Real Unity

Web Posted: Jan. 17, 2004

"The last thing the church needs today is unity."  

Stay with me.  I know that’s a provocative way to start a reflection on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  I was shocked, too, when I heard those words at a recent gathering of university students in Houston, Texas.  What is this new-fangled wisdom of youth?

As I listened attentively (more out of provocation than appreciation), I started to agree.  Sometimes, we confuse unity with uniformity.  As a pietistic, Midwestern Lutheran who loves bland potluck food, I tend to enjoy the kind of unity where people keep their opinions to themselves.  Unfortunately, that kind of unity is both boring and dishonest.

God created us to be a diverse community, filled with unique, irreplaceable individuals.  So if by unity, we seek conformity, then we deny the absolute authority of our Creator to fashion a world that defies our control or explanation.

The unity we seek during this week is a community of faithful, committed Christians that gives witness to the awesome power of God to mold, reshape, and complete us in ways we could never imagine on our own. 

During this week, clergy will swap pulpits, parishioners will visit nearby congregations, someone somewhere will lead an ecumenical prayer service.  But let us all be careful not to define the unity we seek.  Let’s leave room for God to surprise us with a vision bigger than our own.

Rev. Brad Brown
Lutheran Campus Pastor