The Spirit-filled Church - Unity

Ephesians 4:1-6; 14-16

A sermon by Kathy Toivanen at EMUC, 6/20/2004

Today we continue to reflect on the qualities and gifts of a Spirit-filled church. A few weeks ago, we looked at wisdom in the Spirit-filled church; last week, with the help of the children, we unwrapped a variety of wonderful gifts of the Spirit. Today, we will focus on the unity of a Spirit-filled church.

Union, unity, uniting are obviously important themes in the tradition of the United Church of Canada. "Ut omnes unum sint" - the words of Jesus ‘that all may be one’ are prominently displayed on the United Church crest.

But what do we mean by unity? First and foremost, it is important to flag that unity does not mean uniformity. Whenever the church attempts to create unity by insisting on uniformity, there have been unfortunate, even tragic consequences. In the early church, some Jewish Christians insisted that the unity of the church meant that all new Christians must be circumcised. This debate led to bitter acrimony and divisions in the early church. In more recent history, we are all too aware of the tragic consequences of the church and government run residential schools where First Nations’ children were often forcibly taken from their homes and communities and placed in schools where they were made to wear European clothing, to speak only in English and to abandon any of the cultural or spiritual traditions of their people.

Insisting on uniformity means that many of the wonderful and diverse gifts of the Spirit along with many members of the community are demeaned or rejected. Paul, in his letter to the church in Corinth, warns against uniformity in the church in his famous metaphor of the body. Listen to what he wrote:

When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and to the church in Ephesus (our text for today), there were many challenges to the unity of the church. The Christian community was very new - a diverse and loose network of individuals and congregations, separated by distance, by traditions, by class and heritage. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus reminds them that the qualities of humility, gentleness, patience, love will strengthen the bonds of unity among them in their effort to be joined and knitted into the body of Christ.

But why bother? In this day of affirming the rights and privileges of the individual, why bother trying to get along with a diverse bunch of people. Can’t I worship God on my own? Can’t I be a good person without being connected to a faith community?

Well, it is my experience and the experience of many others throughout the centuries that as human beings, we are created to live with and for each other in community. And when we try to sever the links and the bonds between us, we distort our humanity, putting our own lives and the whole of creation at risk. For I believe that our health and wholeness as individuals is directly linked to the quality of our relationships with each other and with the earth. We do not live in a vacuum; nor has God created us to live alone.

The stories of creation remind us that God creates us for each other with the responsibilities of acting as caretakers of God’s creation. In the stories of the Hebrew people, we begin to understand that God creates nations and peoples to live so that they will be a blessing, not only to each other, but as "lights in the world".

In the New Testament, Jesus’ ministry is deeply rooted in the experience of living in community. Right from the beginning Jesus calls disciples to join with him. The gospels are full of stories where Jesus draws diverse people together into community. The sinners and the outcasts sit down along side of respected community members to eat at table with Jesus.

The lost and the least find a place where they belong in the company of Jesus. Those who have made mistakes and have failed in their relationships are forgiven and welcomed back into the community.

In the New Testament, the word for this remarkable community of Jesus Christ is Koinonia. It is the Greek term for the most intimate human relationship possible. It is used, for example, to describe the union of a couple in marriage. Writers like Paul, use it to describe our relationship with God.

Over and over again, in the letters to the early church, Christian experience is described as being called into community; into koinonia with God and with each other.

By using the same word to describe our relationship to God and our relationships with others, Paul is saying that to be authentic, our faith life must continue to move us to an ever deeper walk with God and an ever deeper experience living in community with others.

I don’t know about you, but I find that I often resist the call to live the faith this way. It is indeed a challenge to live and work for unity in this congregation and in any community of faith. For just as our diversity is a gift; it is also a challenge. Some days our diversity weaves a wonderful colourful web or tapestry. Other days our diversity puts too much tension on the threads that bind us, and the web or fabric gets torn and full of holes.

Those are the days when I want to call it quits and escape to an isolated retreat where I can just do things "my way". Those are the times when I am tired of patiently trying to understand and work with others and would rather just order people to do as I say. There are other times when I have been wounded, betrayed and hurt by the words or actions of others in the community and I want to hide and lick my wounds. And then there are the dark days when I know I have failed and hurt others in the community and I am tempted to run away in shame. There are also the days when hope fails; when there are too many holes to patch up; too many cries for help; too many expectations to fix things right now and I want to shout "I give up - do it without me!"

But every time I am tempted to sever the connections with the community, the Spirit draws me back and reweaves me into the community of faith. How does this happen? : exactly as Paul expresses it in his letter to the Ephesians. Members of the community reach out with the blessings of the Spirit - and with gentleness, with patience, in humble expressions of love and speaking the truth in love, they remind me that I have a place in the body of Christ; that I need the body of Christ, just as the body needs me.

I want to offer a few experiences of this uniting work of the Spirit, some of them personal, with the hope that we will all be encouraged to deepen our commitment to Christ by deepening our commitment to live together in unity.

I want to lift up the work of the Joint Needs Assessment committee, a group of 12 people from this congregation and from Halton Presbytery who dedicated many hours over the past few months to carefully and prayerfully discern the future ministry needs for Erin Mills United. This has not been an easy task - there have been many and diverse opinions, challenges and concerns to address, and yet this group remained committed to the task and worked together; honouring one another in a respectful and just manner. In their work, they have been guided by a uniting Spirit.

Music is a core expression of our faith as we worship together. Perhaps second to issues of money, music is often the basis of the most contention in a congregation. The Music Task Group is well aware of the diverse opinions and recommendations for music at EMUC, but at its meeting the other night, there was a real commitment and excitement to work together to honour diversity by enlarging the opportunities for musical offerings in the life of the congregation. Surely this is a response to a uniting Spirit.

Kinderfaith preschool held its graduations this week. The children in the program reflected the diversity in the larger community; coming from different faith communities and different heritages. Through the loving and nurturing leadership of the Kinderfaith teachers, these children had been woven together into a united community, a community that lifted up their place and identity as beloved children of God.

And personally, in the midst of a week where I have experienced a few tears in the fabric of Christian community, I have been encouraged in my commitment to the body of Christ by voices both near and far away who have offered the Spirit’s wisdom by ‘the speaking of truth in love’. I have experienced the support and encouragement of the Spirit by the arrival of an unexpected letter, telling me that I was daily remembered in that person’s prayers. And I have been blessed by the generosity of the Spirit, by those who graciously made space in their time and hearts to listen to and attend to my needs. Not only did these gifts restore my sense of place in the Christian community, they also gave me renewed hope to work with others for unity in the community.

Because we are human, tears or holes in the fabric of Christian communities and in the web of God’s creation are bound to happen. And therefore, part of our sacred work together is the mending of these tears and holes.

"I therefore beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:1-6)

Amen.