Page 125 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 23

Here in Germany, too, there are not only the tradi- When I crossed myself for the first �me in the name
�onal denomina�ons and free churches, but also of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I felt a
African, Russian, Iranian and other congrega�ons very deep connec�on with the Crucified and Risen
from other na�ons, not forge�ng the Jewish Mes- One and this has lasted to this day.
sianic congrega�ons. We all belong together. So we gain something when we discover our near
However, not only the comparison with other and distant brothers and sisters, not in a superficial
Chris�an groups, but also an insight into the diver- spiritual flair, but as people, as real counterparts
sity of church history makes it clear that each of us with their rainy and sunny days.
hides or overemphasizes some aspects of our faith.
No-one sees the whole picture, no-one can grasp In pairs at the very least: using synergies
God. There is a very remarkable story in the Old Testa-
At first, the foreign may seem threatening, but if we ment (Genesis 11:1-9): the Tower of Babel. God re-
overcome our fears, we can enter a rich land. We alizes - I emphasize it: he realizes - that the inhabi-
“old” Chris�ans then set out to discover the rich- tants of Babel are of one mind and therefore no-
ness of our faith. one can prevent them from doing anything. That is
why he disrupts this unity by confusing the langua-
Learning from other confessions ge.
The five dimensions of our faith men�oned in Unity not only makes us strong, but together we
Chapter 1 - faith experiences, faith convic�ons, achieve more than the sum of our individual achie-
faith concepts, faith prac�ce and faith conse- vements. A much-cited example is a team of oxen:
quences - also color our denomina�onal perspec�- if one ox can pull 300 kilograms, how much can two
ve. “Foreign” Chris�ans can open up many new are- pull? The mathema�cian might answer 600 kilo-
as for us. grams, but that's not true. If they pull in the same
For example, I wondered what use the sign of the direc�on, they can pull about 700 kilograms. This
cross or crossing oneself could have. I used to con- principle is also used in construc�on. If one plank
trast the meaning of such gestures with Jesus' carries 80 kilograms across a stream, then two
words that we should believe with our hearts, or iden�cal planks laid on top of each other will not
his cri�cism of the superficial behavior of the scri- only carry 160 kilograms, but probably 200 kilo-
bes, right up to the provoca�ve statements that grams or more. This “extra gain” is called synergy,
there are even those who perform miracles in his and synergy is considered a principle of crea�on.
name but do not know Jesus. On the other hand, I This synergy is certainly one reason why Jesus sent
knew that ac�ons can certainly move something in- his disciples out two by two. Discovering the power
side, especially if the meaning is understood. of unity is part of the second conversion.
The following experience gave me a new approach: In a seminar where I taught about synergy, I clai-
I taught at the Orthodox University in Moscow for a med that wherever we are, in the workplace, in the
few years. The respect of my partners there for my neighborhood, there is always a “second” partner,
faith and their willingness to make room for it in the a synergy partner. One par�cipant came forward
community increased with growing mutual trust. and said that he must be the only Chris�an in his
For example, they asked me to pray out loud in per- large organiza�on. He didn't know anyone else. I
son, which is not usual for them. said that I was convinced that God had “hidden” a
On my last visit, I decided to try out the sign of the second one somewhere. At the next mee�ng he
cross as a gesture of respect towards them, which I told me the following: At a senior staff conference,
had no�ced them making in front of every icon, he wanted to make a new appointment with a
even on the streets, and which I knew from Catholic colleague. They looked at their diaries together and
church services at home. what did he discover? She had entered a Chris�an
My Orthodox friends had explained to me that they conference on a weekend that he also wanted to
cross themselves with three fingers to express and a�end.
internalize the Trinity of God. First they touch the The Bible contains examples of both in the Old Tes-
forehead, in the name of the Father, then the sto- tament - Moses had his brother Aaron at his side,
mach, in the name of the Son, and then the le� side Joshua had Caleb, but Joseph was alone in Egypt.
of the chest, in the name of the Holy Spirit.

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