Sermon Manuscript042306

Sermon Manuscript – 4/23/2006                         Robert Hutcherson, Jr.

Sermon: “How good and pleasant”

TEXT

Psalm 133

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Ps 133:1)

We pride ourselves on being a "civilized" society. We teach classes in civics and culture at our high schools and colleges. And yet "civil" is the last thing we are when it comes to racism the culture wars, and even everyday life. If you don't like the kids at school or the way the guy in the red Pontiac hogs his lane, just pull out a gun and settle the matter.

The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared us to a pack of porcupines on a freezing winter's night. He said we huddle together to find a little warmth and comfort, and yet, the closer we get, the more we stick each other, savagely, with our quills. Sometimes we do it by accident, but sometimes on purpose.

And that's why King David wrote Psalm 133. "How good and pleasant it is," he says, "when brothers live together in unity."

Do you know what he's talking about? Ancient Israel was agricultural. Each family was identified with the land. The family farm was the inheritance passed along from one generation to another.

When Israel took possession of Canaan, each head of household was given a plot large enough to meet the needs of his family. That sometimes created a rub: many parents had more than one son. Daughters, of course, were supposed to be taken care of in the families to which they married. But each son could claim a piece of the action on his father's farm. When the father died, the land was handed over to his sons, unbroken and whole.

Unfortunately, brothers couldn't always get along well together. Maybe they argued about farming techniques. Maybe they fought about money. Maybe they couldn't stand each other's theological perspectives. Anybody who grows up in a rural community knows the stories of brothers who can't get along, and farms that are split and sold. Things were no different in David's day.

The laws of the land accommodated these possibilities. If brothers couldn't find a way to work the land together they could subdivide the property and each stay on their portion. Over time, the land of Israel became a patchwork of smaller and smaller parcels of cropland as the farms were portioned between sons and divided. Farms were split; brothers built "good neighbor fences" between each other.

The question I feel compelled to ask? “Are we “Brothers” (and “Sisters”, not to discriminate!) not the same as we interact within the Church…the “Body of Christ”? Have we not subdivided into our various denominations and “built” fences between ourselves based on doctrines and disciplines? I have indeed witnessed a church “family farm” be split up literally in just such a fashion for just such reasons. Sometimes even family members get caught in the struggle as one section embraces one set of values and the other set identifies with the other. Those families actually cease to interact on special occasions and even celebrations such as our Lord’s birth, death, and resurrection!

How tragic!!

St. Augustine stated it this way…striking to me in its simplicity.

“In the essentials…Unity

In the non-essentials…Liberty

In ALL things…Charity

(emphasis mine)

Even as we delve into a deeper understanding of the principles that make us unique as followers of Christ in the context of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, let us also remember David's song. "How good and pleasant it is," he says, "when brothers live together in unity!" How good and pleasant it is, says David, when you don't need to divide the family farm! How wonderful a thing it is when you share the inheritance of your parents together! It is compared to oil, to dew, both liquid, flowing substances.

The land was God's blessing. How they would use it, for blessing or curse, was the blessing they would give or withhold from each other.

God's grace, his unmerited kindness and favor to us in his Son, Jesus, is God's blessing to his church. How we use that grace, for blessing or curse, is the blessing we give or withhold from each other. God's grace is freely given. God never takes back with one hand what he gives with the other. But, my brothers and sisters, all too often we do.

Still, we have moments here every once in a while (moments I’m pleased to report, appear to be on the increase!!) when the grace and kindness of God does shine through the quills of the porcupines. When we forget all of our petty differences, strife, and squabbles. And then we know how right David was:

"How good and pleasant it is!"