Additional content related to Unity
Philippians 2:1-13
This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson offers preachers a virtual embarrassment of theological riches. Its verses 5-11’s celebration of Jesus’ humiliation and exaltation are among Christians’ favorite passages. They, in fact, make up the Epistolary Lesson’s reading on each Palm Sunday. However, as the New Testament scholar Troy Troftgruben notes, this 17th Sunday after Pentecost also offers…
Acts 1:1-21
It’s hard to remember a Pentecost Sunday on which the brokenness and division of the world into which God sent the Holy Spirit was on fuller display than 2023’s. So much pulls groups of people and nations apart that if people are to be united, something drastic must happen. Yet Luke begins his description of…
John 17:1-11
Unity, it seems, is that elusive description for God’s church. We hear the calls for it but disagree on the terms. We know it is part of God’s solution for what ails humanity, but we cannot grasp the way of sacrifice on the road to peace. We rightly identify it as the way that Jesus…
John 4:5-42
Last week, we listened in on a philosophical conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus, and here, we see its message lived out in practice. In fact, over the next few weeks of the lectionary, we are going to watch as Jesus reveals himself to people on the margins, experiencing some sort of separation. Against the backdrop…
Romans 15:4-13
Few things are arguably in shorter supply in both our culture and the Church of Jesus Christ than unity. It’s not just that the Church has long been divided into Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant camps. It’s also that 21st century churches and denominations seem to be dividing nearly as often as some of us…
Galatians 3:23-29
Occasionally the Revised Common Lectionary’s choice of where to begin and end a Lesson isn’t just puzzling. It’s also downright bewildering. This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson is a case in point. After all, the chasm between verses’ 23-25 and 26-29 may seem to be a kind of grand canyon that has no bridge that crosses it….
John 17:20-26
Though Jesus prayed this prayer before his crucifixion and resurrection, as part of the season of Easter this passage continues to shape our understanding of the Resurrection New Life that God invites us to live. This is especially true because Christ’s prayer is for his people across time and space—and not just the disciples who…
Acts 2:2-21
Arguably it is harder to write a fresh sermon on Pentecost than on Christmas or Easter. Those last two major events in redemptive history are proclaimed in multiple Biblical texts, so there are different angles to take on Christmas and Easter. Pentecost, on the other hand, is reported in only one text, our text for…
Philippians 2:1-13
We sometimes think of tensions within the Church, between churches or among Christians as new phenomena. Christians sometimes assume that, for example, the veritable plethora of denominations and congregations is a somehow recent development. This Sunday’s Epistolary Lesson, however, suggests that tension within and among churches is ancient. After all, tensions in the Philippian church…
Acts 2:2-21
Throughout nearly all of recorded human history, people’s inability to communicate with each other has divided us. So for people to somehow come (and stay) together, something dramatic must happen. In fact, since human efforts to fully unify people have proved largely futile or temporary, we might add that something dramatic must happen to us….
Psalm 133
As is so often the case with the RCL, Psalm 133 seems an odd choice for this second Sunday of the Easter season– until we read it in conjunction with the other readings for today. Read in the context of Acts 4:32-35 in particular, it is very clear why we should focus on Psalm 133. …
Romans 14:1-12
As we approach the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, inevitably any number of people have been asking whether the issues half-a-millennium ago are still relevant today. Some even wonder if there has not been enough reform in the Catholic Church to warrant and undoing of all that Martin Luther kicked off back on All Hallowed’s…
Galatians 2:1-14
To be differentiated as an individual is to be defined and connected at the same time. The principle of self-differentiation comes to us from the family systems theory. Aside from Christ, no human being is completely differentiated. We all, the apostle Paul included, could be plotted somewhere on the scale of differentiation of self. Sometimes…
Galatians 5:1-15
Comments and Observations: Unity is often confused with uniformity. When every individual within a group has the same opinion, practices the same habits, and has the same preferences; unity seems to be natural. What happens, however, when individuals come from different racial, cultural, economic and educational backgrounds? We can be tempted to believe that unity…
Psalm 133
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Psalm 133 is a song that at first glance appears to applaud familial unity. After all, it uses familial language when it speaks of the wonder and beauty of “brotherly” unity. In fact, some scholars suggest this lends credence to the idea that families sang Psalm 133 on their…
Preaching Connection: Unity