One in Christ

ONE IN CHRIST (October 1, 2006)

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female, but all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

This is the Sunday of the table which extends around the world, a custom begun more than half a century ago by Protestant churches after World War II to bring Christians together and say a clear “no” to war. The table, of course, is the Lord’s Table, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and the One who invites us to this table is the Lord Jesus himself, the Prince of Peace, who in a world of so many divisions makes believers one in Him.

In the Judaism of the first century there was a prayer which men prayed every day and it went like this: “I thank thee, God, that Thou hast not made me a Gentile, or a slave, or a woman.” (Barclay, Galatians commentary) Opposed to this, St. Paul says in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female. The customary distinctions no longer mattered and that was for one reason and one reason only: Jesus Christ. He is the One who alone makes this day possible.

Across the U.S. outside many towns you will see on the main road going into town some kind of board announcing various clubs and civic organizations in the town – Kiwanis, Rotary, Elks, etc. – and sometimes when and where they meet. Sometimes local churches are also listed, and it is tempting to think of churches as just one more type of voluntary organization, like the Elks or Rotary. Churches, unfortunately, have often given that impression.

But at heart according to the New Testament churches are not just another voluntary club. (Tom Long, commentary on Hebrews, Interpretation series). They are instead families, and just as you don’t choose who is going to be in your family, so also because of the grace of Christ very different people are thrown together in the church and made “kin” and they have, in fact, a blood line – the blood of Christ. In talking about church the New Testament uses the language of family and addresses people as “brothers and sisters”.

Whereas clubs have membership rolls of often very companionable, like-minded people of similar outlooks, churches, especially such as ours, are made up of people from widely different backgrounds and different likes, tastes in food, and languages and what-not, but who nonetheless are one in Christ, bound together by his cross. Left to ourselves we would probably not choose one another but mostly – because we are human -- stick to those we are comfortable with, people just like ourselves, but because of Christ, and the “kinship” we have in him, he draws us together, from incredibly diverse backgrounds, to pray together, sing together, believe together, be in ministry and mission together. This is why Christ – his way, his teachings, and most especially his cross, which is our “blood line”, must always be at the heart and core of who we are and what we do.

The other day I had a call from Addis Aimero. She and her two daughters are in Denver and they’ve found a Presbyterian church, but she is surprised it doesn’t have a cross in it. She said when she first came into our church she felt at home because of the cross. In some churches it is the popular idea to put away the cross. This is a mistake. It is through the cross he has made us one, and it is through the cross he has broken down the hostilities and overcome the principalities and powers, such as racism, which divide people, and it is through the cross that he offers mankind salvation. And it is through the cross that his amazing grace is made available to sinners, and makes us one.

Some of you will remember Swee Kee Ho and Angie Ho and their two small sons, Cedric and Patrick. The first Sunday they were here Swee told me at the door that their pastor in Malaysia told them when they get to America they should go to church and right away they would have a home. That’s exactly what he said at the door. And they found a home here, tremendous support and love for their journey through difficult times, and now they are in North Carolina and Patrick is playing football in high school.

Yesterday at presbytery Rev. Syngman Rhee, who was Moderator of the Presbyterian Church a few years ago and now teaches at a Presbyterian seminary in Virginia, told us his experience of fleeing North Korea in 1950 with his younger brother when they were both teenagers, how their father had been killed in the North in a Communist prison, how they had to leave their mother and sisters, survive many deprivations, and eventually Syngman made his way to Seattle and to a Presbyterian college in West Virginia. Nevertheless, all along he knew that even though he was in a strange country and had to learn many new customs, such as how to eat with knives and forks, he knew that because he was a believer in Christ, and that no matter where he went when he was at church he was home.

It is Christ’s cross we remember as we come with Christians around the world, accepting his gracious invitation, knowing we are unworthy but by his amazing grace we are saved and brought together to share with millions of others in the Communion of his broken body and shed blood for us and our salvation. Come to the feast He has prepared for us.