Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
©Thomas B. Cundiff
ACTS 2: 37-42
THE FIRST CONVERTS
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Matthew 7: 12
THE GOLDEN RULE
‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
I.
My scriptural focus today is the Acts of the Apostles, the first book in the bible found after the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Written by Luke, the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of what took place after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. What is taking place here is the “birthing of the church”.
UNITY is a key theme as the earliest of church leaders search for common ground in following their Lord and Messiah. The key character in today’s story is Peter. I have tried to imagine his message to the crowds…..in my words with the conviction of a voice of a preacher Peter says:
“Women! Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem
Peter is an influential preacher. His goal is to bring people together. Unity is a key theme. As our bulletin cover says:
“One in the Apostles’ Teaching, Fellowship,
Breaking of Bread and Prayer” (cf. Acts )
People came together in fellowship and to break bread and to pray – and listen to what Peter had to say. Scripture tells us there were 3000 converts after hearing Peter preach. They….
“….repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Their sins were forgiven. They received the precious, sacred gift of the Holy Spirit. The were united. They were ONE in the Spirit.” (My embellishments)
One of the greatest movements the world would ever know was established and nurtured in those early years after Jesus death and resurrection – the birth of the church: the One, Living, United, Body of Christ.
[Something to think about: We think FACEBOOK has been growing fast…..just think about the original social network, the Christian Church, that exploded in growth over 2000 years ago!]
II. Theme: UNITY
The early followers of Jesus were all about NETWORKING in striving for peace and unity in our lives and the world. This is what Jesus taught. This is what Peter preached. This is what we believe! We are one, living, united body of Christ!
Little did I know in preparing this sermon that this theme of UNITY would become a national issue after the tragic shooting that took place in Tucson Arizona
In a matter of just a few moments lives were lost; a popular congresswoman was critically injured; the injured and their families and first-responders and community – and our nation -- continue to reconcile what happened that day with our natural longing to live together in harmony and peace. The truth: Any one of us can become a victim of this kind of horrific event -- at any time! We just don’t know. Where is the God of peace when horrible things happen to good people?
I found the memorial service and the words of President Obama held on January 12th uplifting. I have a transcript of his remarks that evening at the McKale Memorial Center University of Arizona Tucson
“We should be civil because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each others love of country and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American Dream to future generations.
They believed—they believed, and I believe that we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved life there – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that’s entirely up to us.
And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.” [1]
“The forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.”
III. The Legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tomorrow we contemplate the senseless murder of another man—a minister and activist and civil rights leader—the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—who died at the hand of James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tenn. April 4th, 1968 .
The Rev. Laura Rose, pastor of the First Congregational Church in Alameda , California Memphis Tucson
“What is it going to take for us to wake up to the truth that hateful and violent speech leads to hateful and violent actions?....Can we heed the call to stop using our words as ‘weapons’ and find a way to use them as tools for constructive action?”[2]
The question we must ask as modern Christians searching for peace and unity: Can we find ways to eradicate those contentious things in our lives that keep us from building bridges? Can we find ways – each and every one of us – to be just a little bit better embracing what it means to be peacekeepers / peacegivers / peacemakers?We need to listen to the voice of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who warns us that incivility and verbal warfare kills both soul and body.
“Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true…
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction….The chain reaction of evil–hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars–must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”[3]
Next to the words from President Obama and Dr. King – the message from scripture:
We have the power to make things better. It is worthy goal for all of us to work together for unity. We must search our hearts to find ways to reconcile our differences. Through baptism we have the resources we need in our lives and in this church to work for peace. Are we going to use what Jesus gives us to make this a better nation? A more peaceful community and world in which to live?
My greatest fear is that we will leave this worship thinking that these horrible things cannot happen to us! They can happen. They DO happen.
IV. CHURCH AS ADVOCATES FOR PEACE
Our officers just a week ago stood before you and answered a series of questions. This one question stands out:
“Do you promise to promote the furthering of the peace, unity and purity of the church?”
In expanding on this just a bit: Can we all make this promise? To promote the furthering of peace, unity and purity of the church—in the context of the world in which we live?
We don’t have to tolerate the hatred and violence. Innocent victims don’t have to die. Children don’t have to go hungry. Families don’t have to live on the streets. We can get rid of the gangs and drugs. We can soften our tone in how we talk about the issues. We can be civil in how we relate to each other in searching for common ground with issues that separate us.
So as members of this church – as member of the one, united, living Body of Christ:
“Do you promise to promote the furthering of the peace, unity and purity of the church in the world in which we live?
V. The Golden Rule
Finally, doesn’t everything come down to the Golden Rule? Unity as a gift from God is found in how we treat each other grounded in this very simple principle:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!
How do we promote the furthering of the peace, unity and purity of the church in the world in which we live? The answer is in how we relate to each other……
So my friends: Let us leave this service with this principle in our hearts. In promoting the furthering of the peace, unity and purity of the church in the world in which we live -- let us: DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU!
Amen
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