Sermon Catch-Up

I notice I have not posted any sermons since May 22. Some of my following sermons got lost when my computer crashed. So the first one I have to share at this time is from June 12. I'll try to post them all.

Sermon: “A Rediscovered Unity” (Numbers 11:24-30; Acts 2:1-21)
Euchee Valley Presbyterian Church
Rev. John B. Erthein

Reflecting upon the division of Germany (and her capital, Berlin) during the Cold War, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Berlin, Cardinal Meissner, once said that “the result of sin is division.” The sin to which he referred was the monstrous catalog of evil deeds perpetrated by the German Third Reich.

Division caused by sin … is that not a reflection of our world today, and in fact of nearly all recorded history? The people of this world are divided by a seemingly infinite number of categories. Even in this very room, there is division … between Gators and Seminoles. Now, if only all divisions were so relatively benign! But we are divided by nationality. We are divided by language. We are divided by race and ethnicity. We are divided by economic and educational attainments. We are divided by what we perceive to be our self-interest. We are divided by gender. We are divided by ideology. Our own country, blessed by God in so many ways, was tragically divided by slavery and a civil war, and the whole land was washed in the blood of her people. Countless millions of people have perished in conflicts involving Nazism and Communism verses Western ideals and systems of government.

And, most crucially and most tragically, we are divided by religion. Such divisions have caused terrible conflict and atrocity throughout the ages, from the wars mentioned in the Bible, through the relentless Arab Muslim expansion of the 8th century and beyond, through the merciless Christian Crusades which perversely fell with fury on Jews as much as Muslims, through relentless fighting in India between Islam and Hinduism (which led to the split between India and Pakistan), conflict in the Middle East between Jew and Muslim and the continuing violent oppression of Christians in Islamic lands, through even intra-religious fighting, between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and between Shia and Sunni Muslims in the Middle East.

Nearly as long as man has walked this earth he has been divided against himself in some way. The Bible tells that sad story. Adam and Eve, created to be together, were divided against each other when they ate of the forbidden fruit. Cain and Abel were divided by Cain's jealousy of God's favor on Abel, which caused the first murder in history. And the biggest Biblical division arose when God scattered the peoples and confused their languages when they arrogantly tried to build their Tower of Babel up to heaven, imaging they could reach God as they wanted to reach him. And so sin has indeed resulted in division … nations, communities, races, even families divided against themselves. A wise man once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” but the reality of our world is that of a house divided.

For many years, especially in the aftermath of destructive conflicts, people in many nations have been searching for unity. The League of Nations, the United Nations, and European Union are all attempts to bring unity out of division. They have had limited success.

There have also been attempts to bring different faiths together. Some are designed to bring together different Christian churches, others try to minimize doctrinal differences between all religions. The cliché, “well, everyone basically believes in the same God,” is quite widespread, even in the church itself. And I predict these efforts to wish away the differences between religions will also have limited success.

But the Bible does tell us something of how real unity can happen. It is simply by the amazing power of the Holy Spirit. And that is not just some “spirit” or “ghost” or whatever dreamed up by someone. No, it is the same Spirit, the Spirit of God, that was present at the creation itself. And it was the same Spirit present among the people of Israel in the book of Numbers. That Spirit descended upon the people on the Day of Pentecost, the day of the Holy Spirit, the day in which the church was born. Jesus had already died, been resurrected and ascended to heaven. But he had promised to leave his Spirit as a guide and comforter to his followers. And that was made manifest in a remarkable event as described in Acts. G. Campbell Morgan described it in this way: “... these people were suddenly caught up by the Spirit, penetrated through and through by the Spirit, brought completely under the power of the Spirit.” (G. Campbell Morgan, “The Westminster Pulpit,” Volume 8, p. 182). As he writes, “In this hour all things became new.”

Now becoming new is a wonderful thing in itself. Some of us here talked about “newness” during Sunday School several weeks ago. Recall the feelings you had as a child when a bright new toy awaited you on Christmas morning, all beautifully wrapped and never before opened. Or as an adult, remember the feeling of sitting in that new car, or maybe opening a new book or box of books (the preachers among us can relate to that one!). Newness is a good thing, but sadly temporary in this life. Everything gets old after a time.

But on Pentecost, to quote again from Morgan, “all things became new. God was new, the world was new, life was new (Ibid).” Can you imagine how that would have been? Something that had been old was now new again? In that we understand some of the great promises of God. This event on Pentecost accomplished at least two profound things. First, it briefly gave back unity to a diverse group of people. The text itself lists the many different nationalities that were present. And somehow, at this incredible moment, all of them were speaking in their own language and yet they could all perfectly understand one another. For that precious period of time, barriers of nationality and language came down. And that happened not because of a well meaning government organization or an earnest church body. It happened by the spontaneous, supernatural appearance of the Holy Spirit!

Something else happened on Pentecost to break down division. These earliest followers of Christ experienced an intimacy with him that they had not previously known. Again, to quote from Morgan, “They were now born of the Spirit into a new consciousness of their Master, of themselves, and of all things. Suddenly, and without being able to explain the how of the infinite mystery, they found themselves in a closer companionship with Jesus than they had ever known during the days of His flesh” (Ibid) So the division between God and humankind was reduced. People could rejoice in this intimate relationship with God in Jesus Christ. That would be an unforgettable feeling and memory. Empowered by this memory, the earliest Christians were ready to carry out their mission for Christ, withstanding all attacks and surmounting every obstacle. It was truly the dawn of the church age.

So what is this telling us? I think it means first that true unity comes from Jesus Christ working through God's Holy Spirit. Man-made attempts at unity, or even attempts at unity promoted by church structures, are no substitute for that. This does not mean we should not treat people of different nationalities or races or religions with respect, affection and love. That is a good thing to do. But let us recognize that complete unity is possible only by God's intervention. And I would thus warn against any efforts to achieve a formal unity among churches and religions by downplaying real differences. God acted in history through the people of Israel and in Jesus Christ. We do not honor God by treating his special revelation as anything less. In all things, including the search for unity, be humble. Accept that God will accomplish his will in his time. Pray for unity. Pray for people to be reached by the Holy Spirit for Jesus Christ. The greatest imaginable unity will come when the whole world bends the knee of Jesus, when all people acknowledge him as Lord.

And now to the One who overcomes division and enmity, and who brings about our true unity and peace, be all blessing, and honor, and glory, now and forever. Amen.