The Butterfly Effect

Black swallowtail on the Webster U campus

The Butterfly Effect
Romans 12:4-6a

The expression “butterfly effect” refers to the idea that small events can have large effects elsewhere. Whether or not a butterfly’s flapping wings in Chicago create a storm in Asia, the idea is profound that everything is interrelated. For instance, for many years ecological science has been concerned with the interdependence of all life on earth.

Church congregations are also a place of interdependence and mutuality. A childhood Sunday school teacher can plant seeds of faith that affect you all your life—and affect other people who are touched by your faith. A minister who shows you concerns and care—or another lay person—can provide profound healing. But a harsh word, a habit of gossip, “triangulating” behavior, and other negative experiences can be hurtful to a person’s faith—and may even be fatal to a person’s faith!

Influence and interrelationships can’t be measured in numbers and reports. My childhood Sunday school and VBS teachers inspired my faith, and years later I wrote Sunday school curriculum—but that crucial influence was years before.

I’ve gotten my feelings hurt in different churches over the years. I’m emotionally sensitive, but I’ve known “tougher” people who have felt the same way. Churches are places where we may feel vulnerable, wanting to feel close to God and looking for training for and assurance in faith. If someone says a harsh word to you, or is very critical of something you did, or makes you feel discourage: these experiences may feel particularly difficult at church. Also, feeling ignored or slighted in church—feeling like your gifts or your input are not valued—is painful. (I am speaking very generally, not about any particular congregation.)

Famously, in Romans 12:4-6a, Paul describes the church as a body, in which all members belong to one another (not “members” of an organization, but members analogous to parts of the physical body). He also uses this image in greater detail in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

If you have time, you might also read Ephesians 4:12-16, a good scripture that talks about the way we support and “equip” one another as members. Galatians 3:28, about the oneness of people in Christ, is surely one of my favorite Bible verses. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. In one of my seminary classes a few years ago, we kept spontaneously coming back to this verse as a theme and agreed that, today, "gay and straight, white and black, young and old," would be part of the inclusive vision.

Another favorite scripture is Hebrews 13:1-3, where the struggles of other people become, in a way, your own.

During this sermon series, think about ways that you’ve been influenced by church folks—both good and not-so-good—and think about ways that you, in turn, can provide positive influence for others. Think about ways that a whole church could be “hurting” because one portion is in pain or turmoil. It’s wonderful to think how we can affect one another for Christ when we have a deep sense of Christ’s presence day by day.

(A devotion written for our church's newsletter)