The Collective actually exists...

A certain person I know staunchly believes that Star Trek Voyager is the worst Star Trek series ever. Setting aside the fact that he is utterly, absolutely, and completely WRONG, I was thinking about Voyager tonight in Evening Prayer. Mostly, this was because something happened with the mike and my hearing does not function all that well with certain tones or pitches or whatever (I *hear* clearest with the bass all the way down and the treble turned up). So, I had this period of time to think while all this non-sensible humming was filling my ears.

In Voyager, the idea of why someone would actually want to be a Borg, why someone would want to be a part of the Collective, came up in several ways. Of course, in Voyager, Seven of Nine learns how precious individuality can be. While I know that I will never be a Borg and that there are no Borg, I was thinking, while lying in that pew down front (because Sandra is a down-front kind of person ... who does that???), I realized tonight that when the Creed and the Lord's Prayer come around in the Liturgy, the voices around me sound just like that of the Collective ... one single voice arising from a multitude of voices. And I realized that what I hunger for is exactly the loss of which that brought such sorrow to Seven: The unity of thought.

Seven found perfection in that unity and yearned to experience it just once more. Many of the choices she made were driven by that yearning even though she found herself clinging to her individuality.

To me, there is perfection in the unity of the Confession of the pure doctrine because it is solely about Christ crucified. My heart sings each and every time I read "we believe, teach, and confess..." in the pages of that collection of texts. Every fiber of my being resonates with the teaching that weaves to and from the cross, that fits so perfectly with God's Word, that has no part of the things of man confused with the things of God.

In church tonight, my heart sang as I was one with the collective around me praying the Lord's Prayer, as it does when I can sing the liturgy, as it does with the Creed. My inner Borg is why this introverted wall-flower hermit yearns so deeply to not be alone in her confession, to be surrounded by voices, neither male or female, neither young nor old, of no single race or station or any other distinction speaking that which is most certainly true.

Such is the perfection that can be found in this fallen world. Unity is possible. It does exist.

For the fourth time this week, I shall cite again what awes me, because little did I know that the Borg existed in the 1500s:

Our opponents have shameless mouths that have shouted allegations throughout the whole world against our churches and teachers. They claimed that you cannot find two preachers who agree about each and every article of the Augsburg Confession, but that they are torn apart and separated from one another to such an extent that they themselves no longer know what the Augsburg Confession is and what its proper meaning is. Therefore, we did not present this common Confession briefly or merely by signing our names, but we wanted to make a pure, clear, distinct declaration about all the disputed articles that have been discussed and argued among the theologians of the Augsburg Confession. We did this so that everyone may see we do not want to hide or cover up all this in a cunning way or come to agreement only in appearance. We want to remedy the matter thoroughly, and wanted to set forth our opinion on these matters in such a way that even our adversaries themselves must confess that in all this we abide by the true, simple, natural, and proper sense of the Augsburg Confession. We desire, by God's grace, to persevere constantly in this confession until our end. And as long as it depends on our ministry, we will not overlook error or be silent, lest anything contrary to the genuine sense of the Augsburg Confession is introduced into our churches and schools, in which the almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has appointed us teachers [Latin: doctors] and pastors.

...

In the sight of God and of all Christendom, we want to testify to those now living and those who will come after us. This declaration presented here about on the controverted articles mentioned and explained above--and no other--is our faith, doctrine, and confession. By God's grace, with intrepid hearts, we are willing to appear before the judgment seat of Christ with this Confession and give an account to it. We will not speak or write anything contrary to this Confession, either publicly or privately. By the strength of God's grace we intend to abide by it. Therefore, after mature deliberation, we have, in the fear of God and by calling on His name, attached our signatures with our own hands. ~BOC, FSD, XII, 3-6, 40


Lord, I believe.  Help my unbelief!