The Unity of the Spirit – October 1, 2023, World Communion Sunday

Psalm 116, Ephesians 4:1-16
October 1, 2023

Today we celebrate World Communion Sunday.  And as I’ve said before, my concept of World Communion Sunday changed after Y2K.  On New Year’s Eve, in the year 2000, they showed the New Year’s celebration rolling all around the world from time zone to time zone.  It was a 24 hour celebration, rather than just one moment.  I thought that was a great thing.  It brought the world together!

After that, I started to see World Communion Sunday that same way.  I used to think of this as all Christians everywhere raising (the) this cup together.  And that’s pretty cool!  But it’s really the same kind of thing as Y2K.  It’s a rolling celebration, going all around the world from time zone to time zone.  It’s a 24 hour celebration of Communion.  It started in the Western Pacific, and it’s moved to the west, hour by hour to us, and after our service, we’ll hand it off to our brothers and sisters in the Central time zone.  (Depending on the time of their service.)

As I think of it that way, I also think of the many different nations and cultures that are part of this.  We saw all of that diversity in the New Year’s celebration 23 years ago!  And today, our brothers and sisters of many languages and colors and cultures have already celebrated this sacrament in the South Pacific, in Asia, in the Middle east, in Africa, in Europe, and in lots of other places.  And I think of the different ways they have all celebrated this sacrament and the different beliefs they may have had about it.

As I think of all that, I also think about Paul, and the people he was writing this letter to.  His world was part of the Roman Empire, and under that empire it had become a much more connected world.  There were many different people with different cultures and different beliefs, who were all becoming part of this new thing called the Church.  And, with all that happening, he writes to this Church in Ephesus, (and to all of us!) these iconic words, “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 1:5-6)

Think about that!  And think about that with all the different beliefs and “styles” of Christians there are in our world – different “flavors” of Christians, like we used to say.  There are many.  Yet, in the basic creed of the church, we say we believe in the “holy catholic Church.”  That’s’ “catholic” with a lower-case “c,” meaning “the universal Church.”  We believe in the church universal, one body, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.”

That’s pretty amazing if you think about it.  Sometimes Denominations can’t agree with other denominations on things of faith.  Sometimes Christians within a denomination can’t agree.  And sometimes Christians within each individual church can’t agree.  Paul was dealing with all that disagreement in this letter.  In fact, he was in most of his letters.  The unity he wrote about and preached about is important to all churches!

I love how he begins this chapter.  And in my Bible, it has a heading which says, “Unity in the Body of Christ.”  He begins by saying, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord – He wrote this letter from prison! – I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.”  I love the idea of us being “called” to follow Jesus!  And it is a choice!  But in that choice there is a sense that we answer a call!  Think about that for a while!  You are called to follow Jesus!

And while you’re thinking about that, listen again to what Paul says are the requirements of that call.  Yes, there are things we are called to do and to be.  He says we live that call, “with all lowliness and meekness, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

That’s one of those “we could stop right there and that would be enough” kinds of verses.  We won’t, but think about it!  Are you those things?  Lowliness, meekness, forbearance, eager for unity?  And more importantly, do you recognize that those things are not easy, and we must work on them.  We must strive to do them?  And do you know that they are part of your call to follow Jesus?  As you think of that, remember Jesus’ own words.  “If you are going to be my people you must take up your cross and follow me.”  And remember, that was before he died on the cross, which they couldn’t even have imagined him doing.  When he said those words, the cross was a Roman instrument of a torturous execution!

So when we think about lowliness and meekness, we recognize that Jesus is the ultimate example of those things!  And Paul is telling these people (and us!) that we are to follow his example in that.  And then, in doing so, we are called to be eager – that is we are to choose to be eager – eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit.  That’s of course where I got the title of this sermon.  And that’s what I want you to leave thinking about today, this world communion Sunday.  “The Unity of the Spirit.”

I like that so much because it’s about more than just “striving for unity.”  We talked about unity in recent years, saying “We’re all in this together.”  Remember?  That’s what we said during covid.  There was a common enemy.  And it was a microscopic enemy.  22 years ago, we “came together” in a similar way to face a terrorist enemy.  50 years before that, we were united in the face of a number of common enemies around the world.

Those examples are unity through an enemy.  But here, Paul is telling us about “unity of the Spirit.”  And that’s an even higher calling to unity!  Isn’t it?  It’s a unity based on humility, and love, and forbearance.  And forbearance means bearing with one another even if we don’t agree.  And that’s a unity our world doesn’t understand anymore!  I’ve often spoken about that.

And it’s an even higher call to unity, because it’s about being one in the Spirit.  We are one with each other because are all one with (and in) the Lord.  As we share fellowship with each other in this sacrament, we also share fellowship with God through his Spirit – his Spirit who is “above all, and through all, and in all – all of us.”

And so we come to this sacrament, shared in the Unity of the Spirit.  May we think of that unity around the world today, with all Christians everywhere, the “Church Universal.”  And may we rejoice in the unity we have with each other through that Spirit.

Prayer

Eternal God, help us to know the kind of people you want us to be, and give us the strength to choose to do so.  Help us to feel your Spirit in our midst, drawing us together with one another, and even with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world this day.  These things we pray in Jesus’ name, and for the sake of his kingdom, Amen.