Introduction
We are reminded in this reading that God graciously gives us one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. We are encouraged to act in a way that reflects the unity we have in Christ. So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and from by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Beloved, humanity struggles with division! Most of you won’t disagree with this phrase. We see that in politics when politicians start talking about the opposing party. We see that in the world with military conflicts. We see that in families where parents don’t get along with each other or when siblings fight or when parents and children disagree. And we see it in the church! We even see it within individual denominations, with arguments over worship styles, leadership or interaction with the world.
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All this division results from sin and all this division is sinful. In Ephesians, we’re encouraged to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph 4:3)
Unity of Spirit
We maintain unity with help of the Holy Spirit by treating each other like we are united. By being humble and treating one another with patience and forgiveness. But all of this brings up an important question. What does it mean to be unified? Does it mean we agree on everything? No! Does it mean we are all exactly the same? No! Well, Ephesians actually goes on to say in 4:4–6. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
So it seems like for us to be unified, the criteria are less than those we might put on ourselves.
The Book of Concord – the book that describes and explains the teachings of our church – puts it this way:
“For the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments” (Article VII).
There must be and remain one holy, Christian church. It is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. For this is enough for the true unity of the Christian church, that the Gospel is preached harmoniously according to a pure understanding and the sacraments are administered in conformity with the divine Word.
Beloved, the church unifies us around the faithful delivery of God’s promises in His Word and in His Sacraments. God doesn’t leave that up to us either, He works through the Holy Spirit to bring us to know Him as Lord in faith. If our unity is built on that, if our unity is built on the promises of God – then it is unshakable.
What makes us a united church? That we are rooted in the Gospel. What unifies everyone in the ELCG? What makes us a united Lutheran church body? That we are rooted in the Gospel. What unifies all Christians? What makes us a united faith? That we are rooted in the Gospel.
Diversity of Talent
But unity does not mean conformity. We are unified, but that does not make us the same. Ephesians tells us that God gives the church all of these different roles for the proclamation and understanding of that Gospel.
Malady
Beloved, just think about a nation. What would happen if everyone in the same country is doing galamsey? They’d probably have plenty of gold or diamond, but if that country were invaded they would be done. What would happen, then, if every pastor is a business man in the church cutting corners? If everyone is a Goliath, where will the David be?
Just as in a unified country, you need some diversity of talent. The church is not different and obviously ELCG is no different. There are a variety of people skilled in different ways to build up the unified church. We need some people to help with the sound like the Darkos, Torgbors, the Frimpongs, Munankans etc so that the people in the back can hear the message. Just to mention but a few example that may be added on and on. No one needs to be overlooked! We need people gifted musically, the list is long, to lead us in thanking God for everything He’s done. We need people gifted with leadership like Kwame, Dani, Kofi, Akosua, Ebenezer etc to make sure the church is doing what it ought to do.
In the church, God has blessed us with a diversity of talent to make sure that the Gospel continues to go out into the world. God has put people in place to lead us forward in that unity, peace and maturity of our faith. That is a blessing that God has given to His church so that many may come to the saving knowledge of Jesus, to hear about the saving work of Christ, about His death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. It’s not about any leader’s exploits but Jesus’! Like St. Paul, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” 1 Cor. 2:2
A Balancing Act
In the closing words of this reading, we are called to grow into a reflection of Christ and speak the truth in love. That is the line that defines our unity, that we speak the truth, nothing but the truth of His Word.
You might be thinking this message sounds really idealistic right now. You might be thinking about the reality that Christianity is divided and think “how can the President tell me that the church is united? I have eyes, I know that we’re not!”
You’re right, and sometimes unity is interrupted by our efforts to speak the truth in love. Sometimes unity is disrupted by disagreements about the sources of our unity. If a church fails to proclaim the Gospel or distorts that message or treats the sacraments in a less-than-faithful way, unity is interrupted because we can’t just ignore those errors. And that’s where some of these roles from Ephesians 4 might come in. Teachers to help bring people to a more faithful understanding, leaders to have difficult discussions about errors we make, or under shepherds (remember we are not the Shepherds, Christ is) to lead God’s people to the place they need to be.
Painful Realities
We have to deal with the brokenness of the world that can result in our distorting the message of the Gospel, distorting the source of our unity. And we will likely have to wait until Jesus returns to set that right. But most often our unity is interrupted by things that are a lot less faithful than that. Sometimes the church can be divided by status in life. Sometimes the church can be divided over worship styles and time of the day. Sometimes the church can be divided over politics. Sometimes the church can be divided over culture even preaching style – there are so many more that we could list together. I’ll accept that sometimes we’re divided about things that are important, but sometimes too we’re divided about things that are “important.” Sometime, we need to re-frame what is important so we don’t divide over anything less. That’s why we have the Scriptures, our confessions and constitutions to guide us as to what is agreed upon to believe and practice.
And that’s something we have to struggle with as a church, that’s something we have to struggle with in our families and our friendships, that something we have to struggle with in our world.
Reflection
We stand fast in the truth of the Gospel, working to make sure that it is faithfully proclaimed to the world that desperately needs to hear it – recognizing that sometimes that’s going to interrupt our unity. In those instances, we treat one another with humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. And in the midst of all, we rejoice in the source of our unity. We rejoice in our one Lord Jesus Christ, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
Amen.