Can you begin to imagine all the things that Jesus
could have prayed for for his followers? Long-life, riches, good health, etc.
We would wish for a cosmic Santa Claus if we had any input into what Jesus
would ask for on our behalf. What does Jesus ask for? He asks that we may be
one as he and God are one! He prays that we Christians may be united as one.
Now how do you define unity? Does it mean that
we are all the same? The same dress code, liking the same foods, reading the
same books, watching the same television programs? Would that be how you would
define unity? What does it mean to be one as Jesus is one with God? The British
comedy, "Are You Being Served?" has a character who is known for saying: "And
I am unanimous in that!" Is this unity?
I want to begin today by stating what I believe
unity is not. Unity is not Christian clones, everyone coming out of the same
mold. Now I have always been amazed at the discussions about cloning because I
never understood how an exact duplicate could be made unless it also had the
same duplicate life experiences. Where I grew up in northern Maine is nothing
today like it was in the 1950's when I was a child. My parents and grandparents
are no longer living and the influence they had on me would not be any part of
the life a clone of me would have. And, many of my teachers, scout leaders and
others are now gone also. The school where I began my education is now a senior
citizen's retirement center and the desks bolted to the floor in long straight
lines are no longer part of the educational mainstream. I may be cloned to my
physical appearances (although I am not sure why anyone would want that!) but
nothing can duplicate those forces that helped shape who I am today. I mean,
we had never heard of a computer, let alone the world wide web!
All we need to do is look at creation and we
discover that God is not a God of cloning. The Today Show this past week did
several programs about nature and one of the things I was reminded of (they had
a giraffe on the program) is that the coloring of each giraffe is different
from the other. There are no two giraffes that look exactly alike and this
begins immediately at birth. God is not a God of clones. Look at the disciples
Jesus chose. They were diverse to say the least.
Thus, unity is not producing little Christian
clones.
Nor is unity producing Christian mimes. You know
mimes mimic or exaggerate the actions of others. I remember being in Sea World
and watching a mime mimic a couple walking in front of him. Everyone was
laughing at his exaggerated motions and movements. Mimes, though, have no
uniqueness–they only copy what they see in others or events in life. We
are ambassadors of the Living Christ, not mimes. Although mimes do have their
place!
Nor are we robots: everyone doing the same thing
over and over and over again. I was privileged to view an assembly plant and
saw a series of robots doing the same thing hour upon hour upon hour. There was
no creativity. There were no highs or lows. No diminuendos and crescendos.
Imagine how hard it would be if Karen played the same notes at the same speed
for every song we sang this morning. A world of sameness with no diversity.
Ugh!
Now some of these illustrations may seem strange,
but I think that this is what many people think of when they think about unity
and what it means to be united. Everyone on the same page, doing the same
things, etc.
If this is what unity is not, then what is unity?
For me, unity is what it means to be one in Christ as a diverse community of
faith. It is a call for us to share a common purpose or vision. We share
together common hopes, dreams and goals. The vision statement that FBC adopted
in January (which we will be looking at in depth in June) is a common statement
that unites us together in ministry. Jesus has called us to be his ambassadors
and we live out this calling through the gifts that we have been equipped with.
Our goal is to live so that others might see Christ through us. Ask yourself
what type of Christ do people see when they see you. What type of Christ do
they see when they see the Church? A people united for a common goal? Or one
splintered and fighting?
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We are a people united in diversity. That is why
I am an American Baptist. It is by choice because I like the diversity of who
we are. We have always been a multi-cultural people. Our American Baptist
family overseas is now bigger than our family in the United States. Isn't that
great? We are a growing family full of diversity. I read the history of the
First Baptist Church of Los Angeles and on its first Sunday when it became a
people of God 130+ years ago the sermon was preached in English and in Chinese!
It began as a multi-cultural congregation. We who are the people of God are a
diverse people and for me that is exciting. Although, I do have to admit, for
most of the United States the 11 a.m. Sunday morning hour is still the most
segregated hour in America.
An online journal from a Christian publishing
house had an article this week entitled, "What the Church is NOT Talking About"
and it highlighted that we are now a multi-cultural, global community. It also
noted that there are some in the church who refuse to acknowledge this. We are
one in Christ.
We are diverse in our unity. Paul uses the
imagery of the body. The body has many parts all performing different functions
but they are all the body. Each part is important to the other. The only injury
that I have had that prevented me from doing something was so minor that I was
ashamed to admit it. I had planned a hiking trip to the top of the highest
mountain in Maine, Mt. Katadin (5,280'—now I know that here in the west
this is only a small hill!), but our hike required us to cross the knife-edge
portion of the mountain. This was to be my second time across the knife-edge
and now I knew what to expect and I was looking forward to this climb to the
summit. But, I stumbled in the dark and broke my little toe! No matter what the
doctor or I did to bandage the toe, would I be able to climb with it. Level
ground was fine, but climbing could not be done. Done in by a little toe.
We are called to be one in the midst of such
diversity. Not that we all do the same thing or do things alike. We share a
common goal and destination and are asked to be creative in how we get there.
As we were coming back from the storage facility a week or so ago, Jim, Al and
Harold were behind me, and then they weren't. It was then that I realized they
knew another route back to the church. When I got there they were already
unloading my books and office things. They knew a route that I had not yet
discovered, a shorter one. We all made it back. They just did it a little
faster! Neither way was right or wrong. Worship can be liturgical, traditional,
contemporary or any place on the spectrum in between. All worship and praise
God. None are right or wrong. We are diverse in our unity. The problem comes
when I decide how another must be doing something because it is the way I do it.
We live in days of disunity. We can't get along
because we have mistaken what it means to be united as God and Christ are
united. We defined unity as cloning and lost our ability to celebrate the
diversity of God's wonderful creation. The diversity that equips us with
varying gifts for the work of the Kingdom is a wonderful unity.
We share a common goal, the love of God as
demonstrated in Christ. Oneness means that we work together in diversity. Oneness
means that we learn each other's stories and begin to value one another as
important parts of the body of Christ. Peter and Paul were opposites in so many
ways but they were united in the love of Christ and the bringing of that love to
the whole world. We use our gifts for God's kingdom—each unique, but united
as One.
We have a friend, a parliamentarian, who says that
Robert's Rules of Order were given to the world (especially the church) by the
devil. He says that more opportunities are lost on "points of order" than we could
ever imagine. We need to celebrate our diversity and learn how to unite in the
midst of the diversities of our lives.
Jesus prayed for us. Jesus prayed that we, his
followers, might be one as he and God are one. United, and yet different and
diverse. We are called for a common vision and goal to proclaim the love of God
to the whole world. Following the example of the living Christ who was able to
live among the diversity of the world and love each one is not a bad example to
follow!
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