Years ago a British television company held a nation-wide
competition to find ‘Britain’s
ideal couple.’ After their extensive
search they settled on a nice pair of lovebirds who were engaged to be
married. This couple was interviewed
numerous times happily sharing their secrets to a successful relationship. A television program about the couple was
produced and the day before it aired, the situation changed in an unexpected
way. The young woman was smacked in the
face by her fiancé at a concert. This,
coupled with her discovery that he was already married to a woman named
Barbara, prompted her to call off the engagement. Still, the program was broadcast as
planned. We are talking about British
television, after all. (Information from
Cannibals in the Cafeteria and other Fabulous Failures, by Stephen Pile).
So where do you find the “Ideal Couple?” I’m not sure you do. Of course, I’m speaking with some experience
here. Patsy and I are preparing to
celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, and by the time you read
this we may have already done so. But I
don’t really consider us to be an “Ideal Couple.” I’m certainly a flawed husband, and I chalk
up our years of marriage to finding a good partner who’s much better than I
deserve. Marriages, like any
relationship, are seldom ideal. We make
them work by working to make them.
This means that most marriages don’t succeed because the
people in them are perfect, but because both parties involved are committed to
something bigger than either of them. It
could be the marriage itself, it could be family, it could be faith. But when two people are committed to
something both hold important, they have a good reason to work and live
together. While there are no worthy ideal
couples, there are couples who pursue worthy ideals.
All of this is true of churches as well. If you’re looking for an “ideal church” I
don’t think that Maple Avenue
is the right choice for you. We’re full
of imperfect people, struggling to live our faith, sharing our life together
sometimes successfully sometimes not. We
can step on each other’s toes and rub each other the wrong way. We don’t all like the same things, we don’t
vote the same ways, and we enjoy different kinds of food and listen to
different kinds of music. Yet, here we
are, working together in ministry and service.
We’re not together because we’re ideal people. We’re together because of the ideals of Jesus
Christ. We believe in loving and
nurturing others, as he did. Like him,
we build relationships through shared meals.
And through our own unique encounters with his risen presence, we have
been healed and made whole.
I’m thankful for my 40 years of married life, not because
it’s been ideal, but because it’s been meaningful and a blessing to me and
others. And I’m thankful for Maple
Avenue United Methodist
Church for the same reasons.
I’m a less-than ideal husband, working as a less-than-ideal
pastor, in a less-than-ideal congregation.
All of this is happening in a less-than ideal neighborhood located in a
less-than-ideal city. And if you’re a
less-than-ideal person who would like to associate with other less-than-ideal
people as we pursue the worthy ideals of Jesus Christ, we’re glad to have you
on board!
