Is Baby Jesus Crying?

So there's a horrible guy who goes to our church (it's bound to happen when you have a church of 2,000 or whatever our church is and apparently I am bound to find them). I told my boy once, I would really feel sorry for this guy and try harder to be his friend but he's so smug and hateful in addition to his social awkwardness. My boy pointed out he wouldn't need my friendship if he weren't so smug because better, nicer, people would probably already be his friends.

Anyway, this guy has seriously wronged me in the past and I think I have kind of forgiven him (though this post doesn't make it sound like it too much). He also told my roommate within 10 minutes of meeting her that she didn't belong in our church and that she seriously needed to reconsider her religious beliefs (mind you she was working in our homeless outreach ministry right as he was telling her this -- as in she was talking to homeless people/handing out muffins and he interrupted that to point out she didn't love Jesus right). He's done other stuff to other people too and I believe has a pastor actually assigned to him because he's been flagged as a "problem" person.

He's recently gotten his mdiv and therefore is an extremely eager and active member of our church. He ushers he attends officious meetings and he hands out communion. Usually they actually only let him dismiss the pews but on April 1st as some sort of cruel cosmic joke he was handing out the communion in the section where we were sitting (and we don't even usually sit in that section!!!). Our church is really good about giving ample time right before communion for you to make right with people so you're prepared to take communion properly. I didn't feel the need to make right with him. I have forgiven him, I just don't want to be close enough to him for him to hurt me again. As a friend of mine says, you're not called to like fellow Christians, you're called to love them!

My roomie didn't feel comfortable taking communion from someone who thinks she shouldn't even be in the church so she was planning on abstaining completely. Instead I suggested that we wait till the pew to our left was dismissed and just follow them (I liked the two people giving communion on the other side). It was like watching a tennis match though seeing the sides get dismissed. They were neck and neck and then the pews to our left pulled out ahead. It looked like the ones on the right might catch up, but in the end the ones on the left won by a nose. Four of us from my pew stood up and followed the left pew over. I felt like it was a coup, a triumph, a solution.

When I told this story to Girl, she said that I should have made right with the guy. I pointed out I had, I didn't want to be hurt again and she just gave me a look and asked if I thought he would poison the communion cup. I said no, but the focus of communion should be on what Christ did for me/us and I should be taking it in fellowship with Christian brother's and sisters. If I had taken communion on the right I would have been thinking about the guy I can't like, but work on loving, instead of Christ. . . .

I thought it was a funny story, but perhaps it's just a sad example of how we haven't come that much farther since the fighting in the early church. . . .