Comm-unity
Comm-unity by Rev. L. John Gable
October 4, 2020
As is my usual routine, I wrote this message on Thursday morning and decided not to use this illustration, then was awakened on Friday morning to the news that the President and the First Lady and a number in his inner circle had contracted Covid 19; of course our prayers go out to him and them and all who are affected by this pandemic. It was then I realized that this illustration is very appropriate, after all.
I heard this story while visiting the Umoja project in Kenya that in the midst of a church fight an elderly man fell down and suddenly everyone stopped arguing. They rushed to his side, took off his shoes, loosened his tie, checked his pulse and respiration, then called for medical assistance. The argument stopped because everyone realized the common fate of all humanity. What happened to this man could happen to any one of us. Despite our differences, we are all one.
I think you will agree with me when I say, we live in an age of divisiveness and disagreement. If you don’t agree with me, perhaps that, in and of itself, proves my point. I imagine there is even some disagreement as to how that word is pronounced: is it divisive or divisive?
I am not quite sure what to do with the situation I find myself in, we find ourselves in.
I have a friend who is going to vote for Donald Trump, and another for Joe Biden, and yet another who is still undecided so is trying to figure out who to write in.
I have friends who exclusively watch MSNBC, others Fox News, still others CNN, and some who have given to only watching Netflix.
I know some who believe that the Corona virus pandemic is a global crisis and others who contend that it will suddenly all go away the day after the election. Some who won’t go out of their homes without wearing a mask, if at all, and others who think it is all foolishness and a scare tactic.
I have friends who believe that Black Lives Matter, and others that Blue Lives Matter, and still others that All Lives Matter. And rather than seeking points of agreement in each of those statements choose instead to defend their own and debate the others.
I know of some who believe that global warming is the most serious issue facing not only our nation, but the world; and others who deny it all together.
I have noticed recently the signs in people’s yards stating what they believe and the values they hold, and then I started noticing other signs, different signs, stating what they believe and hold to be of value. Are these intended to be companion statements or is one intended to be a correction and reproof of the other?
You name the issue and I likely have a friend who stands on every side of it, and my guess is you do as well. We live in an age of divisiveness and disagreement, and I wonder what we are supposed to do with that, how we are supposed to handle the morass of divisions which have arisen between us, not only us as citizens but us as Christians?
Admittedly, some have chosen to isolate themselves, separate themselves, distance themselves and speak disparagingly about those with whom they disagree. I refuse to do that because even those with whom I disagree are still my friends, my neighbors, fellow citizens, brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, and when the signs come down they will still be my neighbors and we will somehow have to learn how to live with each other.
You have heard me speak repeatedly about principles that I apply in times of disagreement, such as “In the essentials, unity; in the non-essentials liberty; and in all things love”, as well as the great Presbyterian principle, “Persons of good character and principle may differ.” What those mean to me is that in times of division and disagreement it is essential that we continue to treat one another with respect and dignity and most importantly love, regardless of how vehemently we may disagree with the position they hold. To do anything less is to deny them their rights of individual conscience and their dignity as children of God.
But even beyond that, I know from experience that I am not the holder of all wisdom and truth on any given matter, nor are you, nor is any other expert or elected official. So I believe decisions are best made and truths are best discerned by the collective body rather than by individuals, myself included. That is an underlying premise both of a democratic form of government and of what it means to be a Presbyterian! When we shut ourselves off from those with whom we disagree not only do we threaten friendships and a sense of community, we also cut ourselves off from hearing perspectives which help us identify our blind spots and bring clarity to our positions.
Like many, I have always had an interest and deep respect for Abraham Lincoln. I have read extensively about this leadership style and even have a little bronze bust of him on my desk. How did he deal with those with whom he most vehemently disagreed or who disagreed with him? He put them on his cabinet! I highly recommend Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book on this topic, Team of Rivals. Rather than distancing himself from his opponents he embraced them, and ultimately won them over both in friendship and respect.
Interestingly enough, Jesus did much the same. He chose 12 extremely diverse and disparate men to be His closest friends and followers. One was a tax collector who worked hand in glove with the occupying Roman government and another a zealot who sought to overthrow it. I can only imagine their fireside chats! That pattern of belonging together despite differences and disagreements became evident in the early church as individuals from various nations and cultures who spoke different languages claimed a common unity and identity because of their shared confession that “Jesus is Lord!”
So what of us? What are we to do? How are we to handle the climate of division and divisiveness in which we find ourselves?
Elton Trueblood, the well-respected Quaker teacher and leader, asks and answers a very similar question when he writes, “Somewhere in the world there should be a society consciously and deliberately devoted to the task of seeing how love can be made real and demonstrating love in practice. Unfortunately, there is only one candidate for the task. If God, as we believe, is truly revealed in the life of Christ, the most important thing to Him is the creation of centers of loving fellowship, which in turn infect the world. Whether or not the world can be redeemed in this way we do not know, but it is at least clear there is no other way.”
