I’m stuck inside myself, behind whatever interior wall I’ve constructed, I can’t really give myself to others in love and service, at least not fully. This creates discord which often spreads in an unfortunate ripple effect.

The Good News is that Christ is constantly seeking me. He can see me through those walls (just like Betty Ross can see Bruce Banner through his hulky green skin. J) He can see who I really am, and not any façade that I put up to carry on while I bury what I truly feel. And He is willing to go on a reckless pursuit, through thickets and briers and (more importantly) interior walls, to find me, love me, and restore me to the life He intended for me.

What does He intend for me?

1. He calls me to community. I am a part of His flock and He wants me to be united with the others in it. But wait a sec’! Wasn’t it the community (or someone in the community) that caused me to put up this wall in the first place? Wouldn’t I be better off alone? No! It’s true, we are often bothering each other, disagreeing with each other, even hurting each other. But without that – without other human beings that are different from me – I do not have such great opportunities to accept differences, to forgive wrongs, to learn new things, to listen, to develop my gifts and appreciate others’, to learn humility....the list goes on. In community, I realize and am reminded that I am not the center of the universe. It is not easy to be in relationship with others, but we need each other.
2. He calls us to union with Himself. In our broken humanity, we inevitably sow pain and discord in our communities. But thank God we don’t have to be our own shepherd! Jesus Christ is and wants to be our Shepherd, to heal us (individually and collectively) and to give us the strength and courage to forgive and to keep our hearts open to Him and to each other, even in our hurts. And the more we are united to Him, the more our hearts will be transformed…..which often spreads in a most delightful ripple effect.

No human being can ever fully satisfy our longing for union, and no community on this earth will ever be perfect. And yet, isn’t the cry of every human heart for union and communion with another? Indeed. So let us open our hearts to each other and to community, and focus on becoming and remaining united, so that TOGETHER we can help each other in attaining the ultimate goal of union with Christ.


And as a bonus! One of my friends was mentioning this song this past weekend, saying someone had done a dance routine to it on So You Think You Can Dance and it was beautiful. Looking for pictures of the Hulk and Betty Ross, I stumbled across this video, set to the same song. Oh, the irony.
(I know it doesn't have quite the same beauty :/ , but I just had to do it. It was just too perfect! Stay tuned next season for the Hulk's dance routine....)