Unity

 UNITY AS THE DEW AND HOLY OIL AND IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH PSALM 133

"There are two ways of being united -- one is by being frozen together, and the other is by being melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love, and then they may expect to have power. "

Moody's Anecdotes, p. 53.

The Result of Disagreement, "  Intending to raise cattle, a family from New York bought a ranch out West. When their friends visited and inquired about the ranch’s name, the would be rancher replied: “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one of our sons wanted the Flying-W, and the other liked the Lazy-Y. So we’re calling it the BAr-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.”

“But where are all your cattle?” the friends asked.

“None survived the branding.”  Source:Unknown

"Playing Second Fiddle

An Admirer once asked Leonard Bernstein, celebrated orchestra conductor, what was the hardest instrument to play. He replied without hesitation: “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists, but to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm or second French horn or second flute, now that’s a problem. And yet if no one plays second, we have no harmony.” (Source: James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale, 1988, p. 450, Brett Blair, Sermon Illustrations, 1999.)

Andy Cook"

Unity Psalm 133

Psalm 133 paints a beautiful picture of unity and being together as brothers/sisters in our faith. It is good and pleasant . It is like the ointment that ran down Aaron the priest. This oil is described in Exodus 30:23 ,myrrh, cinammon and calamus. I have not seen this kind of oil, but it must be delightful in texture and smell.

The other picture is of the dew ," as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion" When brethren work together the idea is that of the beautiful dew that comes upon the morning in the mountains. We too are happy when we see that on our lawns and grass in the morning for it gives moisture to them. It is a fresh smell in the morning. When I choose to exercise I certainly do not do it in the extreme heat of the afternoon. I love the morning dew and cool .

Unity is attractive as the dew and the ointment put on the high priest in his service. As the Psalmist said, "good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity" As I mentioned in the Rector's Corner for today we had such an assembly in South Carolina at an outdoor Prayer breakfast . There it was that one of those who was going to be ordained by Bishop Jerdan at the time spoke on this Psalm, and it was a wonderful memory of unity. There were people there that I did not know but we were joined by faith and belief together in Christ through our Reformed Episcopal Church at that time in the south. I was the next or same day ( I cannot remember now) as a Deacon in one of the very large REC parishes then. It had a big impact on me for many reasons.

We come together as well as I did that day in Charleston, SC with others who I did not know personally , yet we were all committed together in one faith and to one religion, the religion of Christ.

Some of the NT Scriptures that talk about unity are numerous: "

1 Peter 3:8

Finally, be you all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brothers, be pitiful, be courteous:

Philippians 2:2

Fulfill you my joy, that you be like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I beseech you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Ephesians 4:3

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Acts 4:32

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Romans 15:6

That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:27

Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

The Scripture is clear about unity. We are never going to agree about everything, are we? There are many things we could say we could divide over if we wanted to pursue that course. Remember the letter of Paul was written to the Church at Corinth because they had let divisions among them increase...one of Apollos, one of Paul, etc....but the Apostle exorted them to focus on those things of the Christian faith that should bind them together in love and unity.

I came across this quote from Nouwen that I had highlighted three years ago, " The Wounded Healer

Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not "How can we hide our wounds?" so we don't have to be embarrassed, but "How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?" When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.

Jesus is God's wounded healer: through his wounds we are healed. Jesus' suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others."

In many ways I wish I could bring that time back when I felt unity there in South Carolina. I was new to the assembly, yet I was welcomed in love. They had no idea of who I was except to know that the Bishop was going to ordain me.

We are too to be unified because of who we are in Christ, despite our history, our sins, our problems, our disagreements of the past. Unity is a powerful weapon in the force of God's Church to take a world by storm. Love heals all wounds whatever they may look like. We are not to see others but Christ in others and know that we are one in Him. That is our passion here and in our witness. We should earnestly seek unity and pray for those who do not have healing and love in their lives that they may know the peace of Christ which passes all understanding.

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."