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Get your own, Free HomepagePsalm 133
The process of pregnancy and birth is certainly interesting. You're probably aware that pregnancy comes in three distinct phases or "trimesters." As a fetus develops, some very predictable things happen during each stage.
In the first trimester - stage 1 - as the new baby starts to grow, the mother's body begins to undergo some subtle changes. A change that is not so subtle is that she may also throw up a lot.
In the second trimester, as the baby starts to take on a more human appearance, some new things begin to happen...like kicking. At that stage, so medical experts say, the baby can also taste, hear and grasp things with their hands. They're becoming a little person in there!
Then, in the third trimester lots of things happen. The baby begins the exercise of breathing, inhaling amniotic fluid, and it finishes fully developing all the recognizable parts that make up a little human.
Finally, at birth, there is a change in the function of the heart that completes the development of a full and separate being - a new person. That's the process...and it goes pretty much like that for every baby ever born.
The development of anything...a plant, an animal, a human being...is a process. That's also true for less tangible things: relationships, faith, love. All good end results come only as the outcome of a process that cannot be overlooked or avoided.
This morning we heard a very succinct Psalm that makes a very direct statement about a condition in which we as human beings and, especially as people of faith, should live. "How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity!" Unity among people is to be desired -- for, the psalmist says, where there is unity, "...there the Lord's blessing is bestowed...."
In Scripture, "unity" is a condition much to be desired for God's people. In the Gospel of John, when Jesus prays for his disciples and all the believers yet to come, he prays, "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you, God, sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
Now this "unity" Jesus speaks of is not a condition in which a bunch of little "Stepford Christians" have been biblically lobotomized and walk around with insipid smiles on their faces, all nodding in agreement over everything and never engaging with one another except to say, "hallelujah" and "amen."
"Unity" is not a matter of sisters and brothers in Christ always seeing things the same way or never having to wrestle with issues or matters of conscience. Rather, where there is true unity, Christians do recognize that they are sisters and brothers in Christ, that they can agree to disagree about some things while working together to show God's love to the world and to celebrate their common faith in spite of any differences that may exist.
Like the prenatal development phases I described, the process of achieving that kind of unity comes in three stages also. There's the "small" stage, the "medium" stage and the "large" stage.
Everything that grows has to start out small and that includes unity among people. We have to get to know one another gradually and learn to understand one another slowly And despite the lure of the technology we have that will enable us to communicate information without ever seeing or speaking with another human being, the "small stage" of unity must be gone through face to face, heart to heart.
One of the greatest tools we can use during this phase is something that, unfortunately, has all but disappeared from our cultural landscape: the great art of small talk. Small talk is where the beginning of much bigger relationships happens.
Now I am, by nature, an introvert - which means that "small talk" has never been high on my list of things I love to do. I care about people, and I want to engage with them in the big, important moments of life...or even death...but I've never been good at small talk.
But you know, lately I've come to realize something. I have let my introverted nature rob me -- and other people -- of what might have been deeper, better, more fulfilling relationships with one another. I've expected to be able to get to the big stuff without going through the small stuff. And I've realized: that's like trying to eat the peanuts without opening the jar! It's hard to do!
That's why I think one of the most important ministries this church has is the CHEFs Team. "CHEFs" is an acronym for a name that says it all: "Church Hospitality Encourages Friendship." One might look at what those team members do and say, "Oh, big deal. Setting out cookies and pouring soda!" But in our culture, we instinctively understand that the purpose of cookies and soda is to give you something to hold onto while you chat with others. And that "chatting" - that small talk - is where relationships begin. The kind of relationships that can gradually become real friendships. The kind of relationships that can provide us, eventually, with a listening ear, a helping hand and a caring heart when we need them the most. Don't diminish the big purpose of small talk. It's the first stage in the development of unity.
Now in the second stage -- the "medium" stage - just like the 2nd trimester of a pregnancy - things begin to get a little more interesting. Here's when the kicking begins!
A baby does not "kick" within the womb because it's mad at Mom or is already in that "rebellious" stage! That kicking and stretching and moving around is a natural part of a developing body; the baby is moving around because it needs to.
As relationships develop and the people of a church grow, there is some "kicking" that goes on. People are trying to stretch themselves, crossing borders into territory they've never traveled before...trying to understand what it means to follow Christ...often stepping back and forth between a new way of being and old, familiar behaviors. Being human beings, sooner or later, we hack each other off. I make the wrong move and you decide you've been kicked...on purpose! And the games begin!
In the cartoon strip, "Peanuts," Charlie Brown's young friend Linus made the mistake of confessing to his big sister Lucy that he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. (Remember, it was Lucy who prompted her little brother to remark once that sisters are "the crabgrass in the lawn of life.")
Lucy was astounded by her brother's declaration. "You, a doctor! That's a laugh! You could never be a doctor! You know why? Because you don't love humankind!" Linus immediately responded, "I do too love humankind! It's just people I can't stand!"
If we're honest, we'll admit that Linus was expressing a feeling shared by many of us at times. Humankind is easy to love. The difficulty and challenge comes in handling one-to-one relationships. And the "medium" stage of developing unity is all about relationships with people.
I found it interesting that, in my paperback American Heritage Dictionary, the word "medium" came right after the word "mediate." Learning to negotiate, to talk things out, to forgive and forget, to give the benefit of the doubt, to compromise, to "get over it and let it go" is tough for all of us. And yet, if we claim to follow Jesus Christ, how can we refuse to do those things?
In Scripture, Colossians chapter 3, verses 12 - 14 says, "...as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Learning how to "put on love" is the hard, sometimes painful work, of the medium stage. It means dealing directly with people instead of talking behind their backs. It means "care-fronting" people about issues that concern us. It means enduring the discomfort and embarrassment of difficult conversations where hard things are said. It means facing our own failings and forgiving others, as well as ourselves. But it's the only way we can ever move on to the point where unity can really be born.
True unity, you see, it born out of the third phase of development...the "large" stage. The "large" stage is that time when we realize that we are not just living for ourselves alone, as some random biological accident, here today, gone tomorrow. We are living for something larger and greater than that. And we let that knowledge guide our actions and beliefs.
Romans 15:5: "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and one mouth you may glorify the God and Maker of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We are on this earth to be in relationship with God and with one another. We are here to show the world not only that God loves us but that we can embody - manifest - that same surpassing love. Remember, I said that at the point of human birth there is a change in the function of the heart that completes the development of a new person. The same is true when we realize and accept that we are existing on a cosmic scale and that everything we do either helps or hurts all of creation! We experience a change of heart that completes our transformation into a new person...a person filled with the spirit of Christ!
You may have heard the expression, "living large." To the world, that means money, possessions, prestige, excitement, being cool. But in the dominion of God, where we are called to dwell, living large means always acknowledging the significance of who we are...and whose we are! That constant awareness helps keep a whole lot of things in the proper perspective.
Whenever humanly possible, church, live large! Live with joy...with hope...with love for God, yourselves and one another. Don't get stuck on the small and insignificant; focus on the large and meaningful...on the things that really matter and the things that really last. "How good and pleasant it is when sisters and brothers live together in unity! For there the Lords blessing is bestowed, even life forevermore!" Amen.
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