Monday, April 30, 2007

Gaggling


So I’m driving back from Quebec City (being driven actually, I’m not that crazy) and I just saw some geese fly by, which triggered some thinking.

I’ve often heard, in sermons and teachings, examples pulled out of how geese fly. The synergetic formation, taking turns breaking the wind >, etc. This led me to picture this perfectly formed “V” with the geese taking timed turns at the front and the whole thing flying straight for the goal/destination. This picture, however, has been smashed by actually seeing flocks (or is it gaggles) of geese flying north and south.

What I’ve actually observed sometimes seams much more chaotic and unorganized. What I see is geese switching “V”s, constant leader changing, and constant changing of form (sometimes appearing more as a W or a slash “/”). What’s the deal? Are they a different species then the ones from the examples? Are these anarchist geese?

“So Ben has lost it”, some of you may be thinking (don’t worry, that happened a while ago). What am I getting at? Here it is.

I guess it is more of a reminder to us all. In the body of Christ, things like organization, teamwork, leadership, etc. are all super important. Paul, in 1Corinthians, speaks of “orderly worship” when we meet together. He also, to Timothy and others, lays out criteria for elders and deacons. Structure, I think we can all agree, is important in any body (human, buildings, plants, even water). Where would we be without it?

So that’s the first point; Order/structure is GOOD.

Thankfully, however, we are the BODY of Christ. Go ahead and move your body around a little, would you say that the movement is structured or fluid? Natural body movement is fluid. Our joints work so that we can move in graceful dancing motions. What am I saying by that? I guess my second point is that fluidity/movement is GOOD. When we reduce movement to the structured steps, we can still get around, but I’m not paying to see that dance.

Conclusion, when as a community of Christ followers (i.e. a/the Church) are overly focused on fluidity, we may end up as a blobish heap that isn’t good for much at all. And for the other side of the coin…when we are overly focused on structure, when we seek movement for movement’s sake, we loose the beauty of the graceful dance that is meant to catch the eye of a seeking world.

Think about it, you goosey honkers.

Cheers

3 Comments:

At 1:01 PM, Blogger Micah and Katie said...

I like the idea of balance in this, I have also long wondered where you can go to see these perfectly flying V's. It's kind of funny when like 2 or 3 get off on their own and forget that they are flying with the group and then look around and realize that they are all by themselves. There's probably an analogy there too : ) Later you honking gooser!

 
At 5:13 PM, Blogger bMC said...

... so I guess you won't be coming to see "Flight of the Lethargic Robot Goose" at the National Ballet with me then.

 
At 10:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

hehe... it's totally a gaggle when it's geese.

*grin*

Good points - and I'm glad that you don't type and drive at the same time!

 

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