I love to think of the scripture passage in Luke (9:49-50) where John says to Jesus "We saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company." And Jesus said to him, "Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you." This gospel is interesting because the same event is narrated in Matthew, but the wording is different (and probably what we would rather hear): "He who is not with me is against me."
Back in the 1960s a group in France started an ecumenical community they called Taize. Recently on a blog called Monks and Mermaids Fr. David reminisced about his experience visiting Taize back in 1962. He writes:
What
Taize gave me was a vision which has never left me, a perspective in
which I could discern the Holy Spirit at work in all kinds of
situations, indeed in all situations in which he is not
excluded...Brother Roger held out to all the possibility of being
orthodox without being sectarian, of adhering to the Truth while
remaining humble in the presence of those who doubt or deny it, because
Christ works in and through them...God does not have favourites...We are all equally sons and daughters of God.
I
love this attitude, for it invites us to broaden our understanding of religion and spirituality, to realize that outside of our defined institutions, there are other individuals with the spirit of God. Luke's gospel says that
Jesus himself said, Whoever is not against you is with you. I
think we like to think more like Matthew...having our lines drawn, and
putting others on the right or on the left. And yet Luke gives us a
Jesus who sought to unite, not divide. He often bends rules and pushes
the envelope in favor of compassion, understanding, and forgiveness.
And that Jesus is the one I'd like to follow.
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