Have you ever seen one of those magnificent handmade quilts, replete with spectacular colors and amazing pictures? Each square or block unique and yet part of a whole that combines to create beauty, warmth. Even the way the quilts are made mimic the unity displayed on the quilt itself.
In the Amish community, the ladies come together for a time to sew and chat and share and love one another and in the process, beauty is fashioned. These sewing bees are where lives are shared like the newest recipe, love is passed around like a plate of homemade cookies and blankets are formed from oblivion. Not a bad night, huh? It is all about the community.
Then I take a look at the denominations within the Christian umbrella and there is little community. There is a rich heritage of history that we have as a following of Jesus, but it has become fragmented. We have taken our “patch,” our “square” and hoarded it. We have squabbled about our place next to Jesus, just like the disciples who argued about who was the greatest among them. To what end?
Our patches united together form a quilt, a real protection, a real warmth and a real community. People are drawn towards power, it is true, but I think people are also drawn towards authenticity and community. Probably more than power. Why? Because we have all want community. Instead of bickering about who is the greatest among the denominations (Baptists are- just kidding), lets unite to form that quilt. A quilt that is sewn together with the royal blood of Jesus and the common experience of all man- suffering. Then it can fulfill the purpose that Jesus set out for it- to relieve that suffering of man. It can be placed around the shivering shoulders of an African orphan, or a homeless man or even ourselves when we feel like we have lost our footing. Let’s renew the sewing bee and find the community that once was there. (Who knew that sewing bees could be motivational?)
