one body one hope

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

ephesians 4:4-6

unity is a concept that gets tossed around... but what does it really mean when we talk about bodies (both communities and our own bodies)? so i want to think in terms of wholeness... wholeness that is true to our one hope and one calling, as individual bodies, and corporate bodies.

right now, i am living anything but one calling. today felt like one of those days where i am mired in multiple callings, unable to fully respond to any of them. i try to "unify" my art, my education, my ministry, my work, somehow in my being, but i come up feeling pulled in different directions.

and then i look at the wider body of christ that i am a part of... the PCUSA. it too is pulled in many directions, and may be pulled apart. but where is our wholeness? in the midst of our debates, have we lost our ability to be whole? to live as whole individuals and as a whole body? does sacrificing this wholeness to a debate mean we are not living up to this scriptural calling? would we better be whole as two bodies?

how does that tension apply to my life? in this same way, i have my foot in a bunch of communities right now, and it is tearing me to shreds. i feel like i cannot serve any of them, or myself for that matter, as best i can, and yet, i will be in "liminal" place for almost two more years. so how to deal?

one God who is over all and through all and in all...

if they meant all, really all, then i can learn to live in this liminal place. it may take time to find that wholeness, but God is in it all.

can the PCUSA learn to live... whole... in a liminal place filled with tension? i just don't know.