United for Christ, Equipped for Mission

Unity and mission are inseparable imperatives of the Gospel. We receive the Great Commission from Jesus to “Go…make disciples…baptize…teach” (Matthew 28:19, 20) that shapes our design for Mission. We hear Jesus in the Garden pray passionately, almost dispairingly, as he sees his earthly life and work drawing to an end and the need to entrust His holy mission to his sometimes-contentious followers, “that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:11) How do we 21st century followers of Jesus hear and obey these two mandates from our Savior? Even more crucial is our response to the inevitable tensions that arise when we seek to define mission and, simultaneously, face the challenges to the unity the Savior wills for us.

January 18 – 25 has traditionally been known as the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.” Here is recognition that the division of the Christian Church into ethnic and confessional groups is contrary to the intentions of Jesus. All Christians are challenged to look beyond our divisions, much as we accept them as inevitable, and prayerfully seek the guidance of the Lord for the unity we believe is at God’s heart.

The Councils of Churches — World, National, Regional, and Local — are efforts of Christians to reach across the barriers and divisions to affirm our essential unity in Christ. They grew out of the International Missionary Councils of the late 19th and early 20th centuries where mission agencies gathered to consider common concerns in recognition that the mission to which Christ calls us is strengthened when Christians witness together. Ease of communication and travel made such exchanges possible and an energetic conciliar movement brought all of Christendom nearer to the ecumenical vision. Our liturgy and worship have been enriched. The agreement among many Protestant denominations to accept one another’s understanding of Baptism, Eucharist (Holy Communion), and Ministry (Ordination) reflects a level of unity that eluded us since the Reformation. We discovered that in a world where division and competition are accepted as inevitable, Christians have in Jesus a defining and uniting power. Our service and Mission in the name of Jesus are strengthened and facilitated as we abandon old divisions to work together in the name of Christ.

More recently, divisions within denominations or congregations have troubled us — settings where presumed unity is threatened because of disagreement over doctrinal issues. The official gatherings of Churches (Synods, Conventions, Conferences) become the scene of rancorous division and hurt. Decisions become policy that never pleases all. The press publicizes the issues. The lines of difference are sharply drawn. The unity in Christ, already broken, becomes evident to all. How we, like Jesus in the Garden, must grieve to know that the disunity diverts us from effectively carrying out the mission of healing and salvation to which Jesus calls us!

Barbara Brown Taylor, writing in a recent issue of the Christian Century provides a wider context for the contentions we face today. She describes the “Arian Controversy” of the 4th Century in Constantinople (now Turkey) in this way: “…One Christian wrote that it was impossible to go into the bakery for a loaf of bread without debating the nature of Christ. Was he the eternal Son of the eternal Father or was there a time when he was not? With bishops physically assaulting other bishops over this question and emperors changing sides on regular basis, the debate spilled out of the Church into the streets,” where followers of Bishop Athenasius defined the person of Jesus favored passages from John’s Gospel to define the person of Jesus and the Arians defended their position with passages from Mark.

The only comfort we might glean from this account is that the issue dividing the Church has been settled. We don’t debate the nature of Christ. Thus we hope that future generations will have lain to rest the contentious issues that divide the Church today.

St. Paul’s wisdom conveyed to the Ephesians’ Church about unity is remarkably relevant. With incredible passion and accuracy he counsels: “Make (making) every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (4:3) He gives these signs as evidence of the Unity he calls for (4:2):

HUMILITY — Here is a word that Christian faith has put in place. The world views humility as a cringing, cowardly attitude. But humility means knowing who you are. A proper self-understanding means you can give way to another at the appropriate time. You need not always be “right” or “on top.” You know who you are.

GENTLENESS — We tend to associate “gentleness” with weakness. Not so! Gentleness, like meekness, is strength! The cross and the towel are the examples of Christian meekness, and it takes a strong person to “wash another’s feet,” so to speak. The argument among the disciples in the Upper Room at the Last Supper was over which of them was the greatest. Isn’t it true that when there is trouble over the greatest there is also trouble over the least? We may not aspire to be the greatest, but we would like our convictions, our position to prevail.

LONG-SUFFERING — A sign of unity, it’s like patience, never giving up. It’s not defined by discouragement or setback. We value patience — especially in others, but excuse ourselves for lack of it.

LOVE — “Forbearing one another in love,” is the way Paul speaks of love. Love fills our language, our songs. But the world around us behaves with a marked absence of love. “Don’t talk of love,” Eliza Doolittle cries in My Fair Lady, “don’t talk at all! Show me! Show me, NOW!” Such is the plight of our world, and our own experience, with the absence of love.

PEACE — The final sign is the crown of all. Peace comes from love, humility, gentleness, and patience. Each sign means getting self out of the center. Unity comes when we think of others. When MY convictions, MY prestige, MY rights matter most, there can be no peace.

Think of these signs as both a self-test, as well as a measure of the UNITY we seek.

In the midst of this unity there is DIVERSITY. Unity is not uniformity. Indeed, unity is shaped by the diversity of gifts of the individual components in the Church. The three Assemblies of the World Council of Churches I attended were occasions to celebrate the DIVERSITY and the UNITY of the Church. National costumes, distinctive clerical head covering, and the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed spoken in 50 languages were the most obvious signs of diversity. All who worshipped are members of the body of Christ. While such signs are not evident to normal church life we need to affirm that the diversity that accompanies our one faith in Jesus Christ as Lord comes as a gift.

The purpose of our Unity in Christ is “…to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…” (4:12) The word “equip,” in the language of St. Paul has a fascinating meaning. It is used for surgery for setting a broken limb or putting a displaced joint in place. In Mark’s Gospel, it describes bringing opposing sides together so that a government can go on. The idea of this word is that of putting a thing or a person into the condition in which it ought to be. It implies that only in our unity can we be whole or complete. Indeed, our mission for Christ cannot go forward except when we experience unity.

What then is the end result of our unity and Mission? It is to grow up to be mature Christians. “Until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of God.” (4:13–15) Growth is a dynamic movement in our lives. If a child does not grow, we are alarmed. Paul speaks of growing to maturity. We cannot stay as children. We need to grow and to become mature. Unity in Christ is evidence of maturity. Out of our Unity comes the strength and the passion to be in mission. And so we pray: “Teach us to know and love the worldwide church called out of all peoples and nations. Make visible the unity that you desire as we express a spirit of reconciliation in all of our relationships. Show us that we are part of the one and only body of Jesus Christ, unified by faith, scattered for witness and service. Lead us to appreciate the richness of our diversity and your creative power at work in our various traditions and customs. Make us all one with you by the inspiration and guidance of your Spirit.” (Moravian Book of Worship, Liturgy for Christian Unity, p. 124)