Why is Christian Unity so hard?

A sermon preached on 29/5/22

‘That they may be one, as we are one…’

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Why is Christian Unity so hard?

We live in a broken and divided world, where the forces of sin and evil tear peoples and nations apart; where power and economic advantage have more sway over us than that most fundamental value from which - and for which - we were created… love.

In our Gospel reading [John 17. 20-end], Jesus signals that the unity of his followers, the unity of the Church, will be a sign to our broken and divided world of the glory and love of God, revealed in Christ.

But, of course, the Church falls short and is swayed by money and power, just like the world.

And there is nothing new under the sun.

The readings we have had from Acts over Eastertide have shown us the unity to which the apostles aspired, but also the divisions and tensions apparent from the very beginning - circumcised and uncircumcised; strong personalities rubbing up against each other; Greek philosophy and Jewish wisdom.

Many of the Church’s current divisions are accidents of history - sometimes theologically motivated, but often not. At the planning meeting for the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Armenian bishops were left off the guest list, and as a result found themselves separated from the Chalcedonian Church. Likewise, many of the heated theological debates of the fifth century led to schism through misunderstanding - trying to iron out precise theological definitions was simply not possible when the same words had different meanings in Greek, Syriac, Coptic and Latin.

Sometimes the divisions came down to questions of power and control - whether Byzantine Imperial power, or through breaking with the papacy - and right down to our own day: whatever your thoughts on disestablishment, the UK is the only place in the world - other than Iran - where unelected clerics sit in the legislature… And the American church is schism-ing all over the place because of property disputes.

So, having painted this rather gloomy picture, where does that leave us? Where do we stand in relation to Jesus’ prayer - that we might all be one?

There is a joke in Orthodox circles about a group of Protestants, who - all dying at the same time - come before St Peter at the pearly gates. At their induction, St Peter gives them the tour. As they are walking past one walled area, they hear some chanting, but St Peter quickly gestures for silence. As they go on, one asks St Peter why they needed to be quiet. St Peter replies, ‘that’s the orthodox quarter, and they like to think they are alone here!’

And, of course, that’s also true for many of us across denominations.

We, naturally, think that we are right - and to quote Elton John, ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word.’

But the first stage in this recovery of unity is to say sorry; for the ways we have treated each other; for the ways we have been distracted from our calling to follow Jesus.

We also need to recognise that the status quo is unsatisfactory. We are so used to the division of the Church into groups and factions that we forget what a scandal it is. There is a prayer in the Accession Service in the Book of Common Prayer which asks:

‘Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly union and concord.’

This prayer is a call to live out the prayer of Jesus in John 17.

Christian Unity isn’t about all the meetings and declarations - which are often a minority interest! - and it isn’t about patting ourselves on the back once a year when we decide we can tolerate visiting another church.

But rather Christian Unity is a sign to the world - a sign of the Unity of the Trinity in love.

‘As you Father are in me, and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe.’

Our unity is important, because it says something about God. And it is not for our sake, but for the sake of the world.

Our church community is well-placed for this journey into unity. I know that some of you have strong links with the Orthodox and with other churches. Building these relationships, person-to-person, Christian-to-Christian, is just as important - if not more - than the official dialogue that happens between bishops and committees.

One of our Diocese’s strategies is ‘to share in the evangelisation of Europe.’ This is a recognition that anything we do here to build up the body of Christ, we do alongside others - and that we are working for a common goal - the proclamation of our risen and ascended Lord, the good news of our salvation.

As heaven is without its quarters and enclaves - despite the joke - so too is our prayer for the church in the world. As a community, let’s work together in small ways for unity. Find out more about Orthodoxy, or Lutheranism, or Catholicism; deepen your understanding of our own Anglican heritage; visit churches; talk to people; make friends.

I want this openness, this desire for unity, to be a hallmark of our church life.

Let’s re-discover in unity the love of God; and let’s show our broken and divided world what it is called to be.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.