The Undivided Christ Series

A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did helped to solve the impasse. Finally, in desperation, the young rabbi sought out the synagogue's 99-year-old founder.

He met the old rabbi in the nursing home and poured out his troubles. “So tell me,” he pleaded, “was it the tradition for the congregation to stand during the prayers?”

“No,” answered the old rabbi.

“Ah,” responded the younger man, “then it was the tradition to sit during the prayers.”

“No,” answered the old rabbi.

“Well,” the young rabbi responded, “what we have is complete chaos! Half the people stand and shout and the other half sit and scream.”

“Ah,” said the old rabbi, “that was the tradition” (P. J. Alindogan, The Potter's Jar blog, “Communicate and Relate,” 9-4-11; www.PreachingToday.com).

Sad to say, that’s the tradition in some of our churches, as well. Our society has become so divisive. People shout and scream at each other over politics, covid protocols, and personal preferences. And some of that divisiveness has infected the church.

Thankfully, I don’t see it here yet, but we have to be on guard that the divisiveness in the world stays out of the church. The question is: How? How do we keep our differences from dividing us? How do we keep our disagreements from turning into schisms that will ruin our testimony in this community? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 1, where God addresses a church full of problems which threaten to split it wide open.

1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree [literally, say the same thing], and that there be no divisions among you [i.e., no tearing apart], but that you be united [mended or sewn back together] in the same mind and the same judgment (ESV).

God wants his church to…

COME TOGETHER.

Be whole. Be unified in word, attitude, and purpose. Agree on the church’s basic beliefs and primary purpose.

First, proclaim the same message, focusing on the Gospel itself. Jesus is Lord! Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and He offers eternal life to anyone who believes in Him. That’s the message! Everything else is periphery, which can and will divide us. So proclaim the same message.

And second, pursue the same mission. Be united in purpose.

God calls us as a church to equip people to follow Jesus, so that they KNOW Him personally, GROW in their relationship with Him, SERVE Him as He has gifted them to serve, and SEND others to do the same. Let me say it again. God calls us as a church to equip people to follow Jesus, so that they KNOW Him personally, GROW in their relationship with Him, SERVE Him as He has gifted them to serve, and SEND others to do the same. Or as Jesus put it, “Make disciples.”

Proclaim the same message – the gospel. Pursue the same mission – make disciples. Otherwise, we will be torn apart. We will be divided.

The word “divisions” in verse 10 pictures a piece of cloth being ripped apart. And that’s what happens when churches lose sight of their message and their mission. They are ripped apart into various schisms.

Several years ago (2004), a controversy arose in Switzerland over the famous St. Bernard dogs at the St. Bernard hospice. The dogs, wearing barrels marked with a red cross, had been involved in the rescue of more than 200,000 people in the Swiss Alps for three centuries. However, with the last rescue happening in 1955, the monks at the hospice sought another organization to take care of the large dogs.

They had gone 50 years without working a single rescue! Helicopters and emergency personnel had replaced the dogs and the monks with faster and safer methods of rescue.

So Father Frederic Gaillard wanted to get rid of the dogs, because he said “they take up too much energy” for the four monks that were left. He wanted to shift the focus of the hospice back on people, not the dogs, but he received a lot of criticism. He transferred care of the dogs anyway to the Barry foundation at Martigny in Switzerland.

St. Bernard of Menthon founded the hospice in A.D. 1050 to minister to weary and distressed travelers. That was 650 years before they used the first dogs. Then, in 1700, their focus shifted to raising and keeping dogs for 300 years. At first, the dogs helped in rescues. Now, with the dogs gone, St. Bernard hospice is primarily a tourist attraction during the summer months (This Time It's the Faithful Hero That Needs the Rescue, www.aolsvc. news.aol.com, 10-27-04).