The 2nd Sunday of Easter - Living in Unity, Living in Diversity: A Wide Embrace

“How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity.”  Psalm 133 reminds us this unity is like precious oil or the dew which falls on Mount Zion.  These are indeed signs of God’s blessing, so unity among kin folk must also reflect God’s blessing.

Psalm 23 contains these words:  “ . . . you [God] anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. / Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

The baptismal rite we experienced last Sunday contains the outward and visible signs of water and oil. The person being baptized becomes a member of Christ’s body immediately—blessed and sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.

In the 17^th chapter of John’s gospel Jesus prays these words of intercession for his disciples: “All mine are yours and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.

What’s happened? Right from the beginning, even among those closest to Jesus during his lifetime, there has been disagreement. We heard that Thomas would not believe what the other disciples told him about Jesus’ appearance where they were staying.  By his refusal he’s saying that these men and, most likely women, were not reliable witnesses.  Thomas felt his own eyes and hands could be trusted to evaluate the truth of the situation, but no one else's.  John doesn't report the other disciples’ reaction to his dismissing their testimony.

Did he make them angry? Or did they just shake their heads and say that’s just the way Thomas is? We do know from the rest of this story in John that Thomas wasn't put out of the group of disciples, who hid from the religious authorities behind a locked door. He was with them a week later when Jesus returned and showed him the marks of his crucifixion.

The reading from Acts talked about the group of believers who “were of one heart and soul.”  In response to the apostles’ testimony and God’s grace they received through that testimony worked to bridge the gap between the well-off and the poor of that early Christian community.  Samuel Balentine, a professor of Old Testament, described this sharing of resources “when occasions of need arose” grew out of “a  fundamental imperative to care for one another.”  He described a good neighbor as “one who responds to those in need with mercy and compassion.” So the potential for division between those who had property (lands or houses) and the poor  followers of this new movement was overcome with a very generous response.

Then we have evidence of  division from the first epistle of John.  The author of this letter begins by proclaiming his authority because of what he had seen and heard “concerning the word of life.”  He wrote that the fellowship among those were “eye witnesses” and those who only had heard testimony about Jesus would be a joy for him.  His language implied that a division between these two groups had caused him pain.  Now he urges all of them to confess their sins and accept forgiveness through Jesus’ work.  If they are able to do this, they can walk in “the light” of Christ and be in fellowship “with one another.”  Fellowship with one another means that joy will be shared.  Sinfulness will cause division.  Accepting that we do sin, but wanting to walk in the light of Christ, then offering and accepting forgiveness can heal the division.

As I was thinking through the issue of unity and division in our readings today, I began to realize how important this issue is for us today.  While the unity spoken about in the psalm may be a tribal sort of unity, the unity or fellowship spoken of in the reading from first epistle of John and in Jesus’ words of blessing in the gospel reading imply a unity that is broadly inclusive.  Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 

Our Christian unity, if inclusive, should not rest on uniformity of ideas or beliefs.  Rather it should rest on how supportive and compassionate we are.  It should rest on our willingness to admit when we have fallen short of our desire to walk in the light of Christ.  It should rest on our offering and accepting forgiveness in order to create a joy-filled fellowship.  It should rest on our accepting where each of us is in our faith journey.  If there is a “Thomas” among us, we show the same tolerance for his or her concerns as Jesus did. And, yes, our unity must be centered on Christ.

I worked in a school a long time ago where the guidance secretary and I thought a lot alike.  Because I had the responsibility for making sure the records for special needs students were in order, the secretary and I chatted frequently.  Sometimes an administrator or another staff member would do something that really irritated both of us.  Then we would say that if only “they” would put the two of us in charge, things would run smoothly and be done right.  Our musings were a good way to let off steam, but our being dictators would not have been a good way to build fellowship—no matter how right we may have been!

         Rather, fellowship must be built on the unity that comes through working to create trust and acting with compassion.  Unity does not depend on defining “right” and “wrong,” but being willing to dwell with others in the uncertainty found in the diversity needed to include the whole world: “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate . . . Jesus Christ, the Righteous, and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”  With that said, knowing we can depend on God’s grace, now we can relax and concentrate on loving our neighbors!

                *Samuel Balentine in "Feasting on the Word - Year B - Vol. 2," p. 385.