When Brothers Dwell in Unity

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! 2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! 3It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. (Psalm 133:1-3)

How do churches divide? Where can we have a breakdown in communication as people of God? David, the psalmist today, is writing part of a narrative that started in Psalm 120 known as "The Psalms of Ascents," These are written by various authors, including David, as a series to be read while on pilgrimage to the temple. David might possibly be speaking of the unity in worship since the Psalms of Ascents ends with Psalm 134.

Surely, while we are in worship, we are unified in thought, word and deed, aren't we? Hardly, churches have split over the order of worship (or Order of Worship if you are referencing the hymnal). Our gospel reading for this Sunday comes from John 17:20-26, part of what is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer, in which He prays in earnest for the church to be one as He and the Father are one:

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me" (John 17:20-23).

Christ isn't just commanding, He's beseeching us to be one, as He and God are one. David writes further of the rich blessing of being one, as in Aaron being anointed with oil when he became a high priest or like the nation of Israel benefits from the due of the highest mountain in the region.

Division in the church goes back to the Garden, as Satan sought to separate us from God. God had a plan though to not allow the separation to keep us from Him. Paul writes in Romans 8:39-39: "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Christ prays in earnest, and Paul writes as a strong reminder that we are to remain one in Christ, as David notes in Psalm 133. 

Pray with me; Gracious and Almighty God, Heavenly Father, You sent your Son to unify us with You. Pray we do not yield to temptation to be right, but rather that we follow You and Christ. We ask that Your Spirit bind us together around Your Word and that we seek to do Your Will in all we do. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.