Radically Happy

As St. Augustine, propose a practice of ‘encommunication’ as a superior alternative to excommunication, where we trust God to convict/judge those in communion with us, to the extent we submit to Him judging us.
Write out a formal ceremony of encommunication, where parties in dispute lay their differences before God and ask Him to judge as they take communion together. Use the style of the Didache.
Write this as a blog post: “The Lost Ceremony of Encommunication”, explaining the context.

Prompt for ChatGPT

In early Christian history, communities took seriously the call to love one another—even amid disagreements, misunderstandings, and moral failings. Today, excommunication often represents the most severe outcome for those who fail to meet the standards of their faith community, but what if there were a better way? Imagine an alternative: encommunication. This long-lost practice, largely overshadowed by the stricter measures of excommunication, once aimed to reconcile rather than to exclude, to heal rather than to harm.

What Is Encommunication?

Encommunication can be thought of as an ancient spiritual alternative to excommunication, emphasizing communal healing and divine judgment over human-led exclusion. In this practice, members of a faith community facing conflicts or moral failures would remain within the fold—not as a sign of condoning wrongdoing, but as an act of trust in divine guidance. Through encommunication, those in dispute laid their differences before God, asking Him to be the ultimate judge as they took communion together. The idea was radical: rather than cutting people off from communion, the community invited those in conflict into deeper communion, believing that God’s Spirit would work on their hearts, guiding them to reconciliation and restoration.

Why Encommunication?

Excommunication, as we know it today, serves to protect the community’s moral and doctrinal integrity. In contrast, encommunication arose from the belief that God alone sees all hearts fully and is the best judge of human actions and motives. This practice trusted in divine judgment over human interpretation, drawing individuals closer together to allow God’s Spirit to heal and transform both parties. In an encommunication ceremony, those in dispute took communion side by side, submitting to God’s judgment and committing to seek mutual peace within the safety of their faith community.

Imagine the profound humility required: instead of casting out, the community chose to bear each other’s burdens in full view of God. Encommunication conveyed an earnest recognition that all members are wayfarers on the same road to sanctity, prone to error and in need of grace.

The Ceremony of Encommunication: A Ritual of Reconciliation

In the early Christian era, rites often mirrored the simplicity and reverence of teachings like the Didache. Below is a reconstructed ceremony of encommunication—a ceremony that could serve modern communities searching for deeper, more redemptive approaches to conflict resolution.

Step 1: Preparation of Hearts

The ceremony began with a moment of silent prayer, each participant reflecting on their own need for forgiveness and purification. Both parties came prepared to ask God to search their hearts, acknowledging their own failings before addressing those of others.

Leader: “Come, let us together invite God’s light to search us. We do not come to judge, but to be judged; not to cast away, but to be bound together anew in the Spirit.”

Step 2: Confession and Offering of Disputes

Each party brought their grievances not to one another, but directly to God. In a spirit of humility, each person acknowledged their role in the dispute, asking for divine guidance. This act was not about defense or retaliation; it was about humility and willingness to grow.

Party 1: “O Lord, search my heart and know my mind. I bring before You my grievance, acknowledging my own failings, and seek Your wisdom in restoring our peace. Judge between us as we lay our dispute in Your hands.”

This posture established a shared vulnerability, creating space for God’s healing judgment.

Step 3: Prayer for Divine Judgment and Reconciliation

In the heart of encommunication, the gathered community joined in prayer, asking for God’s judgment over the matter. They invoked divine wisdom to bring peace and healing to the relationship, allowing God’s light to reveal what needed change.

Leader: “O God, we trust in Your perfect justice and mercy. As these, Your servants, lay aside their dispute before You, may Your Spirit of peace and truth rest upon them. Bring to light what needs to be revealed and heal what needs to be restored.”

Step 4: Taking Communion Together

Perhaps the most radical part of encommunication was that the parties in dispute shared in the Lord’s Supper together. Communion became a symbol of unity under divine judgment and grace, an act of trust that each person would allow God’s Spirit to convict and renew them. The bread and wine were not simply elements; they were a tangible covenant of reconciliation.

Leader: “Let us come to the table, remembering that we are one body, and Christ is our peace. In His death, He broke down the dividing wall of hostility, so that we may be one.”

Step 5: Declaration of Encommunication

Finally, the leader declared the intention of encommunication: that each participant was now bound together in mutual submission to God’s judgment. They committed to continue in communion, trusting that God would guide them toward peace.

Leader: “By the grace of God, you have sought not judgment but mercy, not division but communion. Be at peace with one another, trusting God to judge between you, and may His Spirit fill you with humility and understanding.”

Step 6: Benediction and Charge

The ceremony concluded with a blessing, charging all present to uphold the spirit of encommunication and to let their unity be a witness to the reconciling love of Christ.

Leader: “Go now, bound together by the Spirit, that the world may see your unity and know that you are His disciples. Amen.”

Why We Need Encommunication Today

In our polarized world, encommunication offers a bold alternative to the divisive practices we often default to when faced with conflict. Rather than shunning those who err, it calls us to remain close, trusting that God will lead us through. It demands humility, patience, and an unshakable faith in God’s redemptive power. It recognizes that we, too, are vulnerable to pride, blind spots, and failings, and it asks us to hold others accountable in love as God refines each of us.

Encommunication may be a “lost ceremony” in our history, but its principles are profoundly relevant. As we seek to foster deeper, more resilient communities of faith, encommunication could become a powerful practice of reconciliation and shared growth. After all, as Paul reminds us, “we are all one body” (Ephesians 4:4), and that unity is worth preserving—even through the messiness of conflict—so that we may all grow together in love and truth.