unity in the church

How does the church deal with conflict, with tensions which threaten to tear us apart? Maybe it would be better to speak also of tensions, which has kept us apart. This is a critical question, not only for the church, but for our society as well. It seems as if the precarious notion of reconciliation is making way for new forms of apartheid, new inequalities, with current economic meltdown simply a mirror of reality. How does one overcome this deep tension and conflict?

In the book of Acts, one feels the tension seeping deep into the daily experience of the early church. Their journey, the ongoing prompting to cross boundaries, and deepen their understanding en experience of the faith in Jesus, is told by Luke as samples of how they grappled with this reality.

Acts 15, in particular, is all about the nature of the incorporation of the non-Jews in the early church, which had her roots in Judaism and more specifically their inclusion around the table of communion, even though they did not go through the Jewish ritual of circumcision? In the South African case, it was dealt with by creating separate tables, separate churches. What does Luke tell us on how they dealt with this matter?

1. He rereads the history in the light of the current situation. One can almost say, that he re-members their own story and journey in terms of his immediate readers and the need of his readers. In this respect he might recall the voice of an influential leader, a hero of the people, an authoritative voice interpreting the tradition. Here history is not simply a reconstruction of the past, no, it is the foundation for decisions now;
   
2. Luke recalls the importance of key documents and writings. Indeed, sacred documents like the text of the Bible and its interpretation, often becomes a site of struggle. In understanding Gods word for today, we however may not sidestep the tricky and risky exercise of interpreting and making choices. Sometimes we will have to state, 'Here I stand, so help me God' other times we will be more hesitant and mumble something or simply have to keep quiet. The sacred texts of our faith, will often be silent about what we face today, yet, maybe within those silences we may here God's spirit's whispers;
   
3. There will be times of compromises, difficult trade-offs, where leaders have to take a step, where they've never been, or where the people would never dare to go. This is where faith and trust will guide beyond the well-known frameworks and certainties. These steps and decisions can be dangerous and can never be entered upon lightly and without a deep faith in the grace of God. It is a creative imaginative act of embodying anew something of God's presence in new situations. This is the times, where we might say, stuttering probing: 'the Holy Spirit and us decided….'
   
4. There is another element, which flows out of the preceding: to guide organisations and people on this journey, calls for a particular kind of people, mature leaders, who are willing to bear the brunt, the pain (?) of leading. Often we see (verse 22,25-27, 36) leaders being asked to go and physically be with the people, to speak, spend time with, to embody the new community. Often this is a difficult presence, a presence which carries within itself the sacrifices, difficult decisions and compromises. This new community is not a static state of tranquillity other- verses 37-38, speaks also of a difficult separation of ways, of decisions to awkwardly accept difference, to carry, in one's own body, the scars of the cross.
   

Whilst the separation of tables, became the scar of apartheid amongst Christians, it might possibly also become the scar of hope towards a new kind of community