I was struck by this analogy of the church I heard this week, and I’m not sure of the source, so I will paraphrase what I heard.
The church can be like one of three bodies of water: a swamp, a reservoir, or a canal. Even though we know biologically good things come out of swamps, let’s use a traditional picture of still, stagnant water that appears lifeless and unproductive; you have probably been part of churches like that. The image of the reservoir has moving water, but, tends to move in one direction controlled by its keepers, and which also hordes its water as limited resource. A canal, however, connects two bodies of water to one another, and the water flows both ways. The third image feels like the healthiest to me. The church is not limited or constrained by its environment, but operates between the sources of nourishment and need, which are always changing and flowing in different directions. An analogy can strain if it’s pressed too far, but, perhaps the lock system offers a measure of wise control in how quickly this water flows. In the end though, the church as canal is a conduit of God’s love which comes to it on its way to someone or something else; that’s something in which I could gladly get immersed! GS