(The following is an excerpt from a sermon I preached at St. John UMC in Pumphrey, MD on Sunday, October 25, 2009 on the occasion of the church's annual Unity Sunday.)
"How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1)
A careful reading of Scripture points with clarity to God’s divine design for all of humanity. The assertion that God has created all of humanity in God’s image was first recorded in the Book of Genesis and reminds us that God’s purpose for humanity is rooted in our God-likeness (imago dei). And it is in our God-likeness that we find our commonality in Christ.
Because of our God-likeness, the fact of the matter is we are more alike than we are different. In-fact, scientific researchers have discovered that the DNA make-up of humans makes us more than 95-99% similar to all other human beings. There is very little that is really different about us. We are far more similar than we are different.
The challenge for us in the present age is that we tend to focus more on the things that are different among us, than on our similarities. This challenge is exacerbated by that fact that the focus and fixation on our differences tends to lead to divisions within the human family.
As we look around, it is easy to see that we are separated in many ways. Segregation, discrimination and disintegration continue to be pervasive among us.
Indeed our churches and our society in general continue to deal with the problems of racism, sexism, and elitism. We see separation in the forms of denominationalism in the church. We see it in ongoing political division and social alienation.
It is my belief that such separation leads to a form human isolation that places too many of us outside the divine order and intent of God. Such separation forces us in one of two directions.
Either we find ourselves wanting to go it alone, and living life outside of community altogether. This is what might be called the “me-my-and- I” syndrome, where we turn inward and focus mainly, if not exclusively, on ourselves and how we will succeed. Here we privatize our lives in ways that stunt our growth as social beings and turn more and more inward for meaning in life, and seek less and less to share life with our sisters and brothers as a way of growing our lives and those of others.
Or we go down the road of simply seeking to share in community only with persons who are like us. This is the “birds of a feather” syndrome, where we find ourselves flocking together with persons who look like us, talk like us, think like us, believe like us, sing like us, pray like us, go to the places that we go, and do the same things that we do.
In either case, we are like caterpillars that never leave the cocoon - stuck inside our own self – trapped within our own possibilities, lost in the midst of life itself, never able to fully realize what and who we are to become.
How might we overcome these tendencies toward segregation and isolation? It is the psalmist in Psalm 133 who gives hope and encouragement as to how we might better live our lives. The psalmist declares, “How good and how pleasant it is for sisters and brothers to dwell together in unity.”
The main theme of the psalm is the reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. Here, family imagery is used to evoke the joy of living together in unity. It speaks to the church and the whole family of God and reminds us of God’s ideal that we break down barriers and join with those who have been estranged from fellowship with God and God’s church.
The psalmist here points to unity as a goal that we must achieve if we are to be whole. It is a vision that we must live. My grandmother used to make vegetable soup the way I think the Holy Spirit brings about unity among us. She would imagine the ingredients that needed to go into the pot to make the soup taste just right. She would add the right vegetables in the right order at just the right time, so that when it was done, the soup was mixed to near perfection.
In a similar way, God takes who we are – as different as we all are from each other – and enables us not to just live together but to blend together in a way that makes our witness nourishment for the world. God’s power in the world rests in large part in our unity. We’re better together.
In ancient Greek literature there is a story that shows the power of working together, or synergism.
“An aged, dying father called his seven sons around him. He gave each one a stick and told them to break it. Each son easily broke his separate stick. The old father then bound seven stick and gave the bundle to his eldest son and told him to break the bundle. The eldest son could not do it. Then the second son was commanded to try. He could not, nor could any of the rest.
“So is it to be of you,” said the father. Alone you are weak, together you are strong.” We’re better together.
I need you, you need me.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
I won’t harm you with words from my mouth,
we’re all a part of God’s body.
You pray for me, I’ll pray for you.
We’re all a part of God’s body. (Hezekiah Walker)
"How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1)
A careful reading of Scripture points with clarity to God’s divine design for all of humanity. The assertion that God has created all of humanity in God’s image was first recorded in the Book of Genesis and reminds us that God’s purpose for humanity is rooted in our God-likeness (imago dei). And it is in our God-likeness that we find our commonality in Christ.
Because of our God-likeness, the fact of the matter is we are more alike than we are different. In-fact, scientific researchers have discovered that the DNA make-up of humans makes us more than 95-99% similar to all other human beings. There is very little that is really different about us. We are far more similar than we are different.
The challenge for us in the present age is that we tend to focus more on the things that are different among us, than on our similarities. This challenge is exacerbated by that fact that the focus and fixation on our differences tends to lead to divisions within the human family.
As we look around, it is easy to see that we are separated in many ways. Segregation, discrimination and disintegration continue to be pervasive among us.
Indeed our churches and our society in general continue to deal with the problems of racism, sexism, and elitism. We see separation in the forms of denominationalism in the church. We see it in ongoing political division and social alienation.
It is my belief that such separation leads to a form human isolation that places too many of us outside the divine order and intent of God. Such separation forces us in one of two directions.
Either we find ourselves wanting to go it alone, and living life outside of community altogether. This is what might be called the “me-my-and- I” syndrome, where we turn inward and focus mainly, if not exclusively, on ourselves and how we will succeed. Here we privatize our lives in ways that stunt our growth as social beings and turn more and more inward for meaning in life, and seek less and less to share life with our sisters and brothers as a way of growing our lives and those of others.
Or we go down the road of simply seeking to share in community only with persons who are like us. This is the “birds of a feather” syndrome, where we find ourselves flocking together with persons who look like us, talk like us, think like us, believe like us, sing like us, pray like us, go to the places that we go, and do the same things that we do.
In either case, we are like caterpillars that never leave the cocoon - stuck inside our own self – trapped within our own possibilities, lost in the midst of life itself, never able to fully realize what and who we are to become.
How might we overcome these tendencies toward segregation and isolation? It is the psalmist in Psalm 133 who gives hope and encouragement as to how we might better live our lives. The psalmist declares, “How good and how pleasant it is for sisters and brothers to dwell together in unity.”
The main theme of the psalm is the reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. Here, family imagery is used to evoke the joy of living together in unity. It speaks to the church and the whole family of God and reminds us of God’s ideal that we break down barriers and join with those who have been estranged from fellowship with God and God’s church.
The psalmist here points to unity as a goal that we must achieve if we are to be whole. It is a vision that we must live. My grandmother used to make vegetable soup the way I think the Holy Spirit brings about unity among us. She would imagine the ingredients that needed to go into the pot to make the soup taste just right. She would add the right vegetables in the right order at just the right time, so that when it was done, the soup was mixed to near perfection.
In a similar way, God takes who we are – as different as we all are from each other – and enables us not to just live together but to blend together in a way that makes our witness nourishment for the world. God’s power in the world rests in large part in our unity. We’re better together.
In ancient Greek literature there is a story that shows the power of working together, or synergism.
“An aged, dying father called his seven sons around him. He gave each one a stick and told them to break it. Each son easily broke his separate stick. The old father then bound seven stick and gave the bundle to his eldest son and told him to break the bundle. The eldest son could not do it. Then the second son was commanded to try. He could not, nor could any of the rest.
“So is it to be of you,” said the father. Alone you are weak, together you are strong.” We’re better together.
One popular song today shares words that remind us of the very things that our lives depend on today:
I need you, you need me.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
I won’t harm you with words from my mouth,
we’re all a part of God’s body.
You pray for me, I’ll pray for you.
We’re all a part of God’s body. (Hezekiah Walker)
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