May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)1
There are numerous examples from history that we can learn from, including those recorded in the Scripture, that help us know about embracing unity. It is only that at times we do not take time to learn as recorded in Romans 15: 4-5 that, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”
Lessons are found in Scripture and history, but we have sayings that help elaborate the need to live in unity. For instance, there are Kiswahili sayings here in Kenya which state, kidole kimoja hakiui chawa (one finger cannot kill lice), umoja ni nguvu utemngamano ni udhaifu (united we stand divided we fall). Lack of unity can be destructive. It breaks down families, churches, institutions, organizations, and even countries.
Embracing unity is a means of coexisting or living in harmony with one another despite existing differences. In the guiding text for this sermon, living in harmony with one another was a problem. It hindered speaking in one voice to God. There were tensions between two groups in this Christian community at Rome: the Gentiles and the Jews, due to their cultural differences on the matter of circumcision. (Rom. 15:7ff).
Tensions that exist in communities bring disharmony and hate. In many cases, this never ends well. Parallels can be drawn with ethnicity, which, James Nkansah- Ombrebong notes,
It is precisely this characteristic of ethnicity with its emphasis on otherness and difference that degenerates to negative ethnicity whereby those who are not like “us” are considered often times as less human. This ought not to be so. To be different from someone else does not make the other person less human. Ethnicity tends to force people to exclude others just because they do not look like or behave like us.2
Exclusivism does not just stop at ethnicity, but it cuts across all other ways of living that make other people look less human. Two examples suffice here; it would include how the abled differently in the society are treated in the Church. It is a widely discussed matter in many parts of the world, and not to forget, racism is prevalent in parts of the world where the people of color are even segregated in places of worship.
It is horrible that someone may lose a great opportunity in life just because of ethnic or racial background or even being abled differently. In other instances, those who get opportunities because they are privileged at times cannot perform to the required expectations. It is puzzling that Christians who should be embracing each other as equal in the eyes of God do not do so.
One way of overcoming the character of seeing others as less human is to see the other as created in the image of God. It is to see that of God in every human being, a familiar coinage used among Quakers. Paul in his letter to the Philippians reminds us “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4).
It should be known that seeing others as less human is sin as noted by Migliore, “If we are created for relationship with God who is wholly different from us and for relationship with other creatures who are relatively different from us, sin is a denial of our essential relatedness to those who are genuinely “other.”3
The imbalances caused by differentiation can be devastating. At some point, it becomes difficult for the Church to execute her prophetic mandate that is direly needed in the world we live in. I mean, it is difficult to preach water and drink wine as a Church.
In the text of this sermon, some felt they were superior to the others, which in this case seemed to be less human. The relationship between the Jews who had been converted to Christianity and the Gentiles was not so good. It resulted in not living in harmony with another, a key driver of disunity.
Being unable to speak and glorify God in one voice that is in unison ensued. It affected the identity of the Christians in Rome during this time. So, it took the trouble of Paul in reminding Christians in Rome to live in harmony with one another. The context here is not any different from the happenings experienced among Christians. It is essential then to continue reminding one another of embracing unity, especially in living in harmony with one another.
I borrow a leaf from the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) here in Kenya, a model for building unified communities. Some parts of the layout of the BBI needed to be corrected; thus, the court stopped its implementation; there was that part of that was looking at what happened in history in fixing that which went wrong and building a better future for the coming generations. It can be challenging to build unified communities without correcting what happened in the past.
For instance, in bringing warring parties together, there is always a need to listen to history and correct that which went wrong. Not only that but there is also a need even to have “handshakes” if I might borrow that from BBI language before we move forward in building unified communities.
The handshake between the president and the opposition leader who were part of warring parties of a contested election formed the background of the formation of BBI. In the past, Kenya had experienced ethnic violence which came after an election, and a repetition of it would have been devastating. The handshake between the two leaders was instrumental in bringing peace to the country.
At times here is where we fail in bringing people together. History needs to be studied. It might even need a lot of listening from what has transpired in history before coming up with a plan of helping people to live in unity. There is no need to keep on holding on to differences resulting from what happened in the past. As a healing process, the only way is to forgive and correct what happened in history.
Investing time to understand and get to learn from history is foundational in building unified communities. With what was happening in Rome and the early Church, Alister Mcgrath, in his argument notes,
This controversy is important for several reasons. It casts light on tensions within the early Church; it also raises the question of whether Jewish Christians enjoyed special privileges or status in relation to Gentile Christians. The final outcome of the debate was that Jews and Gentiles were to be given equal status and acceptance within the Church.4
The goal of Christianity is to bring down the walls that divide us as a people, which can also be diverse, as recorded in Ephesians. 2: 14-16.
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body and through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.
The intervention of Paul is an excellent lesson on how Christian leaders should respond in building unified communities and helping people live in harmony with one another. At times leaders escalate the problem of divisions other than bringing solutions.
What if Paul sided with the Jews? He was not partial in his judgment that is detrimental to building unified communities. Paul’s encouragement is founded in prayer (vv. 5), which should be the effort of every Christian leader because, without the help of God, it is not an easy task in building unified communities.
In another part of Scripture, Paul uses the image of the Body of Christ to illustrate the need for living in harmony with another. Through the Church as the Body of Christ, God should be revealed to humanity and the whole creation. It is noted, “In the same way, my friends, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.” (Romans 6:4 NRSV)
A familiar coinage in the communal living in Africa states that I am because we are, meaning that we need each other to build unified communities successfully. As part of a cherished value, unity has always been exemplified in living out as a community among Africans. Africans’ unity is demonstrated when people gather both in celebrations and in times of need. It is only of late this virtue is diminishing because of embracing individualism. Surprisingly, you will encounter cases where some people celebrate when someone is suffering and even feel bad over one’s achievement by chance.
