The Joy of Unity

 The Joy of Unity

It is interesting that over the years many things have changed in our world.  In the 1970s there were no smart phones, no Internet, no social media, and a handful of channels on your TV.  You could buy a brand new BMW for $9000 and change, and gas – gas cost .72 a gallon, but then interestingly enough there was an oil crisis so that the gas prices rose dramatically to over a dollar, to a whopping $1.06 per gallon in December of 1979.

Many things have changed since then but one thing that hasn't changed is the popularity of watching team sports such as football, baseball, hockey and basketball.  Stadiums have become bigger and nicer, and ticket prices are much more expensive, yet the fans are more enthusiastic than ever.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, admission prices for sporting events have far outpaced inflation, growing more than twice as fast as overall consumer prices.

Why is that?  What is the appeal?  Why do so many people love to watch their favorite team? 

At least in part, might it have something to do with the joy that comes when people from all places in life cheer for the exact same thing, whether coming together in a raucous stadium or watching at home on TV?  There is a connection among the fans.  The Pittsburgh Steelers can bring us together, they call us Steeler Nation, just as the New York Yankees or Mets, or the NY Nicks or the New Jersey Devils or the world cup or various college teams -- they all bring fans from all walks of life, all ages, all ethnicities and all ideologies together.  It is fun to watch, especially fun to connect with others who share your enthusiasm for that team.  Coming together without judgement disagreements and with one voice shouting for the exact same thing is joyful.  It is unifying.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:1-2, "If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind."

The church can be such a place!  There is joy in unity!

Paul gives us three keys to unity in this passage: 

1) Humility:  “Consider others better than yourself!”  That is a startling statement.

Paul is saying hold that other person in respect, even one with whom you disagree.  Count them as better than yourself.

That doesn't mean we should berate ourselves or have a low self-esteem.  It just means we so value others, so respect them as creatures created in the image of God, that we reckon them better than ourselves.  We respect them that much!  The baptismal covenant calls it respecting the dignity of every human being.

Rather than be so consumed by our own views and opinions, Paul is urging us in Christ to seek to understand, to listen, to learn from that other person.  The prayer attributed to St Francis puts it well. "Seek not so much to be understood as to understand."

 2) Selfless Love:  “Look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.”

 3) Imitating Jesus who is the ultimate example of this.

Jesus laid it all down for us.  How can this fail to take our breath away?  Can you marvel at this with me or have these words become so common place so as to lose their meaning for you?  The Lord of the universe offered His hands willingly to being nailed to the rough wood of the cross for you and for me.  He experienced the separation from God that was the consequence of our sin.  It is in our place that He said, "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?"  He said that so that you and I will never have to.  He experienced the broken relationship with the Father that was the result of our self-centered rebellion.  And His offering of Himself healed the relationship.  

Might you take a moment now to ask Him to help you keep His love, His example at the focal point of your life more and more each day -- central to your focus from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep?

As we do so the promise is joy!  The promise is that we will discover the deep and lasting joy for which we are destined: living in authentic community as we grow in humility, selfless love, fixing Jesus at the center.

And that will lead to even greater and more lasting joy than having your favorite team win the greatest, most legendary championship victory.  For the greatest victory of all has been won for us by Jesus.

These are highlights from the sermon I preached on Sunday September 27, 2026.  You can find the livestream on the St. Luke’s Gladstone Facebook page or YouTube channel.  Check out our website: www.stlukesgladstone.org

Prayer I Offered at the Town 9/11 Service this year

As I sought guidance from the Lord for what to pray on this 25^th anniversary of 9/11, two very short verses of Scripture came to my mind.  First is the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept”.   The context of that verse is that Jesus is with his friends Mary and Martha who are heart-broken over the death of their brother – and soon Jesus will raise Lazarus, their brother, from the dead.  But first He weeps.  Why?

It is not because He would never see Lazarus again, but because Jesus saw the grief and sorrow that death brings ad He was deeply moved by it.  God weeps with us in our times of sorrow and loss.

The second is the well known verse from the first Epistle of John 4:8:  God is love.  Not only is God moved by our sorrows, but He also loves us enough to come to us, to enter the messiness of our world to bring healing and bring peace.

Today as we remember 9/11, God is with us in our grief, weeping with us as we weep and He comes to us to heal and lead us on in faith.  That is true for each of us as individuals and for our country.

Let us pray: Lord, today we remember.  We remember the lives lost.  We pray for comfort and for peace and healing for all who lost loved ones, still we pray 25 years later.  And we also pray for those who have died from health complications from 9/11 since.  And we pray for healing for those battling those health issues now.

And we thank you for the heroic men and women, all first responders, EMTs, firefighters, police and private citizens who risked their lives to help others – some who gave their lives that others might be saved.  Bless those first responders here today.  We thank you for them.

And we pray against evil in this world still, that your angel armies of light would defeat and scatter the forces of darkness.

And we pray for peace.  Let this day bring us together as a country.  May it lead us to find unity – to work together for the common good of all people.

And Lord, on this 25^th anniversary of 9/11 let us follow Your example of love.  As it is written in the sh’ma in Deuteronomy 6 and as it is written in Leviticus – affirmed by Jesus Christ, let us this day renew our commitment to follow Your example, O God, and live lives of love, seeking to love You, O God, with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Spirit of God we invite Your presence within us and among us at this ceremony today, that the things we do and say here this day may bring us comfort, inspire us to love, and lead us ever closer to You.

In the Name of Jesus I pray.  AMEN.