United in Christ

Easter 7C - John 17:20-26 and Psalm 133 - June 1, 2025

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Now that it’s summer time, I’m reminded of the end of the school year field days that were traditional when I was young. Maybe you remember them too - watermelon and hotdogs, if you were lucky, homemade ice cream, and games. But there was one game - one of the relay races - that I never liked. The three-legged race was the bane of my existence. You were paired up with someone else, and you stood side by side, and they would tie your inside legs together. You know what makes for a good three-legged race pair? Communication and agreeing on what direction you were going to go and how quickly you were going to step. You know what’s hard for me sometimes, and especially when I was a child? Communication and agreeing with someone else on a shared direction and speed. You could even call that communication and shared strategy “unity” and I was bad at it. Maybe I’m a little better at it now, but many people struggle with being united with others.

Unity is the common theme of today’s Scripture readings. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane about how He and His Father are one, and how He unites those who believe in Him with Himself, His Father, and each other. Psalm 133 praises how good it is when brothers dwell together in unity. The book of Acts describes how the Eleven disciples looked for another colleague who was united with them in faith and service of Christ’s Church. When we hear about how good and pleasant unity is, we are quick to nod and agree. Jesus is united with the Father, and Jesus unites the Church. Of course. Absolutely. But!

Unity is hard! While we could talk about disunity in politics or families or on a sports team or many other places, Scripture doesn’t point us to those things today. Unity in the Christian faith, unity with Jesus, and unity with fellow Christians is what these portions of Scripture are about, and Christian unity is difficult. It’s much easier to see how Christians aren’t united instead of how they are united. Look at all the different denominations and kinds of Christian churches. Catholics and Orthodox, Presbyterians and Anglicans, Baptists and Amish and Mennonites, Lutherans and Episcopalians and so many more denominations! That’s not even counting the churches that don’t belong to a denomination, or the subsets of denominations because not all Lutherans or Baptists or Presbyterians agree with each other either. It’s like a spiritual three legged race with many more than two people involved. It’s chaos! There’s nothing good or pleasant about all the division, distinction, and disunity in the Church.

There are times when people will say, “Do you Lutherans see what you’ve done? Luther started all this disunity in the reformation, and you can’t complain now. You made your bed, now lie in it!” Martin Luther didn’t start disunity in the Church. Disunity happens when any sinner goes his or her own way. Judas went his own way, even to death because he thought he couldn’t be forgiven for betraying Jesus. So often when people think about division in the Church, it comes down to disagreement with others. Christians sometimes disagree about programs in their congregations, the color of the carpet, and how to spend the congregational funds. Christians also sometimes disagree about how to live as Christians in a sinful, challenging world. And sometimes Christians disagree about what Scripture teaches - maybe about baptism or communion or what it will be like when Jesus returns.

When Christians disagree, it’s very easy to fall into the understanding of “us versus them.” Sides form, with camps and labels. Humility can be set aside because there are Christians who are wrong. It’s easy to treat people that you don’t agree with as the enemy and to think, “If only they were as smart and intelligent and rational as I am, we wouldn’t disagree!” As sinners, we are experts on our own opinions and our own ways, even (and maybe especially) when we are wrong.

Let’s be honest. Disunity in the Church isn’t someone else’s problem. Disunity in the Church is a result of sin and sinfulness, including your sin and sinfulness. It’s good and pleasant when Christian brothers and sisters dwell in unity, and you and your sin stand in the way of that unity. You can’t simply blame others for division and error in the Church. If you can’t blame the people you disagree with, what can and what should you do?

Repent! Turn from your sin, turn from your arrogance, turn from your pride, turn from your judgement of other Christians. Honestly consider how you have contributed to the division between you and your fellow Christians. Since you are a sinner, it’s really, really unlikely that you are innocent. Confess your sinfulness to your Savior, and when appropriate, confess to your fellow Christians that you have wronged. Then, focus on what unites Christians - the gracious work of God, most clearly seen in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Now, listen really carefully to this part. This is not “agreeing to disagree.” This is not “you believe your thing and I’ll believe my thing.” This is not saying that we’re united or agreeing when we really don’t. This is being connected together to Jesus, who is the head of the Church. This is being united in goodness and pleasantness when we dwell together in unity. Notice that in Psalm 133 it talks about Aaron and his sons - the priests of God’s Old Testament people. Unity isn’t found in Aaron’s priesthood, but in Jesus’ priesthood. Jesus brings good and pleasant unity to the Church that flows from the forgiveness of sins that He brings.

Look at the people around you. No, really do it. Do you disagree with some of those folks? Look at me. Do you sometimes disagree with me? Probably! Even as we disagree, Jesus died for those other folks who sit in the pews with you. Thankfully, Jesus died for this preacher in the pulpit, just like He died for Pastor Wilken and Tanner and (vitally) for you. Each and every sinner in this room who has their own ideas and opinions that sometimes divide the Church and breed disunity is someone that Jesus loves and someone that Jesus died and rose for. Jesus has counted each and every one of you as worthy of His death on the cross. That is what unifies us. Christians of other congregations and other denominations are also people for whom Jesus died and rose. They aren’t the enemy. They aren’t your opponents.

Living together in Christian unity with sinners is hard. It takes lots of confessing and lots of forgiving. It takes the fruit of the Spirit - the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control that the Holy Spirit gives you to keep doing this good and pleasant work together. Love your fellow Christians enough to do the difficult work of talking together about God’s Word and the best way to live together as Christians.

There’s a word that Lutherans love to sling around sometime that’s a big part of Christian unity. That word is “adiaphora” - the things that aren’t commanded or forbidden in Scripture. Sometimes, people translate “adiaphora” as “indifferent matters” but that’s a really bad translation. The matters of adiaphora are often far from indifferent, like you could do this or that and it doesn’t really matter. Many of these things matter! How do we gather for worship? How often do we receive the Lord’s Supper? Do pastors wear vestments or not? These things matter, and we don’t give up on them. One theologian once wrote, “My adiaphora is better than your adiaphora.” I want a T shirt that says that, but I don’t think it would sell very well. When someone says, “Well, that’s adiaphora - so we can agree to disagree and we can each do what we think is right” smile, then say, “Well, it’s adiaphora, and that means that we keep talking about how we live together in unity under God and in service to Christ’s Church.” Instead of “That’s adiaphora” ending a conversation, it truly begins it. We talk about the things we disagree on, not because we want to convince that other sinner that they are wrong, but because it is truly good and pleasant when Christians dwell together in unity.

Even when it feels like the Church isn’t united and isn’t on the same page, it is. The source of the Church’s unity isn’t orderly meetings or general kindness or a family atmosphere in a congregation (as good as those things are). Christian unity comes from our common Savior who forgives all our sins. He doesn’t just forgive my sins, or just yours (point) or yours (point). All our sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ. We have unity because Jesus has made it so. Don’t look around this room and see enemies or opponents or people you disagree with. See people who are created by God and who are loved so much by Jesus that He died and rose for them. If Jesus thinks they are worth His blood, then surely they are worth your love and your honesty and your care for them. And when you once again realize that you have failed to love your fellow Christians and you have brought disunity to Christ’s Church, then confess your sins to God who is faithful and just to forgive your sins. Be re-united with your Savior and with your fellow Christians. Then, look for the fruit of the Spirit to strengthen you in love and patience. As forgiven sinners together, Jesus unites us all by His forgiveness and grace. The risen Christ makes us a living, forgiven, unified body.

Think back to the chaos of a three-legged race. (shudder) Life in the Church isn’t a three-legged race, but a good and pleasant multi-legged movement directed by Christ our Lord who unifies His Church and gives it life.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!