1/19/20 “Unity in a Deeply Divided World” by Nancy E. Petty
I Corinthians 1:1-13
I did something this week I have never done. After narrowing down the four lectionary texts for today’s readings to two, I ask my colleagues to vote on which one of the two I should preach on. The two I offered were John 1:29-42 and this I Corinthians text Angel has read for us. The idea I presented them from the John passage focused on an unanswered question in the text. In that narrative the question arises as John was standing with two of the other disciples. As Jesus walked past them, John says out loud, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” Upon hearing this, the story recounts that the two other disciples started to follow Jesus. When Jesus saw them following him, he turned and asked: “What are you looking for?” To which they replied, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” At that point the text leaves us hanging. It doesn’t tell us where Jesus was staying nor what the disciples saw when they arrived at his Airbnb. As I read that text, I had some ideas about where Jesus might stay on a visit to Raleigh and I thought such wonderings might just make for a good sermon.
After pitching that idea to my colleagues, which I thought was pretty good, we then read the I Corinthians passage. I shared with them that my thoughts on this text was to think about what it means for a church like ours, where there is so much diversity, so many varied interests and needs, to be as Paul writes, “united in the same mind and same purpose.” Surely Paul wasn’t suggesting conformity. Certainly he didn’t mean we all had to think alike and be interested in the same things. So I asked, “What does it mean to have unity in our differences?” So I learned something in all this. I won’t ever again ask my colleagues to vote on my sermon topic.
In all honesty, I must confess, I wanted to preach on the safe topic. I imagine that if I took a poll this morning there would be more agreement on where we might find Jesus staying in Raleigh on a visit to our city than on what it means to have unity in our differences. It is painfully evident that as a human race we are struggling to find unity in our deeply divided world, and especially in our small part of the world. If ever we needed a visual of this reality the exchange between two Democratic presidential candidates on a national stage this week provided that picture. At a time when our nation needs leaders who can heal our divide and bring unity to the soul of America, we instead witnessed two good people being caught up in divisive rhetoric about who called who a liar. It was a sad moment that unfortunately got more media attention than the debated ideas that could actually help united a progressive platform for the common good. So maybe my colleagues were right to suggest that a word on what it means to be united in purpose would be timely.
Now I need for you to do me a favor. I need for you to stop thinking about where Jesus would stay on his visit to Raleigh. We know it wouldn’t be the Umstead or the Hilton downtown or even the Doubletree next door. It’s not to say he wouldn’t stop by those grand establishments and invite people to follow him to the places he would stay; but we know those are not the places where he would spend his time. No, he would stay at The Helen Wright Center one night, at the Men’s Homeless Shelter on Wilmington Street for a night, probably at Central Prison one night, and maybe on his last night he would stay underneath the overhang at the Cox Avenue building. So now that we have that out of the way, let your mind settle on this word unity – what it is and what it’s not, and what goes into creating it.
I was curious as to how often unity is mentioned in the biblical text. I discovered in my studies that it is a significant biblical theme. While it is most often mentioned in the Second Testament scriptures, the most direct and clear reference comes from the Psalmist’s song: “How very good an pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) Unity, harmony, living in one accord are all prominent themes in Paul’s writing; however, he is not the only biblical writer to talk about unity and the divine call to live in unity with one another. Both the gospel of Matthew and John mention the desire for togetherness and unity among Jesus’ followers. But there is no denying that it is Paul who is most concerned about the unity of those seeking to carry out the vision and ministry of Jesus. And on this particular point, I feel Paul’s pain.
It is no secret that Paul had a lot of issues and problems he was dealing with, and he was often conflicted as he struggled to make sense of what it means to follow Jesus. And in liberal theological circles we have rode him hard for his struggles. But on this issue—the need for unity—I get his appeal. It’s not easy holding a church together when the church is made up of diverse people with varying interests and needs. It is not easy to keep a community united when the world is so deeply divided. And that is what Paul was trying to do. He was trying to hold together the emerging community of followers in those very early years after Jesus’ death. And it wasn’t easy.
Hearing of their struggles and quarrels and differences he writes to them: “I hear some of you say ‘I belong to Paul.’ Others are saying “I belong to Apollos’ or ‘I belong to Cephas, or ‘I belong to Christ.’” Confronting them he asks, “Has Christ been divided?” It seems this struggle that Paul was facing with the early church—of trying to keep the faithful united—is a timeless struggle for centuries later the church of today is still struggling with unity. Some say I belong to the Baptists. Others say I belong to the Methodists or the Presbyterians or to the Catholic Church. And still others say I belong to the Temple, to the Synagogue, or to the Mosque. But it doesn’t stop there. Some say I believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, while others view our sacred text with more freedom and openness. Some say I believe that homosexuality is a sin, while others believe that God affirms and celebrates all loving covenants. Some say that only Christians will inherit an afterlife, while others say it matters not your religion we are all of one God and our souls return to one Creator. Within our individual communities we hear, “I belong to the children’s program. I belong to the youth program. I belong to Roundtables. Or I belong to the choir. I belong to the spiritual life group or to the care of creation group. I belong to the Building and Grounds Committee. I belong to the ministries that happen inside the church walls. Or I belong to the ministries outside the church walls.
