Living in Harmony

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01.27.08

3rd Sunday In Ordinary Time

LIVING IN HARMONY

EXODUS 18:13-27; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-17

Conflict in the Church

Fighting Over Petty Issues

Early in the 1960s, the session of a small Presbyterian Church in central Pennsylvania gathered for its monthly meeting

On the agenda that night was a discussion about paint
The exterior of the church building needed some sprucing up
It had been a number of years since the building exterior had been tended to, and the weather had taken its toll on the window frames and doors
There was no question that the window trimming would be painted white since it provided a nice accent against the dark red brick of the building
But the issue to be decided on this night was what color the church doors should be painted

Around this issue, there was more than just a difference of opinion—there was outright war

A number of the elders believed that the doors should be painted red
The doors had been red for as long as anyone could remember and, in their minds, there was no reason to change it
To add a theological dimension to their argument, they said that red is the color used by the church to represent the Holy Spirit, so painting the doors red would be a sign that the Holy Spirit was present and active in their little church

The rest of the elders were growing tired of everything in the church always being done the same way

The church had begun to decline in membership, and one of the reasons for undertaking the exterior facelift was to make the building more attractive
This group of elders argued that the doors should be painted blue
It was something new and different and it would give the church a whole new look
And, they added, blue is the official color of the Presbyterian Church, so by painting the doors blue, people would identify them as Presbyterians

No decision was made that night because the debate was too heated

No decision was made at the next month’s meeting, or the month after that, or the month after that
Every time this issue was discussed, both sides dug in deeper and the debate became more intense
Meanwhile, the paint on the doors continued to peel and the building fell into greater disrepair
The congregation was so seriously divided over this issue that it was on the verge of splitting
After seven years of squabbling, the pastor left to accept a call to a new congregation…and the doors still hadn’t been painted

Over the years, I have encountered quite a number of people who became disillusioned and left the church as a result of conflict in the church

Some of their reasons were justified while others left because of petty reasons
One woman, who belonged to the Catholic Church, left her church because the priest refused to do the funeral for her mother because her mother was behind in her pledge when she died
A woman in my last congregation, who had been a member of the choir for nearly 50 years, left the church because a new choir member wore her choir robe
And I know of others who left the church for no other reason than that someone else was sitting in their pew

The Perfect Church

Sadly, the Church of Jesus Christ is no stranger to conflict

It’s sad because the Church of Jesus Christ is called to be a different kind of community with different values and goals from the rest of society
It’s to be a place where the love of God is embodied in the lives of those who follow Jesus Christ
It’s to be a place that’s open and welcoming to all, a place where forgiveness can be found and grace can be experienced
It’s to be a place where differences can be overcome and lives can be transformed because, no matter who we are, where we’ve come from, or what we have done, we are here for a common purpose—to worship the same God who created us and loves us equally, and to serve our one Lord, Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of the world

The church is a holy institution, called into being by our holy God and commissioned to do God’s holy work in the world

But sometimes I think we confuse the word “holy” with the word “perfect”
Perfect means to be completely without fault, and that’s something the church can never be
The church can never be perfect because it’s comprised of people who can never be perfect

The church is comprised of sinners—sinners who have experienced God’s love and saving grace through Jesus Christ—but sinners nonetheless

Whether we are inside the church or outside of the church, we are still sinners
The only difference is that those who are inside are sinners who have been saved by the grace of God
That salvation by grace makes us different, but not better, than sinners who are outside the church
So if we’re looking for “the perfect church,” we’ll never find it
It should not surprise us that conflict will arise in the life of the church because the church is comprised of imperfect people
Conflict can’t always be avoided—sometimes it’s necessary and healthy
What’s important is how that conflict is managed

So, if you’re expecting the church too be perfect, you’re expecting too much

The church isn’t called to be perfect; it’s called to be holy
Something that is holy is something that is set apart to the service of God
Our calling as a church and as individuals within the church is to allow God to use us, to open ourselves up to God and offer to God all that we have and all that we are so that God’s work in the world might be accomplished through us
And God accepts us exactly as we are, and God can use whatever we have to offer when we are willing to follow where it is that God is leading

