August 9th

United We Stand

Ephesians 4:1-16



OK. I am going to start this morning by asking for a little honesty from everyone. How many people here remember going to the clubs back in the day? Now, by “back in the day,” I mean early 80’s and earlier. Now, let’s take it a step further. How many people remember going to some of the really small clubs where the main DJ was the jukebox, and the drag queens and drag kings sometimes had to drop their own quarters and find their numbers on that jukebox?

Now, being from a small town in western Kentucky, and being a certain age, I tend to remember a few such experiences. And do you know what? For the most part, those experiences were a lot of fun—minus the throwing up after drinking too much Southern Comfort, of course.

One memory that sticks out in my mind is how a lot of the drag shows would close with the anthem, “United We Stand.” Remember it?

For united we stand,
divided we fall.
And if our backs are up against the wall,
We’ll be together,
Together, you and I.

We would all stand, join our raised hands, and sing these words loud and proud. OK. So some of us slurred the words loud and proud—but the thought was there. Of course, it wasn’t a perfect setting of unity. We still had drag queens snatching wigs of each others’ heads, and butch women fighting over girlfriends. But when that song came on, people seemed to stop—if even just for a moment—and remembered that it was important for us to stand together against a world that sometimes feared us, sometimes hated us, and sometimes, literally wanted us dead.

At the same time, it is hard to pinpoint exactly what united us. Was it fear? Was it our sexual orientations? Was it the alcohol and other drugs? Was it a mixture of all these things? Whatever it was, those precious moments of unity—while making us feel better about ourselves and our places in the world--didn’t often transfer into positive action in our communities.

What is it that unites us? That is the question we will be looking at today, as we examine our passage from Ephesians.

In today’s passage, the author of Ephesians is discussing unity in the church. Ephesus, as the Roman capital of Asia Minor, was a center of commerce and religious pilgrimage. Like all such cosmopolitan centers, it most likely attracted the best and the brightest in all walks of life. Now, that probably meant that the church at Ephesus had some of these very talented people as part of its worshipping community, as well. And we all know what tends to happen when you get a group of talented folks together, right? The polite term for these times is called “creative differences.”

As far as we can tell, however, the church at Ephesus isn’t experiencing any serious creative conflict. So, why this letter? Maybe the author of Ephesians had heard about all the drama at the church at Corinth. Remember the folks at Corinth? All kinds of strange behavior and “creative” theology were happening at the church in Corinth. Like Ephesus, Corinth was a major cosmopolitan area, and it attracted a diverse group of folks. But the church at Corinth was anything but united. So, maybe the author of Ephesians is attempting a little “preventative maintenance” here.

But there is another possibility, too. Maybe the writer of Ephesians is giving us a few of the identity markers of what it means for any group to be a united, Christian community of faith. So, with that in mind, what is it that unites us—MCC of Corpus Christi--as a community of faith?

Is it our sexual orientation? Hardly. We have folks who identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, celibate, questioning—you name the category, and chances are there is someone here who identifies as a member of that particular category. At MCC of Corpus Christi, because we are a community church, we welcome everyone. What’s our name? Metropolitan Community Church. Say it with me, “Metropolitan Community Church.” What is at the center of that name? Community.

OK. So, now maybe we are getting a little closer to the answer to our question of the day. Community is at the center of our church. But there are many communities represented here, too. For example, we are all members of racial, socio-economic, political, and gender identification communities. So, what is it in our community that unites us?

Look at verse 11. “The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.” Ah ha! These all seem to be leadership positions in the church; so, maybe it is the leadership that unites us. After all, isn’t that why we pay a Pastor and elect a Board—to hold all this thing we call “church” together?

Well, Pastors are called by congregations, and paid with certain expectations in mind. Boards, too, are elected with certain expectations in mind. The question becomes “Are those expectations based on scripture?” Not always. So, what are these leaders supposed to do? Our answer from scripture is, “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”

What that means is, while leaders are to promote unity, everyone has a role in promoting unity in our community of faith. You see, folks, my job is not to make everyone happy, because that is not true unity. My primary job is to preach, teach, and challenge us—including myself--to grow up spiritually. There are other lists of spiritual gifts in scripture, and we are instructed to discover, develop, and use those gifts to build up the body of Christ. The fact of the matter is, leadership changes over time. If any community of faith builds its hope on any human leader, or any group of human leaders, it will not stand.

Hey! Maybe our location is what unites us! After all, don’t we need a place to worship and grow together? Well, yes and no. We do need a place to worship. But it might do us well to remember that the children of Israel wandered for 40 years with the presence of God represented in the Ark of the Covenant. When it comes to church unity, worship location may be important; but the fact that we worship God, build community, and offer hope is what is important. What I am saying is when our priorities are in order, God provides—everything else is secondary.

So, let’s review. We know the concept of community is at the center of our church. We know that leadership has an important role to play in promoting unity in our church. But we also know that leadership is not here for entertainment value—that’s just an added bonus! Everyone who commits to a community of faith has the responsibility of supporting, promoting, and strengthening the unity of that community through the sharing of their spiritual gifts—which includes the gifts of time, talent, and financial support. And, as long as our priorities are in order, God can work through us wherever we happen to be at the time.

As long as our priorities are in order. Could it be? Could it be that rightly ordered priorities are the key to unity in our church? If so, what are those priorities? Actually, there may be only one key priority, and when we get that one in order, other issues will begin to come together as God works through us. And what is that priority?

That priority is found in verses 4 and 5. “The is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Parent of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” If we call ourselves a Christian community of faith, our unity is found in one God made incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, and experienced today through the power of the Holy Spirit. Following the example of Jesus Christ, our baptism is a marker of our Christian identity.

That, my sisters and brothers, is what unites any community of faith that calls itself “Christian.” We may sing praise songs in a tent on a vacant lot, or we may use the highest forms of liturgical worship in a Jewish synagogue; but if our priority is in order, God is there. We may call and elect different kinds of leaders throughout our history; but if our priority is in order, God is there. How we “do church” may shift and change; but if our priority is in order, we will always be the church.

It is when we recognize that Jesus Christ is not only the cornerstone, but also the Head of the church, that the Holy Spirit will enable us to be patient and to bear with one another in love. It is when we get this one thing right, that we are able to speak the truth to one another in a spirit of love—whatever that truth may be at the time. And not only will we be able to speak those truths, we will also be able to hear those truths from our sisters and brothers, as well.

One. One body. One Spirit. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and Parent of all. For unity in our faith community, nothing more is needed, and nothing less will do. Amen?

God bless you and amen.