Prayer for Christian Unity

WING – Sunday 24 January 2010

Reading 1 Corinthians 12.12-31a [TNIV]

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Gospel Luke 4.14-21 [TNIV]

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Sermon

Riding in Underground – eHarmony advert.

In 1997, after 35 years practising as a clinical psychologist and counselling thousands of married couples, Dr. Neil Clark Warren had come to believe that there was a better way to find love than leaving it up to chance. Dr. Warren sought to identify the characteristics between spouses that were consistently associated with the most successful relationships. After three years of research and development, he successfully identified the key dimensions of personality that predicted compatibility and the potential for long-term relationship success. He patented the Compatibility Matching System. Now 236 American couples who met through eHarmony marry every day.

What if success comes through incompatibility? Don’t opposites attract and like poles repel? In marriage couples become one flesh. Unity. eHarmony aims to match like characteristics. Finding you have a lot in common is very attractive from the outset, but will a relationship based on likeness work in long term? Many successful marriages are based on unpredictability, surprise, different skills and gifts that complement each other rather than overlap or match. Unity through diversity.

Jan 18 – 25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Readings not chosen specially but work well. I Corinthians 12 is all about unity, but not through everyone agreeing or performing same roles.

Paul starts by saying why we should be unified. First, because we are all part of one church. Second we are all baptised with one and same Spirit. We might be very different – Jews, Greek, Slave, Free – Paul gives contemporary examples of diversity – but even though we are members one of another we are not all the same and we do not necessarily all agree.

Paul uses his favourite analogy - the human body. He makes three points – firstly, each of us is different – foot does not see and eye does not walk – all the parts are very diverse yet that does not make them any the less part of the body.

Second point he makes – no part can be dispensed with or opt out. One part – eye for example – cannot say You are a hand, we don’t need you or you are a foot, we can do without you.

Thirdly, not all parts of the body are of equal worth – some have greater status and honour – others we hide and don’t talk about – but all are needed regardless of how we view them, so all are equal in sight of God our maker.

Pretty good analogy – which Paul applied to early church. Not everyone can be a leader. Not everyone wants to be. Some people are administrators, teachers, prophets, some have gift of healing and reconciliation – all are different and each of us has a part to play.

Likewise we don’t all agree. We can still agree to differ in love, yet still happily worship alongside each other. That’s the idea, anyway – but it doesn’t seem to be working, not only between different churches but even within the Church of England and Anglican Communion.

There have been many promising times in our search for unity, but each have come to nothing. We now seem farther from consensus than we have ever been. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland say the ecumenical movement is becalmed. Some might say the ship is on the rocks and threatening to break up.

The trouble is that word consensus. Why do we need to agree on everything? Surely only if we feel we have to combine in one and the same structure and follow the same rules. Perhaps one day the Roman Catholic church might be reconciled to the priesthood of women or married men? Perhaps one day the Anglican church might accept some form of authority by the Pope? Maybe the Anglican communion might focus on unity in Christ and fall out less over the authority of Scripture, the ordination of women, or the appointment of gay people to the episcopate.

Whenever we disagree on anything however profound, we all know we should focus on areas of consensus rather than division. Consensus is important, not as a precondition for unity but to oil the works. Often we find we can agree on 95% and only argue over small areas of doctrine or practice. Is this not sufficient? Unity does not need to be more than that.

In Paul’s version of the church, we are all different and we all use our various gifts. Some are more valued and honoured than others, but all are of equal importance to the whole.

In today’s gospel reading from Luke, there could hardly be a more divisive and potent mix than Jesus who broke every rule addressing the Jews in a Palestinian synagogue. In speaking to them, Jesus did not argue doctrine but read from the Hebrew scriptures. He claimed to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah – preaching good news to the poor and setting the prisoners free. All eyes were fastened on him. There was no obvious consensus or agreement, but Jesus claimed unity through his own person. Today, he said, this scripture is fulfilled in your own hearing.

That’s where Christian unity comes from – the authority of Christ and not doctrinal consensus. That’s what we should pray for today:

Take us from where we are,
to where you want us to be;
make us not merely guardians of a heritage,
but living signs of your coming Kingdom;
fire us with passion for justice and peace
between all people;

fill us with that faith, hope and love which
embody the Gospel;
and through the power of the Holy Spirit make us one.
That the world may believe,
that your name may be enthroned in our nation,
that your church may more effectively be your body,
we commit ourselves to love you, serve you,
and follow you as pilgrims not strangers. Amen.