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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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One Mind |
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Peter 3:8-12 Fifth
Sunday after Trinity June
22, 2008 . “Be ye all of one mind.” Because we are related to Christ we are also related to one another. This is no accident. This is the plan of God, who is calling people together out of every nation, race, and tribe to be His new people, His new culture, His new Kingdom, His New World Order, His family, and His body. We usually call this people the “Church.” And day after day, week after week we affirm that we are a part of it, saying, “I believe one Catholic and Apostolic Church,” or, I believe in the “holy Catholic Church.” “Holy” means it has been sanctified by the blood of Christ, and that it belongs to God as His own unique possession. “Catholic” means that it includes all true Christians of all ages and all places. “Apostolic” means it continues the faith and practice it received from Christ as given to the Apostles and preserved in the Bible. But you notice I have not said anything yet about the word, “one.” We all know this means the true Church is one Church. The visible church is not one. It is divided. Even local congregations are often divided into factions. Sometimes this is due to a necessary stand for truth, but often it is due to the failure of Christian people to act like Christians and live in Biblical love. God have mercy upon us. But the True Church, the Invisible Church is one. It is not, never has been, and never will be divided. We are one body, serving one God, in one faith in one unbroken stream from the very beginning until now, and reaching for eternity into the future. Fellow Christian, “see” yourself in that stream. “See” Holy Trinity Anglican Church in that stream. Our task and goal at Holy Trinity is to embody that oneness as much as possible in this congregation. This is a tall order, but God has given us much help in the Bible, some of it found in the Epistle reading for this day, I Peter 3:8-17. Here we find good advice on practicing oneness in the local congregation. It is very significant that Peter starts this section by saying, “be ye all of one mind” (1 Pt. 3:8). The fact is that oneness, or, let us call it, “unity,” requires agreement. “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” God asked Israel in Amos 3:3. That verse is saying Israel does not agree with God, therefore she and God do not walk together. Indeed, they cannot. There is no unity between them. Can it be any different among us? Can unity exist where people go in different ways following different ideas and goals? Does not unity require at least some common ground, some common values, common ideas, and common goals? For the Church, this unity is found in Christ. Specifically it is found in our common faith which we find in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. It is as we allow God to speak to us in the Bible that we find ourselves agreeing more and more. We find ourselves thinking the same thoughts, sharing the same values, holding the same standards. True Christian unity is based on this. Having these things shaped by the Bible causes us to be in agreement. It causes us to be of one mind. The Bible is filled with examples of the lack of this kind of unity. Abraham and Lot could not walk together in unity because they were not of one mind. Jacob and Esau could not live in unity because they were not of one mind. Joseph and his brothers could not live in unity because they were not of one mind. In the Old Testament we actually read of the tribes of Israel, the called and chosen people of God in the Old Testament, fighting and killing one another on the field of battle. War in the Church, to the death, because their ideas and values and goals had become so divergent they could no longer bear the presence of the others. In each of these examples the people were not in agreement in the word of God, therefore strife arose among them. Lot valued the bright lights of “sin city,” so he left Abraham. Esau wanted a life of indolence while Jacob wanted the power and perks of being the head of the clan, therefore they parted company. Joseph and his brothers lived in pride and envy, therefore the brothers sold Joseph into slavery. As for the tribes of Israel fighting and killing one another, we can only imagine the history of disputes and betrayals that led to that. In each of these cases the people ceased to let their values and goals be shaped by the Scriptures, therefore, they were not of one mind, therefore, they could not walk together. This is not confined to the Old Testament. In the New testament we read of strife, heresy, and divisions. An example of this is the heart breaking story of Demas. In Colossians 4:14 Demas is serving God with Paul and Luke, but in 2 Tim. 4:10 Paul says, “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica.” Demas loved the world, therefore he could not walk with the Church. They were not of one mind, therefore Demas was out of place in the family of God. On the other hand we read of great things happening when the people of God are of one mind. With one mind they rebuilt the battered and burned walls of Jerusalem. Read about this in the Book of Nehemiah. With one mind they rebuilt the Temple that had been destroyed and desecrated. Read about this in the Book of the Prophet Haggai. With one mind they restored the public worship of God after years of neglect and idolatry. Read about this in the Book of Ezra. The Apostles were of one mind, or, “one accord” when the Holy Spirit came to them on Pentecost and 3,000 souls were added to the Church. With one mind the Christians spread the Gospel of Christ wherever they went throughout the Roman Empire, and because of this, churches were founded and flourished in many nations on three continents. But, just as important, because they were of one mind they were also one body. They were not just individuals who happened to be Christians. They were family. They were friends. They were “one” in all the best meanings of the word. The theme of the lessons and Collect for today is peace, and nowhere is peace more important than in the Church, the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace. But there will never be peace unless we can walk together in agreement, and this can come only from our being of one mind, that mind of Christ, found in the Bible. So I end this sermon where I started it, with the wise words of the Apostle Peter, “be ye all of one mind.” God grant that it may be so. Amen. The Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Campbell, Vicar, Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
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