Two years ago, I found myself sitting in a pew, taking in all my surroundings. I was at the Gathering, the evening worship service at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville. I had been there years before. Several of my friends helped start the church right after they graduated from high school. But it had been a long time. There were many things I loved about this church. The people met in community groups throughout the week. They were dedicated to representing the Highlands, the area of the city where they were located. They were also very committed to being a safe place for people to ask questions. I had remarked to some friends that their Sunday worship was the first service I had attended which might be categorized as a "seeker service" without dumbing down the message of what they were saying.But as I attended the service for the first time that summer, what I loved most was watching the people take communion together. After the pastor broke the bread and poured the wine, people came forward from their seats when they were ready. As they formed two lines, I remember being very moved when I saw so many different types of people together. There were many young people -- both high school age and college age -- who were not dressed as typical "churchgoers." There were older people also. There were people with families. There were a few people wearing all leather. They were the bikers who frequent the church. There was even a guy with a pink mohawk. And as I watched them all, I had to ask myself a few questions: Where else could I possibly find all of these people in the same place? What did they have in common? I concluded that they had very little in common except their faith in Jesus Christ, and yet, because of this connection, they were enabled to have everything in common, including the bread and wine they were receiving.
Jesus Christ as the Horizontal Mediator
So often, in theology-speak, we hear that Jesus Christ serves as a "Mediator" between human beings and God. Now we might ask, what is meant by "mediation?" If we do ask it, we will find that Christians have nuanced such an idea in various forms of language. From an early century, we encounter what might have been a hymn in the early church: "For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom -- this was attested at the right time." (1 Tim. 2:5-6). We also hear that Jesus Christ serves as humanity's high priest, and "for this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant." (Heb. 9:15).
Throughout Christian history, people have added their voices to such interpretations. Their language takes nuances as well: "Jesus Christ serves as the Mediator between God and humanity because he is fully human and fully divine." "Jesus Christ serves as the Mediator between God and humanity because his life, death, and resurrection set right what has been broken between them." "Jesus Christ serves as the Mediator between God and humanity because he acts as a bridge, allowing human beings to have access to God." All of this Christian language has nuances, but it seems to have a common theme. Jesus Christ is a Mediator on a vertical plane. He is a "boundary" between human beings and God, making communication and communion a reality between them.
And in light of the questions I raised yesterday, we might want to ask a few more: Could it be that Jesus Christ is a "Horizontal" Mediator as well? Could it be that Jesus Christ serves not only as a Mediator between human beings and God, but also between human beings and human beings? Does he serve as a Mediator because he is fully human? Does he serve as a Mediator because his life, death, and resurrection set right what is broken between human beings? Does he serve as a Mediator because he acts as a bridge, allowing human beings to have true access to one another? Perhaps he is a "boundary" between human beings and human beings, making communication and communion a reality between them. If this is all true, what implications does it have for what I termed "Election on a Horizontal Plane?"
Jesus Christ as the Impenetrable Boundary
Jesus Christ stands between human beings, and for this reason, some theologians have said that there is no such thing as a direct relationship. As the Horizontal Mediator, Jesus Christ is himself the impenetrable boundary between people. This means that individuals in relationships are not ultimately accountable to each other but to Jesus Christ. There is a potential danger here, of course. Lest we think this means we are not responsible toward one another because we are only accountable to Jesus Christ, we have to think again! We are responsible toward each other precisely because we are accountable to Jesus Christ. In this theology, there is no such thing as a direct relationship. I am accountable to Jesus Christ. For this reason, I have no right to exert power over another. I have no right to push another beyond his or her limits. I have no right to claim ownership of another human being. I have no right to treat another human being as my possession. And, no one has the right to do any of these things to me. I belong to Jesus Christ as does each person in relationship with me. In this theological idea, Jesus Christ stands between us. There is no such thing as a direct relationship. I see some potential problems in this type of thinking, but for Christians, it does make a claim that Jesus is the Lord of every relationship, and every interaction goes through him. Thus, if we were to think through this theological lens, we would have to think more deliberately about how we treat others.
So, is it possible to elect one another on a horizontal plane? I have raised the conviction that we ought to be responsible toward people whom culture and society tell us we aren't responsible. I have said that we should move beyond thinking in terms of obligation and start accompanying people and loving people deeply for who they are. But can we be bold enough to say that we can "elect" people? Really? We fail so often. Isn't it scary to even consider pledging ourselves to others, knowing that we will fail them? Can we be so bold? Do we even have the power to do such a thing? Is this even possible?
I think the answer is a profound no and a profound yes. We cannot elect others on our own, and no one has his/her own power to elect us. There is such a thing as election on a horizontal plane, but it is entirely contingent upon election's vertical dimension. Our pledge toward others is rooted in God's pledge to us. Christ elects our election of others! He calls elected relationships into being! We aren't playing God when we elect others. We may shirk our duty to be responsible toward others, but we don't have the power make horizontal election happen. We are simply stepping into a called reality. Jesus Christ is Initiator of our horizontal election.
Therefore, we are not the Lord of those we elect. We are not "with and for" others in order to gain them for ourselves. We elect others for Christ's purposes -- to love. But a good question is worth asking: How do we determine what Christ's purposes are when we are so fallible? What are Christ's purposes for our relationships? What are Christ's purposes for our election of others? Is it possible to know? I think this is what intercessory prayer might be about. We are sure to make mistakes, but once again, we can give thanks that Jesus Christ stands as a Mediator, a boundary between human beings, for he himself demonstrates what it means to really be human. We enter into prayer, asking the One who wills our horizontal election about those purposes. Certainly, we do this with bowed heads and closed eyes. But we also do it in our mindfulness of one another. Every time we think of those to whom we're called, we have the opportunity to lift their needs, known and unknown to us, to the One who has made the greatest pledge to them. And we ask how we can become concrete expressions of God's pledge as we enter into it, pledging ourselves. When we enter into intercessory prayer -- through bowed heads or mindfulness -- we listen to the Initiator of the relationship. He is the one who knows the needs. We never know how we might be the answer to the prayers of others. Perhaps Christ hears the needs of one, and as Mediator, reveals them to another. Thank God that Jesus Christ is a boundary between us!
Jesus Christ as the "Barrierless" Boundary
"Jesus Christ stands between human beings, and for this reason, there is no such thing as a direct relationship." There is a certain level of separation inherent in such a statement. Yet this separation is not a barrier! Here is a paradox: It is precisely in their belonging to Jesus Christ - true humanity - that they completely belong to one another! This is no barrier at all! This is an opening possibility! Can we affirm that Jesus Christ is a Horizontal Mediator as a bridge, allowing human beings to have true access to one another? Yes! Jesus Christ is a "Barrierless" Boundary!
If we make the experience at Sojourn Community Church a microcosm of a larger reality, we will find that there is plenty that people do not have in common. People have a multitude of various experiences. They use different language. They espouse an array of worldviews. They don't look the same. There is plenty held in uncommon. And yet, in Jesus Christ they have shared humanity in common. He is the barrierless boundary! He brings them together. He calls them to elect one another. He calls them to share their humanity with one another.
I close with the words of Karl Barth: "We only have each other in Jesus Christ, but in Jesus Christ, we really have each other!"
-Renee
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