About a year ago, I heard a sermon about unity during these troubled times, and it's an idea that has stuck with me. As you know, we live in difficult times when the world seems divided: us vs. them; Republican vs. Democrat; Christian vs. non-Christian. And as such, how can we possibly achieve unity between people who are fundamentally opposed on almost everything? How can we truly be a "United" States?
I've found that it's very possible in practice. In fact, I am friends with many people who are thusly opposed on most anything. And how can this be? Because differences are what make us human -- it makes us interesting. It's not that difficult to find the things we have in common, and that's what we latch on to. Friendships are often bigger than our differences.
My current church congregation is a perfect example of diametrically opposed people coming together to peacefully worship Jesus, help each other out, have fun activities together, and mourn together when the times comes. Our congregation is split about 50/50 between "conservatives" and "liberals," and yet we do not sit in the pews divided, but rather interspersed among ourselves.
Why? Because unity is bigger than our differences. In fact we're expected to reach across chasms and pull ourselves together, because we are all imperfect, and we ... well ... we just need each other. That's why we're here on Earth -- to learn how to treat each other as human beings, not to be so judgmental, and to help each other push forward.
Oh ... and at church, we definitely do not avoid those touchy discussions about our differences -- in fact we've had some fun discussions in that area. But when it's all over, we go back to being friends, showing respect and love for each other.
That's why I strongly encourage reading this sermon. It's not of my church, but rather an Episcopalian sermon, but the principles are strong and universal. In fact, all the individual Christian denominations can find a similar unity, and we could all learn from each other. (Of course, the same goes for other religions and even atheists -- but I'm trying to keep things simple here. I'll leave that for later blog entries.) We should seek out these truths as they can exist anywhere, and we each have different and unique perspectives.
Some summary points from this sermon:
- Unity is above partisanship and division.
- We should respect each other's divisions.
- We can care for each other even when we disagree.
- An example: disaster responders often give aid and comfort to everyone regardless of who we voted for or what we believe.
- Jesus taught us to love both our neighbors and our enemies.
- Jesus even welcomed outcasts.
- Regardless of how much we believe, we are still not spared the consequences of our deeds.
- With each election where half of us end up being disappointed, we can still find unity.
- Even in the political arena, we can find common ground in core principles.
- The foundations of unity are:
- Honoring the inherent dignity of every human being.
- Being honest in private and public discourse.
- Having humility, because none of us is perfect.
- Each of us are capable of good and bad, so we should resist labeling our own groups as good vs. bad.
- Unity transcends disagreement and provides us all the best path forward.
If you agree with all of these points, I urge you to read the whole sermon here. And then I would invite you to do your own self-analysis. How are you doing on this path to unity? Are you respecting others? Are you being honest? Are you exhibiting humility? Can you see a path forward where you can develop respect toward those you disagree with and see how you can peacefully cohabitate the same space?
And I know -- I'm not perfect, myself. It's very easy to get caught up in today's "rage" environment. I would love to help lower the temperature and get us all back to civil discourse, but I often slip. Others seem to do a much better job than I do. And I do love fun discussions -- even on our differences.
But I do think -- yes -- we'll eventually all get there -- maybe in a few years, but hopefully a lot sooner. The answer lies in Christ and the principles that unite us all.
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