I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? – 1 Corinthians 1:10-13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
“Is Christ divided?” What a profound question. The obvious answer is, “No.” Christ is not divided. Paul, the apostle who is writing these words from his first letter to the church at Corinth, is forcefully striking at the root of the problem in that church. Nobody could doubt that the Corinthian church was on fire for God. Their worship was passionate for sure. But they were not united. If Christ is not divided, then how could his followers be anything but united?
I am a proud United Methodist. That being the case, in seminary I had to write a lot of papers in which I typed, “United Methodist.” But more than once I admit that only upon careful proofreading would I catch a typo that the spellchecker in Word would miss. It was easy for me to type “Untied” rather than “United.” There are times when the denomination that I love seems more untied than united.
I am also a proud citizen of the United States of America. Same thing applies here, doesn’t it? Lately it’s been hard to see what exactly unites us as a nation. I am not smart enough (or maybe I’m not dumb enough!) to wade into the political discussion and offer any ideas on how to unite this country that we love. But I am bold enough to weigh in on what it will take to bring unity to the church.
Did you notice that Paul calls out four groups in the Corinthian church. (Can you imagine a church that had factions?) There was a Paul group, an Apollos group, a Cephas group, and then a group that was trying to stay “above the fray” by saying they just followed Christ. What is fascinating to me is that in that famous chapter on love, Paul begins by naming various postures that some folks were seeking to take to emphasize their fidelity to Christ. Do you think that Paul was again naming the groups? One group was all about passionately worshiping God (speaking in the tongues of men and angels). Another group was all about understanding the Bible (prophecy, fathom all mysteries). Still another group was all about having ruthless trust in God (faith that can move mountains). And another group was focused on mission and outreach (give all I possess to the poor, etc.).
All four of these postures are extremely important in the life of faith and in the life of the church, but it is possible to be “right” in our worship, or our faith, or our Biblical theology, or in our service and outreach to the world, and yet at the same time be entirely wrong. It’s possible to be all about following Jesus, and yet be nothing but a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And we end up with… nothing.
There is a lot of noise in our culture these days isn’t there? Sometimes there’s a lot of ruckus in the church as well. But Jesus didn’t say the world would know we are Christians by our opinions. He said the world would know we are Christians by our love.
I am so thankful and proud to be a church that is seeking to love one another as Christ has loved us. I’m so thankful that while the world argues about this and that, we are busy hosting foster families, feeding them, showering them with blessings, and giving those worn-out parents a few hours of rest. I’m thankful that we are out in the hot Georgia heat taking the blessings and gifts that God has given us and turning a tin can into a solar-powered OB/Gyn Clinic for a people who know little of such blessings.
So the world is arguing. The church is stressed. What are we going to do about it? As the great poet Bonnie Raitt sang, “Let’s give ‘em something to talk about. How about love?”
Grace, Peace, and LOVE,
Tom
