Church United

Readings: Psalm 27:1, 4-9, Isaiah 9:1-4, Matthew 4:12-23,  1 Corinthians 1:10-18
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY, January 26th 2014

A printable PDF file can be found here

I recall watching a skit that featured two guys who meet together and begin talking about the churches that they went to. It went something like this.

One says, 'I go to the Baptist Church'.'
'Really' replied the other 'Me too'. '
'Second Baptist?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist'.
'Second Baptist, American?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist, American!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod?'
'Yeah, Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial?'
'Yeah,  Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial!'
 'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist?'
' Yeah, Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist!'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal?'
'Yeah! Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal?'
'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal, meets at 10:00 a.m?'
'NO WAY' replies the other 'Second Baptist, American, Southern Synod, Pre-millenial, Dispensationalist, Church of the twice born, King James only, Second edition hymnal, THAT meets at 11:00 a.m.'
'I knew there was something weird about you!' said the first one and gets up and walks away.
“HERETIC!” the other shouts after him!

The Church United? Paul writes : “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."

Over the last centuries the Presbyterian Church has divided numerous times into different camps over what seemed at the time to be irreconcilable differences. From attitudes towards slavery, towards women in ministry, from what creeds we adopt, to debates over evolution and creation.

The big dividing issue of our own day is that of sexuality. Who should and who shouldn't be allowed to exercise ministry in the church, and who in our society should be permitted to marry... and... the larger debate in the light of more folk co-habiting and divorce rates spiraling... just what constitutes a marriage?

In the light of what we know now, and what we presume people knew when they were inspired to write the words, how do we interpret the text in a way that is faithful both to the God of sacred history and to the insights God has granted us in our day?

I know if I raise a subject like this there are going to be a lot of contradictory views in the room. There will be strong differences of opinion. Some may feel that their belief is so deeply held... that all they can do is walk away from those with whom they differ. Which is an enormous shame.

Because Jesus prayed that we may be One, as He and His Father were One. And we've already heard Paul encouraging us to have no divisions amongst us, but to be of the same mind. Which is, of course, very hard to do, if you are not of the same mind! Is there a way through times of disagreement? What does it take to be the Church United, the church that Paul invites us to become, the kind of church Jesus prayed we would be?

In our reading today a key verse is 1:13, Paul puts three questions before the Corinthians; “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” I'd like to take each of those challenging questions in reverse order!

Were we baptized in the name of Paul?

Baptism is one of those huge historic issues that has divided the church, so there is a strange irony to the question Paul places before us. Where any of us baptized in his name? Of course not. Paul is clear that he saw his mission as one of preaching the gospel. He says 'I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you' but then backs up a little and says, 'Well actually I did baptize Crispus and Gaius, oh yeah, and the household of Stephanas, but I think that was all!”

It is as though he's saying that baptism was significant, but there were far more important things for him, in particular preaching the gospel of the love and grace of Jesus Christ. That task was so high above all the others that it made him forgetful when it came to lesser matters such as baptism.

He was not saying that baptism didn't matter. Baptism marked a great way to begin the life of discipleship. It was a sign of belonging. But not of belonging to the person who baptized you, or even to the church that administered the sacrament, but belonging to Jesus Christ.  No matter who performed the baptism or in which church it took place, we were baptized into the name of Jesus Christ.

One way to get over our disagreements is by asking whose name we were baptized into. Of course there will be those who will then suggest that our way of baptism isn't really the right way of baptism so it doesn't really count whose name it was in. To which I can only respond, 'Really?'

Because Baptism is a sign of our identity. Paul was concerned that it was being misused in a way that identified the act with a person or an institution rather than being an act of identification with Jesus and the Kingdom He came to establish.

Which is precisely what those who insist that their way of baptism is better than another traditions way of baptism are seeking to do. To use baptism, not as a way of including people, but excluding them! As though that was somehow John's intention when he went down to the waters and invited everybody to turn their lives round. As though that was why Jesus identified Himself with us by going forward and receiving the baptism John offered (even though, he had nothing to repent of.)

If we can get over arguing about the mode we were baptized with and actually remember whose name we are baptized into; then maybe we can recognize that all those who are baptized into Jesus name are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Was Paul crucified for you?

According to historic tradition Paul ended his life at the time of Nero's persecution of the church, not through crucifixion, but by being beheaded near or in Rome. However Paul at the time he wrote this letter had no knowledge that such would be his fate, so it's a mute point! We could be pedantic and argue that Paul did give his life as a sacrifice in the service of a church that would be formed by his teachings, but to argue that meant that Paul, and not Jesus, died for our sins, just makes no sense.

That is Paul's point! He could not die for another persons salvation. Only Jesus had done and could do such a thing. Only Jesus was the Son of God, born in Bethlehem to Mary and Joseph. Only Jesus had an amazing ministry that backed up every awesome word He spoke. Only Jesus was crucified and prayed 'Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing'. Only Jesus was raised to life on the third day. And it was Jesus who appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus saying “Why do you persecute me?” not Paul who went out looking for Jesus!

Paul's point, very simply, is that only Jesus is our Savior. That no matter what denomination we may belong to, that no matter how correct we feel our particular interpretation of theology is, no matter who we think should be in or out of the Kingdom, no matter how many prayers we pray or services we attend, or acts of charity we accomplish... at the end of all things, only Jesus is our Savior.

Furthermore, only Jesus is our neighbors Savior. In other words,  Jesus did not just die to save us, His salvation is also what will save that person we don't see eye to eye with, the one who has a very different understanding of what Christianity is and the one who attends a church with a very different history, culture and tradition from ours. Paul... and our interpretation of Paul is no help when it comes to salvation. After all it is Paul who asks us 'Was Paul crucified for you?” Which brings us to our final observation.

Is Christ divided?

The answer is 'NO!' The Church is divided. Christians around the world often find it impossible to get along with each other. We are experts at thinking only we have got it right. We are giants when it comes to building walls, breaking down bridges and fixing what isn't actually broken. We have an innate ability to think that our preferences are God's requirements and that our words and doctrines and views are the only ones which count.

But at the end of the day there is only, as the hymn writer so perfectly pictures it, 'One Faith, one Church and one Lord'. And just maybe, if we can dream of what will eventually be the reality, we can, in our better moments, step back from our judgmental attitudes and shallow judgments and build on what really matters. That in God's eyes there is only one faith...it's called 'Trust in God', only one church, the one that Jesus invites us to be part of, and only one Lord, the One God sent into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved though Him. Christ is not divided.

Not being satisfied with His initial crucifixion, it appears that every generation invents a new way to rip His body apart, but thankfully God's power of resurrection is so much greater than our ability for destruction, so there will come a time when we see Him as He really is, and there will be a time when all things come together as they should!

But until that day.... maybe, rather than seeking to use Paul to speak for us, we can actually listen to what he offers us on the subject of the church united! “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.”

Such unity can only be found as we recognize our mutual baptism into Jesus name, our only hope for salvation as being in and through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and understand that despite all our attempts to pull apart from each other, it is ultimately a futile task, because we are the body of Christ, even when we try our utmost to say to other parts of the body that we belong far more than they do!

May the unity that Jesus prayed we may achieve, a unity that resembles that which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit, not be seen as an unreachable goal, or an unachievable illusion, but a genuine part of the Kingdom that we pray may be 'done upon earth as it is in heaven'.

The  Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.