“Unity, at any cost?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Ephesians 4: 1-16 (Forward, p. 17) CEV p. 1224
Jesus’ mandate was that the entire Church, the Body of Christ, should be one, even as He and the Father are one (see John 17:21). But then it must be asked how this is to be achieved, and at what cost.
In the first part of today’s passage the apostle Paul answers the first part of this question:
-we are to live lives that are worthy of our calling (‘to live in a way that
is worthy of the people God has chosen us to be’).
-that has something to say about our morality and our conduct.
-we are to be humble and genuine.
-we are to patiently put with each other and love each other.
-we are to live in peace with each other.
-we are to make use of the gifts that God has graciously given us.
-we are to be built up and equipped, enabled, instructed and
strengthened by the work of God’s chosen leaders.
The cost? Well, firstly, of course, we are to submit ourselves, commit ourselves to those things, those standards or behaviours, that Paul has just mentioned. All this says a great deal, --about our morality and our conduct. But there is more:
-we are to be united by our faith and by our understanding of the
Son of God.
-we are not to allow ourselves to be tricked by deceitful people
with their false teachings, which can be like gusts of winds that
toss us around from place to place.
So, Paul is suggesting that our unity is indeed important, but that it can only happen, only be maintained by adhering to certain ethical and doctrinal standards. And sadly, unfortunately, much of this has ‘gone its way’ in our modern world and present-day church. What is right and proper ethically, morally, seems to be a moving, ever-changing target. Certainly, the humility, gentleness, patience, and love that are enjoined upon us are often rather absent in both parish circles and at wider diocesan and national gatherings. And, as for doctrine, even the essentials (such as the
Incarnation, the Atonement, and the Resurrection) seem too often to be ‘up for grabs.
So, let us, apply ourselves to Paul’s words, and seek, by deed and by truth, that unity that Jesus so fervently prayed for. Amen.
Forward notes: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (verses 4-6).
“When I traveled to the Holy Land in 2019, I did not know where or what would be most spiritually moving. Although I was traveling with a group of mostly Episcopalians from the United States, we found ourselves at holy sites with groups from other countries, speaking other languages, from other Christian traditions. Despite the very obvious things that divided us, in our common pilgrimage, I felt very powerfully that I was a part of the wider, global Church, that these people were my siblings in Christ, and that I was bound to them through our baptisms.
“It is so easy to focus on what separates us from one another, but in the midst of fellow pilgrims who were also traveling and praying at the holy sites of our shared faith, I felt the powerful spiritual connection of our one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.”