Nougat 28

Tired of the conflicts all around the world? Maybe we ought to look within our local communities. Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭13‬, ‭26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If Jews and Gentiles are joined BY God’s Spirit INTO ONE BODY, ie the Body of Christ, why do we permit and perpetuate spiritual divisiveness?

Then, slave and free worshipped together. Obviously the system was different from the traumatic experience of those who were enslaved under the TransAtlantic Slave Trade. The need for us to honestly work and worship together as children of former slave holders, former slave traders and formerly enslaved (repartifmiento-encomienda, TransAtlantic Slave Trade and indentureship) cannot ever be overemphasized. This requires some soul searching as we revisit the Word on righting wrongs. What will that look like in our lived reality? How do we reflect God’s Justice in our worship?

Being baptized in one Spirit shouldn’t look like power plays, whether locally or beyond. How we must disappoint God’s Spirit with our divisive attitudes! How it affects us as a body. For if one suffers and we ignore it, we ought not wonder when the whole body is weakened. And when we can celebrate the successes, there’s room for our own.

Can we commit to play our part in our local contexts to aim for more equity? We start simply – by affirming the gifts of each other. By identifying where we have been guilty of diminishing the other, accepting our responsibility and making amends. It is doable – one step at a time.

First, we have to want to do it

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May all we seek be found in Christ