Those “centers of loving fellowship” of which he speaks is the Church, locally and globally. Just as I am firmly convinced that Jesus is the only hope for the world, so I believe that His Body the Church is the last, best and only hope we have to find unity in the midst of divisiveness and disagreement, why? Not because of who we are, but because of Whose we are; not because of what we have done or are capable of doing, but because of what God has already done for us in Jesus Christ. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer states it so clearly, “We have a mediated relationship with one another. Christ stands between us and God, and for that reason He stands between us and all others.” Missionary E. Stanley Jones put it this way, “You belong to Christ. I belong to Christ. We belong together.”
“Christianity is essentially a community affair” writes John Baillie. “It is a relation between the individual soul and God, but it is a relation that can be realized only within that universal community which is the Church of Christ. This means I cannot be a Christian all by myself. I cannot retire into my own shell or into my own corner and live the Christian life there. A single individual cannot be Christian in his/her singleness. It is only in Christ that we can enjoy full community with one another, and it is only in our togetherness with one another that we can enjoy full communion with Christ.” (Invitation to Pilgrimage)
In our Gospel lesson this morning we read a portion of what is called Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. We commonly refer to the Lord’s Prayer, as some call it the “Our Father”, as Jesus’ prayer, but really it isn’t. That was a model prayer He gave His disciples. We actually hear Jesus’ praying, however, in John chapter 17 and His prayer naturally falls in to three different parts. First, He prays for Himself, for His own obedience unto death so that through it He could bring glory to the Father and secure the way of our salvation. Second, He prays for His disciples, that they may remain unified and protected even in His departure and that they may have courage and joy as they take the Gospel message in to the world. And finally, in the section we read this morning, Jesus prays for us and for all who will come to believe because of the witness of the disciples. And for what does He pray? “That they may be completely one, so that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” Jesus prays that we might demonstrate unity in love, even in our diversity, unity not uniformity, so that the world will come to believe. So that the world would say, “There is something different about those Christians. Despite their differences and disagreements, they still love one another.” As the song reminds us, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
Friends, there are some things that only God can do, and there are other things that only we can do, with God’s aid. In this age of divisiveness and disagreement, we must assume our responsibility: as we seek to demonstrate unity in appreciation of our diversity; disagreement without division or devisiveness; open discussion and debate without anger and hostility; strong defense of positions without denigration of persons; the willingness to see one another either as one in whom Christ lives or for whom Christ died. We each must take personal responsibility for how we are either working to fulfill Christ’s prayer for us or defeat it: in what we do, what we say and how we say it, what we tweet or post. In the midst of our strident disagreements: remember who you are (don’t sacrifice or abandon your own character or integrity or sense of dignity and worth, nor denigrate or diminish that of the one with whom you disagree) and remember Whose you are (as one who is called by His name you represent Jesus Christ in every word you say, every action you take, every blog you post.) Let us each remember and assume our personal responsibility in answering the prayer Jesus prayed on our behalf! Trueblood is right, “There must be a society consciously and deliberately devoted to the task of seeing how love can be made real and demonstrating love in practice.” The only viable candidate for that awesome responsibility is the Church of Jesus Christ and we are the Church. So we must live in to and up to our responsibility, for Christ’s sake, for the world’s sake, for our sake.
Each of us has firmly held commitments and convictions and those should never be taken away from us, nor should we ever seek to deny or silence those of another, so we must actively seek to protect the rights and freedoms of others even as we would our own. As Christians we are called individually to respond to the gracious invitation of God to faith in Jesus Christ, and in that response we are welcomed in to the community of the Church.
Unpack that word “community”. “Comm” means “with”, as “com-passion” “with passion”, so we are called to live in “comm-unity”, “with unity”.
Nowhere is that better lived out, or at least nowhere is there better potential for it being lived out, than in the Body of Christ, the Church. “You belong to Christ. I belong to Christ. We belong together.” That is both our greatest privilege and our highest responsibility as we enter in to a relationship with Jesus Christ and the fellowship of His followers. We are called to live in “comm-unity” with one another.
We demonstrate that sense of “comm-unity” right here, at this table, as we celebrate “comm-union”, “with union”, together. Despite our differences and disagreements, here we are united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As we prepare ourselves to receive this sacrament, listen to these words written in the early centuries of the Church by St. Augustine: “Take, then, and eat the body of Christ, for by the body of Christ you are already made members of Christ. Take also and drink of the blood of Christ. Lest there be any division among you, eat (and drink) of what binds you together…There you are on the altar, there you are in the chalice. In this sacrament you are united with us and we are joined together. We eat and drink together because we share life together.” And may it be so for us, for you and me, right here, together, in this “comm-unity.” Amen.