Procrustes was very friendly, but he may have been the worst host of all time. He invited all passersby to stop and spend the night at his house. He even graciously offered them the use of his famous iron bed. There was only one problem: if the guest was too short, Procrustes would stretch them out until they fit his bed and if they were too long he would simply cut them down to size.
Of course, there truly is no such thing as “one size fits all” in clothing or in congregations. We are such a diverse lot, aren’t we? In our congregation, we have old and young, rich and poor, people with strings of degrees after their name and those without. We speak English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Texan. We love spicy food and bland. Our diversity is our strength, but it can also become our greatest vulnerability. I truly fear those who would, like Procrustes, insist we all fit the same mold.
In the Corinthian church, some people loved listening to Paul. He wasn’t a trained orator and often talked too long, but the depth of his understanding has never been equaled. Then there were those who loved the “Eloquent Alexandrian” Apollos. Others were entranced by the sincerity and first-hand knowledge of Peter. How did they ever get along? What advice would you give them? Rupertus Meldenius (circa 1627) wrote:
“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.”
Jan sent me to the grocery store the other day to buy apples. That seems like a simple, straight forward task, but when I arrived at the produce isle, I was confronted with a chaotic world swirling with choices. First, did I want organic or regular apples? Did I need red or golden delicious; gala, jazz, pink lady, honey crisp? Domestic or imported? In despair, I fled to the potato chip aisle, but that was even worse! Kettle, ridges, Pringles, sea salt, cracked pepper, salt and vinegar … I backed into the cereal aisle and had a complete meltdown. “Clean up on aisle 13!”