In elaborating further on living out the value of community expressed in living in unity, Paul notes. “that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.” (1 Cor. 12 25-26 NRSV)
Caring for one another is made possible, especially when living in unity as a community. Having divided minds on how to support one another, especially in times of need, affects the needy in society. The ministry of caring for the needy was at the heart of the ministry of Jesus Christ. Christians need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in perpetuating his ministry.
Living out the value of community is only made possible when Christians embrace unity. It is one of the core values that Quakers embrace. Living out this value of community makes the Kingdom of God be realized in the here and now. As this happens the Quaker community becomes the light to the world. It is with no doubt that the world is engulfed with darkness. If the Christians are not united in it can be very difficult to evangelize in sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God.
In a recent workshop that I facilitated on Quakers and decision making it was certain that it is not easy to make decisions as a group if you are not united. A Christian community is a Spiritual community that will not avoid working corporately. Making decisions is part and parcel of creating transformed communities. As rightly expressed by Eden Grace in her discussion on the Quaker Speak forum, decision-making is part of Quaker spirituality and Quaker theology, an opportunity for a sacramental encounter with God.5 In either way, this can also be beneficial to other Christian communities.
A further explanation on the theological analysis can be deduced in Donald E. Zimmer’s argument, “The choices we make, taken together, make a significant statement about who we are, who we perceive God to be, and the nature of our relationship with God. They are our theology in its most concrete form.6 “Definitely, then the depictions of godliness of our meetings is solely grounded on unity.
About the sacrament is simply as noted by Patricia Loring, “the outward sign of an inward spiritual reality. In that sense, equality, reciprocity, and loving mutual service in non-hierarchical relationships are the most visible manifestation of our inward experience of unity, gathered together in God’s love.”7
The expression here is foundational in the propagation of the gospel of Jesus Christ especially by how our life speaks to the world as Christians. If the outward sign that springs from the inward transformation is not exhibited, then it can hinder the sharing of the Gospel. It translates into the continuation of the incarnation. By the virtue of Christians embracing unity, they become incarnation agents, the ambassadors of Christ. Actions become louder than words which in a real sense is what is necessary for living an authentic Christian living.
Christians are divided especially in matters of theology and doctrine, but this should not be the reason for not being ready to be in service for Christ in the world. It pains a lot when disunity becomes a hindrance towards being the light to the world. It is a paradox that of Christ can be exemplified strongly from those who are thought not to be believers in Christ by embracing unity.
Embracing unity as a means of coexisting together enables people to live in peace. Living in peace with one another is a prerequisite to seeing the Lord. Paul in his exhortation notes, “pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Romans 14:12).
Patricia Loring argues,
The process of working toward unity through what divided us is nothing less than peace-making -in both the “already” and “not yet” realms. In the “already” realm, peace-making is an enactment, an embodiment, a fulfillment of the spiritual reality of our humanly separate, disparate, often dissonant selves being bound together in peace. In the “not-yet” realm, it is just one of the ways in which…is a School of Peace Making. As part of our dedication or consecration to proclaiming to proclaiming peace to the world, or exhorting the world to peace, we live through this monthly practicum in peace-making among ourselves. We seek, in words of Ephesians, “[with all humility and gentleness, and with patience, [to] support each other in love…[to t]ake every care to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds [us] together.8
A point of reminder though is that we cannot do away with diversity or being different from each other. We are not the same. Nkansah- Ombrebong argues that “However we must not confuse unity with uniformity. The two are not the same. We cannot all be the same. Our diversity is the essence of being human. Therefore, we must encourage unity in diversity.”9 It calls for understanding our differences and learning from them and how we can live together.
Leonard Swidler has a gem of wisdom to share where he notes “We increasingly live in a global village. We cannot ignore “the other,” the person who is different or the custom that is unfamiliar…This egocentric arrogance… is destructive”10
May the Grace of God be with us all. Amen
- All biblical citations are in this sermon are from Coogan, Michael D.; Brettler, Marc Z.; Perkins, Pheme; Newsom, Carol A.. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version (p. 1996). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
- James Nkansah- Ombrebong, Foundations for African Theological Ethics (Carlisle: Langham Creative Projects, 2013), 249.
- Migliore, Daniel L.. Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, Third Ed, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/earlham-ebooks/detail.action? docID=4859168.
- Alister E. McGrath. Christian History : An Introduction, ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/earlham-ebooks/detail.action?docID = 1120699. Created from earlham-ebooks on 2021-10-26 05:49:5
- https://quakerspeak.com/video/quaker-decision-making-consensus/
- Donald E Zimmer, Leadership and Listening: Spiritual Foundations for Church Governance, 98-99.
- Patricia Loring, Listening Spirituality: Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends, Vol. 11 (Washington Grove, Maryland: Openings Press, 1999), 174.
- Patricia Loring, Listening Spirituality: Corporate Spiritual Practice Among Friends, Vol. 11 (Washington Grove, Maryland: Openings Press, 1999), 164.
- James Nkansah- Ombrebong, Foundations for African Theological, 253.
- Leonard Swidler, “Understanding Dialogue,” in Interfaith Dialogue at the Grass Roots, ed. Rebecca Kratz Mays (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Ecumenical Press, 2008), 9.
Oscar Lugusa Malande is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Vihiga Yearly Meeting in Kenya and holds a Master of Arts in Religion and Certificate in Entrepreneurial Ministry from Earlham School of Religion. He is a doctoral student at the University of Birmingham, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. Oscar currently teaches at Friends Theological College Kaimosi in Kenya. Oscar is married to Zipporah Adema Mileha and they are blessed with four children, two girls, Axtel Imali and Georgia Muhonja, and two boys, Samuel Malande and Jay Riggs Mulindi.