Continuing our Lenten discussions, this week we had a short teaching and discussed the extended meaning flowing from James 5:16 in which we are encouraged to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other, etc. We had a very good discussion which basically took on the topic of openness and vulnerability in the context of community.

+ Alan

James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful."

Pray for one another in order to find healing. Is this only for physical healing that we pray for one another? Obviously not since this is preceded by "confess your sins to one another." I want to present to you that this is also not just about "sins" - tell each other your bad stuff all the time. No, I think it has to do with the whole context of one anothering in the New Testament. It's about community - about sharing ourselves with one another - openning ourselves up - vulnerability. Scary stuff.

The "confession" preceeds the prayer and healing though - did you catch that? Confess - that you may... There's also that little ditty about "bear one another's burdens" in Galatians 6:2. What's that all about? Well, its like I said - its about community. Its about us openning ourselves to each other and being knit together - building each other up in love (sounds scriptury too don't it).

- What do these things mean to you?

- How might this work in our community?

- Are you afraid of vulnerability? Why or why not?

- Share one thing with the group so we can pray for you tonight.

Our discussion expanded from the original scripture reference into a full blown talk about how we need to lay ourselves out to one another if we are to build real community. "Real" - that's the word - we need to be real and stop hiding behind masks. We hinder both ourselves and the whole community when we do this. So many times we put the "church face" on like we've got things all together and nothing gets done.

We talked about how the small community setting - cell group/home church context - is where this can happen the best. Its up close and personal. Its hard to hide. The answers to the questions above were predominately about "fear." Fear of how people would perceive us if we really told it like it was. If we really admitted how we struggle sometimes (not just with doing bad things but with life in general) what would people think - we would seem so strong or "together."

Well, so what. We can never truly get where we want to go until we allow ourselves to be helped by those around us. In the Christian community we are inherently a part of one another - we share the life of Jesus and unless I avail myself of receiving that life of Jesus which is in you then I will not receive all of His life. Its time to cut the crap basically and get down to what its really about. We need to get past our culture - our Western, American, individualistic culture which has brought us all up to value being our own person - ... crap.

After our discussion we opened up about one thing we were needing help with - something we struggled with in life - and then we prayed for each other - good stuff. I pray God gives us the Grace to keep it up.