Recently,
in a newspaper medical column by Dr Oz, I saw this catchy sentence: “Loving
hearts live longer.” He cited studies that say married couples live longer, on
average, than single people. Maybe that’s why Frances and I can celebrate our
69th anniversary today. We have spent 69 years in what I sometimes
think of as an assisted living arrangement. Dr Oz went on quickly to say that
it isn’t just married couples, its anyone who has close, open, honest
relationships with other people who live longer.
What Dr
Oz said is not new. The preacher in Ecclesiastes spoke of it long ago when he
wrote: Two are better than one, because
they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his
companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help
him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one
be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken (4:9-12).
The
same concept can be seen in Paul’s description of the church, especially in 1
Corinthians 12 where he speaks of how members of the body lift one another up.
He says, “members should have the same
care for one another. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or
if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (25-26).” Earlier,
in chapter 10 Paul uses a rich, Greek word for this relationship. It’s the
word, KOINONIA, and it means
“fellowship,” “participation,” or, as several versions say in verses 16-17,
“communion.” He says, “the bread which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are
one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” Though we
are many, yet we are one body. This is close to marriage language – the two
become one. The many have something in common that makes them one.
Through
our years in the church, Frances and I have experienced how loving hearts are
one in Christ and lift each other up. One example: We were in Oklahoma for
seminary, two thousand miles from home, no family around, no way to communicate
with family, not even a telephone, and our first child was born. I sent a
telegram to tell the folks at home. Frances got sick in the hospital and had to
stay for over a week. To go home, she needed more help than I could give her by
myself. Our immediate families couldn’t help, but the family of God could, and
did. Good friends stepped in, took her home and gave her and Gary the care they
needed for a few days. This is
“koinonia,”, loving hearts, the church, in action.
The Lord’s
supper as “communion,” as an expression of koinonia, points to what the church
is, a collection of loving hearts. And the result is life, long life, both here
and hereafter.