I get it. Each of us has our places where we feel a sense of need and belonging—where we feel nurtured and ministered to. Individually, we have our places of interest and passion—those places where we feel personally that the church should be most invested. And that is a good thing. How boring it would be if our church had only one vision for what the world needs from us. Our diversity is our power. And yet, is it not true that our strength is our unity. We are not just members of individual programs, we are all members of a greater whole.
But what does this call to unity really mean? It is not a call, as our culture has defined it, for all to conform to sameness in thought, belief, and interest. As Dr. Martin Luther King noted again and again in his writings and speeches, “Unity has never meant uniformity.” It is not a call to “fall in line” with those who have the power. It is not a call to “keep the peace” when justice is at stake. It is not a call to the status quo just to avoid conflict. That is not an authentic genuine unity. And that approach to unity will only sow seeds that grow distrust and discontent. Ultimately, faked unity distances and alienates us from one another creating the kind of polarization that we see right now in our nation. In the “American Dream,” it should matter not whether we are conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat, Catholic or Protestant, Jewish, or Islamic, gay, straight or gender fluid, brown, black or white. In the ideal of who we can be as a nation, there is a unity that holds us together. It is the democratic ideal of “e pluribus unum,” (one unity composed of many parts).
On this MLK weekend, I want to take a moment to honor Dr. King and his vision of unity. While Dr. King helped advance freedom in the United States through his methodology of nonviolent resistance, what distinguishes his political freedom was its insistence that it is the responsibility of all individuals to uphold not only their liberties, but also those of their peers. Freedom for Dr. King is not just an internal phenomenon—it is a communal concern. His understanding of freedom calls us as a human race to unite for freedom for all people—not just for our own individual freedoms. Dr. King gave witness to an authentic genuine unity—that moment when we stand and unite for each other’s rights and privileges and freedoms. And deeper still, Dr. King showed us with his life that authentic unity is that moment when we come together as one to make a way for our differences.
This unity of which Dr. King spoke of is not unlike what I believe our faith calls us to discern and live out. It is a kind of unity that requires a willingness to give of ourselves and our resources to the common good of the whole, not just to what benefits our individual interests and needs and passions. In unity, we are not members just of the children’s program or just of the youth program or just the choir or just the care of creation group or just an adult Sunday group or just to 11:00 worship. In unity, we are members of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church—the whole of this place, in all of our beautiful difference and diversity. In unity, we love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. And in that love, we are one—united, together, we are one unity composed of many parts.
There is a familiar social construct that can serve as a model for what it means to be different, yet united – marriage. One of my favorite teachings on unity came in my own wedding ceremony, when Carter Haywood said:
In a really good marriage, neither person loses her identity or special interests or passions or perspectives. What she gives up is her assumption that to be herself she has to have her own way, and be first, or always at the center, most of the time. In a good marriage, the two are consciously striving to help generate the transformative Love — that is, the power of God – that transcends ego and forms their lives into a Mystical Union, in which there is always a third partner: not just a “you” and an “I” but also an “us.” Not just Nancy and Karla, but also their Marriage, which includes Nora, but also not just Nancy and Karla and Nora but everyone’s special interests and needs and talents and ups and downs and enthusiasms and sadnesses, and all the other people and creatures whose lives are deeply involved with or touched by this marriage.
As I read those words, I am reminded that such is true not just in marriage but in all our covenantal relationships.
Our culture’s communities and institutions, including and especially our religious institutions, are struggling to live in unity and thus are suffering because we want to have things our way, be first, and at the center. Carter, along with Paul, and Jesus, reminds us that unity requires not just a “you” and an “I” but also an “us.” It is the “us”—the you and I united—that makes God’s transformative love real in this world.
I will leave you this morning with these words on unity from the Gospel of Harry Potter. “I say to you all, once again—in the light of Lord Voldemort’s return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort’s gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.”
May we spend our resources, time and energy creating strong bonds of friendship and trust heeding the words of Paul, Dr. King, Carter and Lord Voldemort. Our deeply divided world needs our unity.
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1 J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
