BETTER TOGETHER

(This is an abridged version of the sermon preached at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on 3/11/12.)



How very 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 us is rooted in our God-likeness. 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 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 and traditionalism in many churches. 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. First, many of us 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 the most 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? The psalmist in Psalm 133 who gives hope and encouragement as to how we might better live our lives together. The psalmist declares in the opening words here, “How very 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. The psalmist here uses family imagery 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.

These are words of faith and life for those seeking true community. The psalmist points to the blessing that is found in those of us who are a part of the family of God being able to dwell together in unity.

The thing that is important to first notice is that psalmist points to the blessing of not simply dwelling together, but dwelling together in unity. Certainly the psalmist might have stopped by saying that it is blessed that we dwell together, but he shared that it’s good and pleasant when we dwell together in unity.

In community, we seek to arrive at a relationship with others, where we are not necessarily one, but where we dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1), cognizant always of the realistic balance between being self-concerned and other-concerned.

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 made vegetable soup the way I think the Holy Spirit brings about unity among us. She would imagine what needed to go in the pot to make the soup taste just right. She would add the right vegetables to the pot, 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 sticks together, and gave the bundle to his eldest son and told him to break the bundle. The eldest son could not break it. Then the second son was commanded to try. He could not break it. Nor could any of the rest.

“So is it to be of you,” said the father. Alone you are weak, but together you are strong.”

Synergism is derived from the Greek word “synergos” meaning “working together.” It means that by joining with others, common objectives can be more easily and effectively accomplished. There is strength in numbers when we multiply our efforts through working with others.

We find strength in dwelling together in unity. God created us to be in community, and community makes us stronger. There’s an African proverb that says, “A finger can’t pick up a grain, it takes a whole hand.” The strength of our lives - the strength of the church and our community - depends not on a finger, but on the whole hand.

The apostle Paul used the image of the body to make this point. One body part is not sufficient for life. It takes all of the body parts working together to make the body work as it should.

So it is with the Body of Christ – the church. We’re better together. Maybe it was the case that the Israelites in the days when the psalmist penned this song were a lot like we are today. Maybe they needed to know, as we need to know today that we’re better together.

The popular song by Hezekiah Walker 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.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
It is God’s will that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.

I pray for you, you pray for me, I’ll pray for you.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
I won’t harm you with words from my mouth.
I love you. I need you to survive.

I simply came to remind us that we’re better together.