There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)
The early church discovered something amazing. When the God of Jesus gets involved in human life lots of things change! People who would never have anything to do with each other are suddenly thrust into a life of faith with each other. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians they have found that there are both Jews and Greeks in the church (who could have imagined?). They have discovered that men and women are sharing leadership (a radical thing at the time). And they have found that slaves and their owners are all sitting around the communion table together (slaves were used to serving their masters but not sitting with them to eat!). It was unimaginable and yet it was happening.
The church is filled with all sorts of people. Some of the people in the church seem a lot like us and we click. It seems like old friends or family. Hang around long enough and they become old friends and family.
On the other hand, the church is also filled with people we would never choose to hang out with. But if we are honest, over time we find ourselves just as connected to these people who are different as we are to the people with whom we clicked right away. We find that our church family is more diverse than many of our homes and we discover that our circle of friends is stretched and even filled with compassion for people with whom we have little in common.
The reason for this is that we share the most precious thing in all the world. We are all connected to Jesus and made into the body of Christ through faith. It is not our own doing. It is a gift. And with it comes the miracle of a community of people that the world might never imagine. But to be within it requires no imagination. It is already present in our shared life together.
