Isaiah 9:1-4, 1 Corinthians 1:10-18, Matthew 4:12-23
“An old farmer had three sons who quarreled among themselves from dawn till dusk. One day, the farmer fell gravely ill. Wishing to make peace among his sons before he died, he called them to his bedside and asked them to bring a thick bundle of sticks. ‘Can you break these in two?’ asked the farmer, handing the sticks to his oldest son. ‘Of course!’ the young man answered scornfully. But even though he tried until he was red in the face, he couldn’t break the bundle of sticks. ‘Why, those sticks are not thicker than my finger,’ mocked the second son. ‘I could break those sticks like straw,’ boasted the third. And they both tried with all their might, but neither could break the bundle of sticks in two. Then the father drew three sticks from the bundle and handed one to each of his sons. ‘Can you break them now?’ he asked. And they did so easily. ‘Let the sticks teach you,’ said the father to his sons, ‘how strong you are when you are allied together, and how easily you can be broken on your own.’” The moral of the story: in unity there is strength (Jerry Pinkney, Aesop’s Fables, SeaStar Books, 2000, p. 53).
In our lesson from 1 Corinthians today, Paul calls for unity: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose” (1 Cor 1:10). What does it mean to be united in the same mind and the same purpose? It does not mean uniformity. In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of our different gifts: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor 12:7-10). And, in chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians, through a discussion of being married or unmarried, Paul counsels that there is more than one way to live our lives. So, what does it mean to be united in the same mind and the same purpose? Perhaps another of Aesop’s fables sheds some light: “A man and a lion happened to meet on the road, and fell into conversation. It wasn’t long before they began to argue. ‘Any fool knows that a lion is stronger than a man,’ the lion boasted. ‘A lion is the King of the Beasts!’ ‘He may be, but a man is mightier yet, and everybody knows it!’ proclaimed the man. ‘Just look at that statue over there!’ And he pointed to a tall marble statue by the roadside, showing a man gripping a lion by the throat. ‘That proves nothing,’ protested the lion. ‘After all, a man carved that statue! It would have been quite a different scene had a lion made it!’” The moral of the story: there are two sides to every story (Jerry Pinkney, Aesop’s Fables, SeaStar Books, 2000, p. 58).
There are two sides to every story. Each of us, each and every one of us speaks some truth. Together we understand life, together we live truthfully. This lesson from 1 Corinthians is very fitting as we come together today, as do many other Episcopal parishes, for our Annual Meeting. We are reminded of the importance of listening to one another, of learning from one another, of coming together in common mission. Our unity is in Christ, our differences are honored and respected and shared. Our common mission must never be jeopardized by stubborn claims on individual opinion. We are blessed in this parish by a unity of spirit with beautiful worship, programming that nourishes our lives, support of one another through life’s joys and sorrows, and giving of our time and talent and resources to others. Consider other communities of your life. Does the community come together in common mission? Are the members of the community able to share their diverse talents and perspectives keeping stubborn allegiance to individual opinion at bay, and always keeping the common mission in focus?
This is exactly the challenge facing the Episcopal Church. Some conservative parishes have voted to leave the Episcopal Church and join a network of parishes that believe that liberal and even more moderate views in this Church are not faithful to Scripture. The conflict will not be resolved by right or wrong. The conflict can only be resolved through common mission. The Episcopal Church of the United States is a member of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is just that, a communion. We embrace four principles of unity: the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as containing all things necessary for salvation, the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds as statements of our faith, the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist, and the historic episcopate meaning bishops, beginning with the Apostles, are responsible for handing down the traditions of the Church from one generation to another. These are the principles which hold us together as a Church. We do not join together under exacting rules of faith, membership and structure. We do not have an authority structure, such as that of the Roman Catholic Church. Rather, we believe that by existing as a communion, we allow ourselves to learn from one another. We open our doors to diverse cultures, diverse practices, and diverse opinions. We recognize the tension inherent in diversity, which can be divisive. Yet, this communion deliberately treasures this tension, a tension which teaches us about and enables us to live into the fullness of God’s Creation. We learn from one another, we grow through one another; the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Inevitably, this tension within diverse practices and diverse opionions requires a means to coming to agreement around issues of our faith. The Anglican Church has four Instruments of Unity which guide us in our discussions: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lambeth Conference, the Primate’s Meeting, and the Anglican Consultative Council. The current Archbishop of Canterbury is Rowan Williams. The Lambeth Conference is held every ten years and attended by Bishops. The Primate’s Meeting is attended by the heads of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Church – the Episcopal Church of the United States is one of these 38 provinces. The Anglican Consultative Council includes bishops, clergy and laity in equal numbers. This is how the Anglican Communion comes to agreement around issues of faith: collaboratively. We do not function by hierarchical command. We listen to one another, we honor and respect diverse views, we learn from one another, and come to agreement, even if our agreement is to disagree. We stay together. This is our ethos. We are a communion that understands the wisdom in diverse opinion.
The principles of the Anglican Communion of resisting a hierarchical structure which prohibits growth, of embracing diverse practices and opinions, of living within the tension of differences which moves us towards truth are profound and worthy and fundamental to our identity as Anglicans. As long as we are addressing issues of divisiveness in our Communion, we are impeding our work in the world. People in need are not receiving the care they deserve. So, today, let us celebrate all this community has to offer. Let us celebrate coming together in common mission: for beautiful worship, for programming that nourishes our lives, for support of one another through life’s joys and sorrows, and for the giving of our time and talent and resources to others. Let us celebrate honoring and respecting and listening to one another. And, let us have the courage to carry this message out into the world.
