Unity • Week of Prayer for Christian Unity •

On October 31, 1517, an event occurred which changed the course of Christian experience. On that date Martin Luther tacked ninety-five theses for debate on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

That action eventually led to the Protestant Reformation. Although in 1517 the church was already divided between east and west, the Reformation brought further divisions until, at one time, there were over 300 Protestant denominations.

For years these denominations were in keen competition with one another. In the Twentieth Century the denominations are coming out of that period. Perhaps we are coming to understand that Christ’s statement on love and discipleship is related to our attitudes toward Christians in other denominations.

How is one world-wide church to be achieved? Argument has been tried, and that has failed. Keen competition has been tried, and that has failed. Force has been tried, and that has failed. Perhaps Christians should take the Christ seriously and try love. In this day Christians should envision one holy, universal church and should work for a structure through which it can function and worship together in the world.

Why should there be one church? The church, said Paul, is the “body of Christ.” It is the fellowship of followers of the Christ. Whoever puts roadblocks on the way to that fellowship has committed sin. The Christ prayed that all his followers might be one. Denominationalism negates that prayer.

Christians should work for one church because we are members of one family. In reality, the doctrines of the major denominations are much alike. Most Christians believe in God, in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, in the church and in the life eternal. On these items of Christian faith we are almost universally united.

In reality, the worship traditions of the major denominations are similar. The goals of the various denominations are similar. We are all trying to serve our communities and world. We are all trying to educate people in the Christian life. We are all trying to win the world for Christianity. We are all interested in making sincere Christians out of the people we win.

When Hitler began his dreadful persecution of Christians in Germany, Protestants and Roman Catholics banded together against him. Like a family disunited by quarrels, when attacked they drew together realizing, as the Scriptures assert, that we are all of “the household of God.”

How can the commandment of the Christ, “Love one another, even as I have loved you,” be applied to the problem of denominationalism? If we seek to love all Christians, we will need to try to understand other denominations. Without surrendering our essential convictions, we can face the differences between other Christians and ourselves intelligently.

We who seek to love other Christians should cooperate in service with them. A few years ago a group of ministers to youth were involved in trying to establish a youth council for the upper west side of Manhatten. They were getting nowhere fast in working out an organization to draw them closer together. At last, a retired missionary to China who was in the group said, “The best way I have found for people to get together is to work together.” As Christians work together in a common cause, they relegate denominational bigotry to its proper place.

We who seek to love other Christians will probably be challenged to surrender some of the traditions that separate ‘‘us’’ from ‘‘them.’’ Our ability to allow others freedom of conscience may determine our ability to work for the ecumenical movement.

We who seek to love other Christians should pray for them. If the one holy universal church becomes real in the world, it will be ultimately an act of God.

Today, denominational lines are falling apart. In 1931 the Congregational and Christian Union Churches united. In 1934 the Evangelical and Reformed Churches united. In 1939 three denominations united to form The Methodist Church. In 1925 the Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists in Canada united to form the United Church of Canada. In the same year in India the Reformed, the Presbyterian, Congregational-Christian, Methodist and Episcopal Churches united in the Church of South India. In 1946 about thirty denominations in Japan united to form the Church of Christ in Japan. In 1957 the Congregational-Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church united to form the United Church of Christ. In 1988 the Lutheran Church in America and the American Lutheran Church merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Today Roman Catholics and Protestants from around the globe work together to fight famine, war, disease, racism and poverty in all parts of the world.

It is a great day to be a Christian. In these tremendous days the Christ speaks to ecumenical Christians:

love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.(John 13:34b-35)

At Calvary the Christ lived these words. Because of his love he died on a Cross. Having stood before the Cross, Christians can no longer live as we have done. By him we are called to a life of self-sacrificial love for one another. May God give his own his grace that we may go beyond denominationalism.

Prayer

Eternal God, whose will is that Your children should live together in unity, we worship You whose paths are those of peace and love. In adoration we lift our praise to You and cry with all the hosts of heaven, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.” During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we thank You for the unity of the church which is already a reality:for our unity in our adherence to the Christian faith, for our unity in our common hope, and for our unity in our love for You and for one another.

We confess, our God, that we have been instruments through which divisions in the church have been perpetuated. Forgive us for the hatreds we have harbored toward Your children and assure us of Your peace and love.

For the unity of the Church of Christ on earth we pray. Give us guidance and courage to participate in efforts to unite Christians in common bonds of faith, hope and love. To this end strengthen those who work within the ecumenical movement.

At last we surrender our lives to You with the petition, “Not our will but Thine be done;” through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen