Tug of War

Why is it so hard for us to agree?

Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them. - Matthew 18:19-20

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus assures his disciples that anything they ask for they can get from God.  But they have to agree when they ask.

That sounds like a simple requirement, doesn't it? 

So why do we doubt that what we pray for will come to pass?  Don't we feel Jesus' presence among us when we come together in his name?

Sometimes we agree to come together even though we are at odds over the outcome we seek.  I am reminded of the story of David and Goliath. 

In that story, the Philistines agreed to send one man to fight on their behalf because they believed they had a lock with the giant Goliath who was undefeated in battle.

The Israelites, however, were outnumbered, so they agreed because it was their only chance to win.

Each side wanted to win, and all were not believers in the same God.  They agreed to disagree on all but the battle, so there could only be one victor.

I believe this is how we come together in agreement today.  We want our position to be the one we both agree on, and we really don't want to compromise.

We don't agree on the outcome, only on the process, and we leave it to God to pick sides.

Or worse, like the Israelites, we assume God is one our side and the other side is going to be defeated.

So, what happens when we fail to agree to come together? 

I believe this is where we are as a nation today, agreeing on nothing, choosing to stay fixed in place with our demands that the other side be vanquished.

When two or more come together in Jesus' name, what are they praying for? 

We are using Jesus as a rope in a tug of war, and I doubt that is going to go well with him.  Maybe we should try another approach.

More to come...