What Unites Us

Gratitude

What Unites Us

The book of John records a prayer of Jesus…that he prayed just after what we would call the last supper, kind of giving us what we still do today…what we just did…communion. It was given so we could remember something…and by remembering bring us to a posture before God where we could once again, be reminded of why we are so grateful to God.

Jesus then prays for himself, his discipes, and the future church…they everyone would be in unity. Together in purpose…for a purpose…of showing Jesus to the world. Its a huge passage of scripture that we often overlook as a church family. Today we’ll dig deeper into this concept…of why we would remember Jesus death and his return to life…and that this remembering…leading us to gratitude…why this can be, should be the thing that unites us.

Big Idea - There is so much that divides us - but gratitude unites us.

Prayer - Lord, help us to see and believe the best in one another, help us to be grateful for others, and grateful for the sacrifice Jesus made for us all.

Scripture - Acts 2:44-47, Romans 3:20-24

INTRO

In early August 2020, in the interest of gaining a better understanding of the polarized state of our nation, Pew Research Group polled supporters of both Presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, asking this question:

Thinking about your close friends, how many would you say support Donald Trump for president or support Joe Biden for president?

I could go through the numbers by a number of demographics (age, education, area of the country, county, economic status, etc) but at the risk of being short, I’ll just say...

Most people said that, within their friend group, just a few supported the opposite political candidate.

There were some who said nearly none of their close friends supported the opposing candidate.

(Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/18/)

This was just to show the polarizing effect that politics can have on a group of people whether it be a nation or neighbors.

Sadly, the polarized state of our nation is not shocking. We feel the division. We hear it. We see it. We read it. And yet, most of us think, "Not me." Until we take a closer look and ask ourselves, "Do I have friends who think differently than me?"

Or…am I able to have friends that think differently than me? What do you think the answer to that question should be if we’re truly disciple makers?

For many of us, our ideological differences and politics place stress on the relationships that matter most.

Personal Story: Tic Toc Story....

Daughter who had to lie....

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, I think we could all say this, we’ve all fueled that type of division in different ways and in different parts of life. I know I have…and sometimes without good consequences.

When we listen to podcasts, watch news shows, read newspapers, choose social media follows, and read articles that not only support our beliefs but affirm our "rightness" in our beliefs, we should not be surprised by the outcome.

Feeding our ideologies with like-mindedness, we have starved out a significant part of human connected-ness – an unbiased relationship with all of God's people.

Inevitably, our added "rightness vs. wrongness" mindset has driven a wide wedge through God's crown of creation, leaving a deep ravine for divisiveness to dwell…it leaves a rift between people…and many times people who’ve loved each other deeply.

Years ago, when I was younger, my family went to a Browns/Steelers football game. We were up in the nose bleed section of the old stadium…Municipal Stadium. If you remember, that was the place that if you got the wrong seat you ended up with a big steel pole in your front of you.

Well, we were there for that big rivalry game. And in front of us were 4-5 guys from Pittsburgh…jerseys hats....and lots of yelling cheering and beer. At one point one of them spilled his beer on us…apologized.

We’d cheer and they’d boo and turn to us and boo and we…didn’t quite boo but they cheered in our face when something good happened for them…back and forth…opposing teams…opposing fans…almost like angry opposing fans… Fierce.

I can’t remember who won that game…but here’s what I do remember. Those guys, when the game was done all turned around, shook our hands, and said something “Hey, good game. Apologize again for the beer, Good being up here with you all.” Smiles, nice, cordial. What divided us was the game…but as humans…it didn’t divide us…in fact football became the thing that kept everything on the level and friendly…at the end.

Teams…we were opposed to each other…but not opposed as humans…that game in the end wasn’t bigger than life.

I remember thinking as a kid…this is weird…we’re suppose to hate each other…why are they being nice?

I think that in today’s society, many times, us humans enjoy being divisive, almost expect it…and take part in it. To a point where it becomes our identity. And in the church that’s dangerous. Because people on the outside might see our ideologies more than they see Jesus. I’ve been that person…believe me…I’ve been the one posting something, sharing something, beginning a firestorm of comments and likes/dislikes…and I enjoyed it…for all the wrong reasons.

What if we focused on the things that unite us as much as the things that divide us?

Could we then have a playing field where we could have discussions rather than angry arguments?

I think if we started with our own personal posture before God, we’d be in a different spot to talk about differences…in love.

Main Teaching

The early church

Division in politics is nothing new. Differences in opinion and beliefs are not uncommon but somewhat expected. Philosophizing over ideology is a defining characteristic of humanity. The ability to reason and expand on our reasoning is, in its very nature, what sets us apart from animal's brightest.

When we do not view our differences with high stakes, the various thoughts, beliefs, and passions add flavor to life through questioning and conversation. Like who has the best burgers or pizza or where the best weather is…or who makes the best trucks…or what the best way to cook a turkey is…or whatever…the list is endless here.

However, when we make a cognitive decision to have friends with the same socio-economic and moral beliefs, I would ask us to consider this: Do I choose only to have friends with the same stripes?

The early church was a crazy different bunch of people. They came from all walks of life. Jesus' circle – mostly the societal outcasts, the uneducated, the poorest of the poor, sick, and despised – continued to follow him after his resurrection.

However, to much of their dismay, their following did not lead to birth of a new political party, a new nation, or even a revolution. Instead, a faith community rose up - the early church.

