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Last week was the week of Christian Unity. Did anyone notice?
It is always in January and begins on the day when we remember the confession of St. Peter; it ends a week later on the day we remember the conversion of St. Paul. It never seems to make us aware of the spiritual fact that we are one family of those devoted to Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. I feel sometimes as though this is a forgotten maxim. Each denomination seems to command more loyalty than does the loyalty that goes beyond denominational presence. I know, I have adhered to that theory a great deal of my life as a Christian. I will be the first to laugh at jokes about denominational stereotypes. You know the ones: Presbyterians and predestination; Episcopalians and alcohol ("wherever you find four Episcopalians you will always find a fifth"); Catholics and alcohol; Baptists and alcohol; etc...It seems that we spend so much time picking on and at one another we miss the need for unity. Consider, brothers and sisters, what some degree of unity might mean for lower Alabama. In case you haven't noticed, the need of the poor and the downtrodden here is immense. Just think what a little unity might do to relieve the suffering of other humans who are also our brothers and sisters. In our reading of Scripture this past Sunday we spent time with Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. Paul had a hard time with this bunch of folks. Evidence points to him writing at least four letters, making an emergency visit and having failed at that visit, sending Titus later to try and straighten things out with the Corinthians. In this first letter he speaks of gifts and love in chapters 12 and 13. These were never meant to be examined as chapters (that is for our benefit today); rather, if you can read chapters 12 and 13 without stopping you will see why unity is so important in the work of Christ in the world. The gifts, Paul says are varied, but like the members of the body, the variety is needed to make up the whole. How does it work? Love. Why the effort? Love. What is the reward for the work well done? Love. I was teasing one of the members of St. Peter's who was a little taken back by my comment that chapter 13 of I Corinthians- --the "LOVE" passage--had nothing to do with weddings or getting married. It speaks to the way the members of the community are supposed to respond to each other, in love, because it is God's love for us that responds in this way. Greek for the word "LOVE" in I Corinthians is not "EROS" (coupling, erotic love), but it is "Agapon", which comes from "AGAPE" the Greek word that expresses the love of God for all of us. [Caveat: I will admit that when I was pressed by this member, "Well, it could be the love of a husband for a wife." I had to admit that, yes, it could mean a husband and wife, too.] What unity might exist if we put away the divisions and the problems long enough to see that which we have in common is much more binding than the junk we emphasize in dividing us. Think of the mission work that could be done here in Jackson if these different churches would focus on the issue of telling the story (evangelism) in such a way that if not one person came through our doors we wouldn't care. The best way to begin is by talking and sharing. This includes prayer, discussion, listening and a deliberate plan for reaching the ears that have either never heard the message or for whom the message lost any punch a long time ago. Whether unchurched or no longer active, there are people who need the words of Paul and the Living Word more than can be imagined. What unity? Maybe it begins with a pledge of support. I would love to hear from some of you out there who see the needs in the community that could be addressed by a strong Christian presence and unity of purpose. Where are you seeing a place to extend yourselves in the spirit of which Paul speaks to the church in Corinth?
What gifts are you willing to put forward with no promise of a "return" so that some may see that God is alive in the Christian community around us? Are we willing to risk failing (as Paul did with his initial attempt at reconciliation with Corinth)? Are we ready to answer the question, "What religion are you?" With the ancient tongue of the early church: "Christina Sum" - -"I am a Christian".
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