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Christian Unity
The text which perhaps
first comes to mind is John 17.21. (Please use any translation you have handy).
But Jesus could not have foreseen the theological differences which emerged later, or the organized church, with all
the denominational divisions we are familiar with. So what might he have had in mind? Was
he worried about rivalry for leadership, perhaps? Whatever
he had in mind, we should feel free to reflect on how these words might apply to us today.
Think how they might apply to our relationship with other people within our own church; to relationships between us and people in other URCs; and to relationships between us and people of other local churches. Paul’s letters have a great deal to say about unity and disunity. Have a look at 1 Corinthians 1.10-13. This may be about differences in opinions. Paul seems to think that we should all have the same opinions – or is he concerned really with the rivalry that difference produces, or the way we all assume our own opinions are better than other people’s? Now look at 1 Corinthians 12.12-13. Here Paul acknowledges that we are all different, because we all have different gifts and abilities. This doesn’t matter, he says; we are still united, because we all belong to Christ - just as the different parts of a human body all belong to the same body. So, we might say, if all Christians know they all belong to Christ, does having different opinions really matter? Or is our physical separation into different churches, each less than half full, still a problem? Wherever you dip into Paul’s letters, you find enormous stress on the fact that we belong together. For him, relationships of love, generosity and consideration are paramount. No doubt organizational unity would be good, but it goes a lot deeper than that. And when it gets really difficult to live together, surely an amicable separation is the least bad option? Lastly, please look at Colossians 3.12-14, which seems to me to get near the heart of the question of what we mean by unity. © Adrian West 2009 |
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