Celsus (a second-century - the late 100’s - Greek philosopher and early opponent of Christianity) said Christians were "an ignorant folk." Although spoken unkindly, he wasn't entirely wrong. Most Christians were the opposite of the societal elite and educated. Paul (who was highly educated and from a higher social class) said the Christians in Corinth were ignorant of some things, powerless, and of obscure birth.

For the first three centuries, the Christian majority was a mixed bag that mostly belonged to society's lower status levels…if I can say that. Scholars were the exception, creating a vast chasm between the rich and poor, the educated and uneducated. Believers of various ethnicities - Jewish, Gentile, Greek, Asian – added to this mixture. The early church found itself striving to unify amongst its vast differences.

To add to this, the early church suffered under intense persecution. Early Christians were the religious minority and despised by the unbelieving political and religious majority. They were laughed at, mocked, spit on, falsely accused of sexual crimes, and physically forced to submit to a totalitarian government. Life was hard. If given permission, the heavy stressors of the day could consume the most robust believer and rob him of every ounce of joy....if permitted.

However, the early church was far from a joyless group of people. Unifying the body of Christ was a top priority of its leaders as they looked for a faith practice that would surpass the congregational differences. The unifier was the Eucharist – the taking of communion - grounded in gratitude.

eucharista and

charis

The Eucharist

In the early church, the Sabbath (like our Sunday) was the first day of the week. The purpose of these gatherings was not to call the faithful to repentance or make them aware of their sins'. Those things were very understood.

Their main purpose for gathering was to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus through communion, the Eucharist. It was a service of remembrance and gratitude for God's grace. The foundation of the service was fundamentally, gratitude....towards Jesus.

Every Sabbath was a communion service. This was the DNA of the early church worship.

Instead of early believers saying on a Sabbath morning, "We are going to church today," they would have instead said, "We are going to Eucharist today."

Until the Protestant Reformation (the sixteenth century), Christian worship centered around communion, its highest worship act. Their gatherings were happy occasions: (Acts 2:46-47) eating together with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people in mind.

Every Sunday was an Easter celebration, which began the Eucharist by giving thanks. Before taking communion, believers would offer gratitude to God, recounting at length His acts and testifying to the power of His Holy Spirit. Following the communion meal, believers shared in the second round of gratitude prayers. And after these prayers, they would move into a time of caring for one another's physical needs by taking up an offering and sharing of their resources. [Gonzalez, Justo L., The Story of Christianity, pp. 105-111. Harper Collins Press, 2010]

Read Acts 2:44-47

Acts 2:44–47 NIV

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Amongst all their differences and stresses, what unified the believers in practice, spirit, and mind?

Gratitude - They were unified in gratitude....now…let’s get deeper here.

Corporate Gratitude

There is no tension like the tension between the pews. As humans living as the body of Christ, we are well aware of the pain and trouble we can intentionally or unintentionally cause one another. Different passions and convictions fuel much of our trouble within the church.

Do phrases such as these, "This is how I see it," or "That is not what I think," and "If you could only see things my way," sound familiar?

We know good and well that when good people with deeply-felt passions within the church bump heads, things can go bad very quickly.

The early church understood (to which I would argue the church today fails to understand) that focusing on God's grace in our life through corporate gratitude is a strong unifier that places us all on a level playing field.

Why gratitude?

Because it is a position/a posture before God that reminds us all of what we do not deserve (Romans 3:20-24).

Romans 3:20–24 NIV

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Just look on social media and you will see division. And I’m not talking about just political stuff…I’m talking about how we might simply talk about other people in different places.

In a moment of hurt, anger, or frustration, we need to check our loving hearts, God-given conscience, and spirit of grace before we get behind a screen. Impassioned, we pound away on our keyboard, blasting our opinion and stating what is "right." All the while, knowing our words cause pain, emotionally cutting and tearing down our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. I may not say it to your face at church, but I will inadvertently blast you through social media.

Then the idea of having “likes” justifies what you might have put out there.

"Minor" behaviors such as these drive the wedge of division in the body of Christ and encourage other believers to do the same. In the end…we have divisions.

Disagreement left unchecked leads to a poisonous spirit.

All the devil wants is a little divisiveness…he doesn’t need a big argument…just a little one…little ones…why? Because when the body is divided, it loses its power to see the Kingdom and to be the Kingdom.

The early church understood that the remedy for keeping out this spirit of division was to fully embrace God’s spirit of grace.

Paul and the early church fathers preached this - a gospel of grace.

Ignatius…who was the apostle John’s disciple…said this...

Lake’s Apostolic Fathers in English (XIII)

1 SEEK, then, to come together more frequently to give thanks and glory to God. For when you gather together frequently the powers of Satan are destroyed, and his mischief is brought to nothing, by the concord (unity) of your faith. 2 There is nothing better than peace, by which every war in heaven and on earth is abolished.

They knew if we would slow down, choose gratitude, and thank God for one another, we would live like Christ.

Ultimately, they knew this was the way to make a difference in the world.

Conclusion

So, what if we expressed gratitude for one another and for the grace Christ has and always gives us? What if we said words of thanks, wrote words of thanks, and prayed words of thanks?

If we make gratitude a habit, our hearts will soften to one another. And eventually, what we have in common will outweigh our differences…and maybe give us a new and better way to talk about them.

The Psalmist understood the power of gratitude, which is why he told us entrance into the gates of the Lord was through words of thanksgiving and songs of praise (Psalm 100:4).

Psalm 100 CSB

A psalm of thanksgiving. Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us, and we are his— his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.

Let’s pray together.