The Extravagant Gift of Unity

by Sarah Dull

How did you spend Labor day? One last trip to the State Fair, bargain shopping at your favorite stores, or picnics with friends and family? For many of us, Labor Day marks the transition from summer to fall; from vibrant colors, fragrant blossoms, and outdoor adventures to amber hues, apple cider, and cozy sweaters. A long-weekend of play before birds return south, children return to school, and we return to church programming. 

Amy-Jane Griffiths, a licensed clinical psychologist at Chapman University, says that fall is often “associated with things that are related to social connection… Sometimes, people associate [fall] with the feeling of comfort, warmth, safety, or belonging to a group… It brings us back to our roots and reminds us what’s important in our lives.” This couldn’t be more true for me. I feel very fortunate to be part of an organization whose work ebbs and flows with the seasons. And, at St. John’s fall is definitely a season of returning, regathering, and reuniting.

I know, in just a couple of days, my heart will be full of gratitude to see each and every one of you again as we gather to eat, learn, and worship. I can’t wait to hear our voices raised in prayer and song together. Our harmonizing (however out of tune I may be) attests that, in all our differences, we belong to and with each other. Each of us is a precious and beloved child of God made for sharing love, peace, joy, and hope together, in community.

This year, more than most, I find myself longing for that sense of beloved community and unity. The divides in our families, our communities, our government, and even our churches is becoming wearisome. I am tired of praying for reconciliation and peace, only to read another heartbreaking story of conflict and division.

In his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer opens with this quote from Psalms 133:1:

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

He goes on to detail the necessity of the church functioning as a living and vibrant organism, what he called a “community of love.”

In The Church and the Churches, Karl Barth also called Christians to unity. However, he cautioned that unity of the church is not something we can work to achieve. It already exists. Jesus prayed for it just before going to the cross (John 17). In his 2nd letter to the Ephesians (14-16), Paul explains it was through the cross that Christ broke down the barrier between Jews and Gentiles and brought them together in one new humanity, thus establishing peace. And in his 1st letter to the Corinthians (12:13), Paul further explains that through the Holy Spirit we are baptized into this one body of Christ, thus receiving the extravagant gift of unity with all believers everywhere.

In their writings, both theologians affirmed this basic spiritual truth: true humanity is co-humanity. To be truly and fully human means to be truly and fully together. To be human is to exist with each other, not without each other. It is to exist for each other, not against each other. It is to exist on behalf of each other, not merely for our own selves.

They also emphasized that true spiritual unity must be centered on God. As Bonheoffer writes, the unity of the community is in Christ, “through him alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, and fellowship with one another.” And, as Barth writes, that unity will be revealed to us through Jesus and the Spirit, “The quest for the unity of the Church must in fact be identical with the quest for Jesus Christ as the concrete Head and Lord of the Church. The blessing of unity cannot be separated from Him who blesses, for in Him it has its source and reality, through His Word and Spirit it is revealed to us, and only in faith in Him can it become a reality among us.”

Of all God’s blessings, this gift of peace and unity is one I treasure the most. Indeed, how very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

This psalm isn’t talking about people who are siblings on the basis of biology or nationality, gender or sexuality, age or race or political affiliation, religion or church membership. Kinship is reconfigured by God to go beyond this, to include all people. Because God is the creator and redeemer—not of some, but of all. The beauty and goodness of unity flows like abundant oil and water. It cannot be contained or limited geographically, demographically, or by any other barrier or human construct.

The goodness and beauty of unity is God’s gift, God’s promise, and God’s work. It’s our job to see unity where it exists and to participate in it; to hope and pray for its fulfillment; and to celebrate it with singing and eating and laughing together in the presence of God.

I will leave you with this meditation from our consultants, Vandersall Collective:

Let us walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we’ve been called, with humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Let us put away falsehood and speak the truth with our neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not go astray.

Together, let us do good work with our own hands, so as to have something to share.

And, I look forward to seeing you at Gathering Sunday.