Unity is Our Gift to God

Today’s reading: John 10:14-16

An interesting prayer request recently came across my church’s email chain: “Please pray for unity in our church.”

God has sent the church a new pastor in the last few months. She replaces a pastor who was universally loved by all of our members, and there were many tears at our former pastor’s departure.  For our new pastor, “the book is still out,” a few members have said.

I disagree with these fellow parishioners on this. The book they speak of was written long ago. In fact, today’s reading, comes from it.

“And there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (Verse 16)

Jesus Christ is the leader of our church, and, when we follow him, we cannot help but achieve the unity that someone has requested. The answer to this prayer is up to us, not God.

The same concept applies to differences in the world’s various Christian denominations. In the United Methodist Church, for example, I occasionally hear mild derision of other “non-demoninational” churches that practice what critics call “prosperity” theology. (Pastor Joel Osteen is probably the best known example of this.)

Today’s reading makes it clear that there is no need for us Methodists to worry over these sheep. They are just in a different part of the same, huge, Christian flock. God, certainly, wants all people to prosper in their walk with Him and has given us all that we need to do so. There is no valid reason to criticize a church for emphasizing that great part of the Christian message. To do so only works against the unity Jesus calls for in today’s reading.

And, further, this all applies to the differences in religions, too.

I have caused Christian eyebrows to rise several times in my life when I have publicly declared my respect for the life and teachings of Mohanda K. (Mahatma) Gandhi.

Gandhi’s helped the world to understand that all religions (Christianity, Judaism, Buddishm, Hinduism, and Islam) teach essentially the same thing, all summed up by the great Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Of course this teaching earned Gandhi much criticism, jail time, and, eventually, even his death (at the hands of a man who could not bare to find any virtue in Islam).

But, Gandhi spoke only in support of what Jesus says in today’s reading.

God, too, wants unity in my church — and throughout the world. We all must decide to give him that gift.

Thanks be to God for the eternal peace He offers all of mankind.