Unity

 

President Joe Biden stressed his vision of unity at his Inauguration. The United States’ name implies precisely that, but it is now in short supply it seems. With “patriots” having stormed the seat of government, incited by the then-president, there is a very uncertain situation in the land which prides itself on being a bastion of democracy.

Unity is often very hard for human beings to embrace, isn’t it? We have our own disunity in the United Kingdom (that verbal implication again) with strong views based on nationalist perceptions at the centre of our politics, not helped by the divisive exit from the European Union (another verbal implication of unity).

                                            Triptych Church Unity by Hazel Lemon 2000

The Church of God sadly cannot claim to be united. We are praying for Unity during the annual Week of Prayer (18-25^th), and we work together to present the service. Even on the Zoom it is an opportunity to meet others and share in a slightly different form of worship, focusing on justice and harmony in the world. Ideally every Christian available would join the prayer for unity, but it tends to attract mainly enthusiastic representatives while many appear to have little interest or concern. Maybe most of us just stick with what we feel comfortable with, when really we need courage and fresh vision to change the divisions in society and in the household of God.

Oddly enough the Pilgrim Fathers (and a few mothers too, I am sure) who left Europe for a new life in a new land were from England, where they could not fit in with the – er – Church of England. Of the time, that is….. They moved to Leiden, in the Netherlands, and settled for several years in that great town which was very tolerant toward them. Unfortunately, after a while they felt that the Dutch were too tolerant of many things they did not believe in. So they left for the New World via England. The rest is history. And, perhaps, legacy.

The hope of unity in faith or politics currently feels very uncertain. We live in turbulent times. What can we hope for? What should we pray for? We all tend to think we are right. That’s why we see things as we do. But can we not accept that others have at least some truth, that we do not have all the answers, and there may well be a way forward if we can continue to walk together. Isn’t this what Jesus is implying in saying “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you”? It’s very difficult, but without love and prayer we cannot move towards understanding and unity. That takes spiritual strength, as Jesus showed in forgiving those who nailed him to the cross, and we need to find mutual understanding and shared visions of the future if we are to live in any sort of harmony.

 

So we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,

but what stands before us.

We close the divide because we know to put our future first,

we must first put our differences aside.

We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another,

we seek harm to none and harmony for all.           Amanda Gorman