The Church as a Living Symphony

Bringing Unity Out of Conflict

Paul writes his first letter to the Corinthians to a church that was experiencing significant conflict

There were factions that were developing around who was the better preacher
Some claimed to follow Paul, others liked the preaching of Apollos, while still others preferred Peter
On top of that, there was conflict brewing over who had the better spiritual gifts
Receiving word of these conflicts from members of Clohe’s household, Paul intercedes with this letter to try to minimize the conflict caused by these divisions and to call the church back to faithfulness to Jesus Christ

Paul begins to address this conflict and ease the tension it has caused in the very first sentence of his letter (vs. 1-3)

In that greeting, notice what Paul does
First, he reminds the Corinthians that this is not their church, it’s God’s church
He doesn’t address them as the Corinthian Church but as “the Church of God in Corinth”
Paul firmly believed that we are one church in various locations
First and foremost, this is God’s church, not ours, and we would do well to remember that we are here to serve God, not ourselves

Secondly, he reminds them that the church is called to be holy and it is made holy because of what Jesus did for us on the cross

The mission of the church, therefore, isn’t to serve our needs, it’s to serve God through Jesus Christ
The church exists for no other reason than to be God’s agent in the world
Because God loves us all and accepts us all, because God overlooks our differences and forgives our sins, we also ought to do the same for each other and learn to work together to move Christ’s mission forward
Rather than fighting among ourselves, we must “be perfectly united in mind and thought”

Since it is the same God we worship and the same Lord we are seeking to serve, we need to develop a common mindset

In order to serve together and function as “one body,” as Paul says later in this letter, we each much develop a common mind—the mind of Christ—Philippians 2:5-11
Paul acknowledges that the Corinthians have been richly blessed by the Holy Spirit with gifts for ministry, but the key to their effectiveness as a congregation is learning to think and act and work together
That doesn’t mean that there’s no room for differences of opinion because God has blessed the church with the marvelous gift of diversity
But it does mean that we must never allow those differences to impede the ministry of Christ’s Church
We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable
There’s a place for everyone in the church and a place for every gift
So we must live in harmony of purpose and work together in unity because we worship the same God and serve the same Savior and Lord

This is the lesson that Jethro taught to his son-in-law, Moses, who sought to be all things to all people as he led the people of Israel

It was a valuable lesson for Moses to learn that there were others who could lead with him
Rather than continuing to try to do it all himself, Moses enlisted the help of others and developed an attitude of teamwork and cooperation
After all, they were all headed in the same direction
It just made sense that they learn to live and work together cooperatively

There’s no place in the people of God for a lone ranger

No one person has all of the gifts and skills and energy to all that God seeks to accomplish in the world
And we often forget that even the Lone Ranger had Tonto, and Jesus enlisted the help of disciples
So, is it not better that we learn to work together and live together in harmony as we seek to know and do God’s will?

Harmony in the Life of the Church

Someone has once said that the church is like a symphony, and that’s an image of the church I really like

Having played the trumpet in the school band, I learned how important the voices of the various instruments are and the talents of those who play those instruments
A great musical composition is great because it has depth
The melody carries the composition along, but the counter-melody and the rhythm and the notes that provide the harmony contributed by the voices of the various instruments is what gives the composition its life
And its life is brought together by the conductor who cues each voice at the appropriate time and moves the composition forward to its climax
Sometimes there is a place for a solo voice, but even that solo is supported and enhanced by the other members of the orchestra or choir
And the leadership of the conductor is important because the conductor pulls the various pieces together to build the harmony and the depth that gives the composition its life

We must always remember that Jesus Christ is the conductor of the great symphony we call the church

There’s a place for the various voices that exist in the church, the various talents and gifts that each of us bring
But these voices and gifts and talents are better used when they are blended with the voices and gifts and talents of others
We all have something to offer, something of value to contribute, something God can use for ministry
There may be a place for an occasional solo, supported by the gifts and talents of the whole, but we must never believe that any of us can do the work of ministry alone or that our part is more important than all the others
Above all else, we must seek to follow where Jesus leads, contributing our part for the benefit of the whole
He alone is able to pull all the pieces together to create the harmony that enriches our life together
It is Jesus alone that we must seek to follow