Spiritual Hiccups - Now What?

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God,"says today's reading from first John.  Can it really be that simple?  Are all who hold that Jesus is from God and reveals to us the true nature of God fellow children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ?

If this is true, then the Christian Church sure has problems living in ways that demonstrate it.  Sometimes we seem to be much better at dividing over our differences than we are at acting like brothers and sisters, like one family.  Some of our divisions are minor, and don't really undo family ties.  Members of my own, biological family have different tastes, interests, politics, preferences, etc. and agreeing on all of these is not a requisite for being a family.  I'm unaware of anyone in my family ever stating that only Republicans or Democrats could stay, or that an appreciation of classical music was required to come for Christmas dinner.

And so I'm not all that worried over the fact that different Christian congregations worship in different ways, prefer different sorts of buildings, or forms of governance.  We can be family without agreeing on these things.  At least we can until someone states that you must like this worship style or abide by this form of church government in order to be a real Christian.  Such statements are rare, it turns out.  However, when issues get a bit more substantive, this is not always true. 

Yesterday the Presbyterian Church (USA) passed an amendment to its constitution that will allow the ordination of gays and lesbians who are in same-sex relationships.  Exact figures are difficult to come by, but the votes so far suggest that a bit over 55% of those voting favored this change, which of course means that nearly 45% didn't.  And many of those who didn't see this change as an abandonment of biblical teachings.  I disagree with them, but the more burning issue for me at this point is: Are we still brothers and sisters in Christ?

I've already heard of threats from some who want to leave the denomination as well as "Don't let the door hit you on the way out" comments from some happy with yesterday's outcome.  My hope is these are emotional outbursts in the midst of a family squabble.  My hope is that when emotions cool a bit we will still say to one another, "I love you, sister.  I love you, brother."

A lot of biological families can be a bit on the dysfunctional side, and probably none of us come from families with no dysfunction.  But for most families, the family connection somehow remains intact.  Church congregations are every bit as dysfunctional as biological families.  But for some reason, the family connection often seems more tenuous there.  But how can this be when our family connection is Christ?

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