Unity does not come from being the same. Unity comes when people are willing to stop working against one another—through competitiveness, quarreling, and maintaining division. Unity is working together. For the church that unity is working together to emulate Jesus’ radical upset of the world’s power relationships.
At least that is what the Apostle Paul says.
This morning we hear the apostle’s call for unity as the followers of Jesus. This letter to the church in Corinth is in response to a conflict that is tearing the congregation and its witness apart. It seems as if the congregation is made up of several factions . . . fellowship groups . . . vying for control of the church. The apostle writes of the groups: “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.’” Because everyone is setting up camp under different individuals and claiming that their way is the right way . . . there is a lot of quarreling going on. The apostle wants none of this and proclaims that the church cannot exist in such a state.
That is Paul’s plead: “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.” The apostle understood well the old saying, “United we stand, divided we fall.”
If we are going to be honest with ourselves . . . how in the world is this going to happen? No divisions? Different beliefs. No differences? Different interests. No opinions? They are the markers of our identities. They are important and they are not easily set aside. So . . . how are we going to make this happen? Ordinarily we think of these differences as the things that make us who we are. They define where we are in the world and who we are related to others.
During first century Corinth everything depended upon who you were with. It mattered which person you followed . . . which family you were a part of . . . which city or country you belonged to. Unity was founded in the context of banding together against the next family, city, or nation . . . “I belong to” . . . was a powerful statement. Thus, there was a staunch division among the people and constant vying for position and power.
Now remember . . . Paul is addressing the church in Corinth. It is a church divided . . . Paul’s followers, Apollos’ followers, Cephas’ followers, and even Christ’s followers. Yes, Paul even criticized those who proclaimed themselves to be followers of Christ. It is easy to see how Paul could criticize certain groups within the church, but how could he criticize those who identified as the followers of Christ? Surely, they had it right!
No. They might have had the right name. They might have been wearing the same clothes. But they had the wrong spirit. The problem was not that they had different foundations of faith, but that they were quarreling. For the apostle this pointed out that they lacked the kind of unity that is the fruit of belonging to Jesus.
The union of the world is not the union of which Jesus speaks or Paul preaches. Paul believed just as Jesus did . . . there are differences, but those differences do not separate us in God’s kingdom. Foreskin or circumcised? No difference. Slave or free? No difference. Man or woman? No difference—in Christ Jesus we are one family. Clothing oneself in Jesus does not erase our differences, but it does cover them, set them aside, and put them in a new context.
Paul does not ask the congregation in Corinth to be identical . . . to be the same. What he does ask is that they set aside their differences that put them at cross purposes, and instead work for cross purposes. Instead of fighting with one another through competition, quarreling, and maintaining divisions within their fellowship that they work together by emulating Jesus’ radical upset of the world’s power relationship. Instead of being cross with each other that they work for what Jesus died upon a cross pushing for. To love God. To love one another. To seek peace . . . justice . . . inclusion. To bring the whole family to the table. To seek the best for all.
Paul’s vision is of unity. That understanding of unity does not negate differences. Think of Paul’s metaphor of the church as being the “body” of Christ. Paul believes that the church . . . those people who are gathered together around the cross of Jesus and sharing him in their communal life are the body of Christ. Yet, Paul understands that the body has many parts. They do not look alike or act alike. They don’t always move in the same direction. Picture a runner . . . arms and legs pumping, as one goes back, the other goes forward. All the various parts of the body are joined together, and they work together to move the whole body forward.
The key is that they work together.
That is the goal.
The apostle states: "All of you be in agreement, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose." This is directed not at identity, but at mission. Division is to be avoided because Christ has called us together, into a body, to accomplish God's purpose in the world . . . to be one . . . one family striving to not to be the same but united in God’s love and grace.
It is the only way . . . Jesus’ way. Amen.
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