The Bonds of Unity

“making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:3

The audience for the verse we just read was a first century church in Ephesus. That community was an important city in that day, located at the intersection of major trade routes. It also boasted a pagan temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Diana, known by the Greeks as Artemis. Paul’s work in Ephesus triggered a riot among local silversmiths as his message that Artemis was not a real god hurt their jewelry sales. Check out the account of what happened as recorded in Acts 19:21-41.  

Paul served in Ephesus for three years and a primary message of his letter is unity. There didn’t seem to be any particular doctrinal issue dividing the church, but he spent much of the fourth chapter in his letter talking about the importance of that attribute even so. “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,” he said “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”  

We need that attribute in our families and legislative bodies, in our neighborhoods and streets, too.

One doesn’t have to look long at a news broadcast or social media feeds to see ample evidence of times when such unity is missing. Yet I firmly believe that the church, among its other roles in society, has to be the place where we show the world unity; demonstrating that it is possible to disagree and still remain in community with each other. Paul goes on in that same chapter from Ephesians as he calls for them to be “speaking the truth in love.” And that is a gift the church needs to model still.

Certainly we are not perfect in that effort.  Over the years I have had members leave a church I served because they did not get elected as an officer or were required during the Covid era to wear a mask in the sanctuary.  I was once chewed out by a parishioner because her husband did not get a job on the church staff and grieved as another family left the congregation because they were dismayed by printed materials distributed at a national gathering of our denomination.  

Yet there have been far more moments when I have witnessed a unity of Spirit that would have made the Apostle Paul proud.  Let me share a favorite occasion. 

Over twenty years ago, I led a class about issues involving ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). It grew out of the question before the denomination then of whether or not service as an elder, deacon, or minister would be limited to heterosexual men and women. That issue has long been settled as gender identity is no longer a barrier to ordination in our church. The topic generated enough interest in 2004, though, that we held the class in our sanctuary. Over the course of five weeks, we pondered the history of ordination standards, looked at relevant Biblical texts and then listened to each other on a matter that evoked divergent and passionate conclusions. 

At the end of the last class, I asked the group this question: “By a show of hands, I’d like to know how many of you found that after these weeks together your conclusion on the issue has changed. You don’t need to tell me what your new perspective is, but only if it is now different.” Not a single hand went up.  While some might wonder about the effectiveness of that class teacher, I chose to see that response as a clear reminder that there are times when minds are set and people of faith draw different conclusions from their hearing of Scripture.  Such was the case on that topic on that day.

After a closing prayer, folks hung around to talk and at one point I was with two members named Hansen and Dottie. They are both now at rest with their Maker. At the time, both had also been members of that congregation for more than 30 years and each was retired. 

I think it was just the three of us standing there when Hansen said “I don’t know what the big deal is. It wouldn’t bother me at all to have a gay pastor.” With a smile, Dottie said to him “I couldn’t disagree with you anymore, but I love you and I’m glad we’re both part of this church.”

I will never witness a better definition of what it means to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” May such moments only grow in their frequency. 

Lord of all, help me this day to take a step that builds unity and peace instead of anger and separation. Amen.