Together

I am a huge fan of the “digital age,” especially what it is doing for communications. “Social networking” by means of computers is an enormous industry today – tweets, blogs, facebook, podcasting; i-phones, i-pods, blackberries, computers and wi-fi. People, information, services are all more available than ever. Facebook has allowed my to connect with friends, classmates I had not heard from in 20 years, and I probably would lost touch with them forever. The day is already here when business meetings and school classes can be conducted by way of teleconferences, and employees can conduct most of their work at home without commuting.

Communities are no longer limited by geography. What sailing ships once did to extend nations beyond the oceans, what cars and highways once did to spread families across the country, what space travel once did to make that “one giant leap for mankind,” so digital technology has stretched our ability to interact with people all over the globe in real-time.

Yet we can never lose sight of the need for our face-to-face, in-person, in-the-flesh interactions with one another. As valuable as the new technologies are for keeping us connected, there are some things we can only get by being together.

Computers were not something Jesus had to deal with 2,000 years back. There were other, more fundamental forces at work that pulled (and continue to pull) people apart and to fracture human interaction. Jealousy, greed, power, advantage, privilege, hatred, fear, all these things cause people to set up barriers between themselves and others. So Jesus came proclaiming reconciliation and forgiveness, not only with God but between humans themselves. Jesus preached not to be judgmental towards “the outsider” because we ourselves are forgiven of the sin that once made us outsiders to God. Jesus wanted us to be together.

Together we see all the expressions on each other’s faces; we see all the body language – is she happy, sad; is he upright or downcast. Together we get to offer a hug or hold a hand. Together we may enjoy a laugh or we may console a cry. And yes, together we may get on each other’s nerves. Together we may expose a weakness or reveal our shame. Together we may also offer our understanding and forgiveness. Together we have the chance to be our truest, most authentic selves.

Celebrate what it means for us to be together.