RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

Dr. Sharon E. Watkins is the General Minister and
President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
A gift is placed in your hands. It’s wrapped. In
beautiful, shiny paper, with a curly bow. It comes
from one who loves you. You receive it and begin to
open it. That’s all you have to do. It’s a gift! You just
receive it. And open it. And enjoy . . .
These last few days together, we’ve been considering
a particular gift—from a particular giver. God’s gift
of unity, of wholeness, given to humanity from the
beginning of time and then made particularly real
in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ—
and in Christ’s Body, the church.
Ephesians 4:4 says: “There is one body and one
Spirit . . .” Hear that? “There is one body.” Not:
“might be one soon.” Not: “will be one some day.”
No. There is one body. Already.
In part, we’re one already because that’s the way God
created the world from the beginning.
Genesis 1, “In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth”—and trees and animals—and
human beings. “God created humankind in
(God’s) image; male and female . . . (and) blessed
them, and said to them, “Be fruitful and
multiply . . .”
From the beginning, God created us to be one
human family, all mystically descended from one set
of cosmic parents.
Already one. All we have to do is receive the gift!
Open it. And enjoy.
Right? Well, maybe . . .
Sometimes for a children’s message, I take a globe—
a model of earth—each country a different color.
Pretty.
Already...Not Yet:
God’s Gift of Unity
Gen. 1:26-27; Ephesians 4:1-6
Sharon E. Watkins
49
Sermon
But all the boundaries and borders stand out really
clearly. Lots of dividing lines on that globe.
Then I unroll a big poster of that iconic photo of
earth from space. In that God’s-eye view we see a
beautiful planet earth—also in many colors: blue,
green, brown, swirling white clouds, a gorgeous
multicolored jewel set on the beautiful, black velvet
backdrop of space. Beautiful diversity, without
dividing lines.
So both are before us—the globe as human beings
have made it with its dividing lines, and earth from
space as God made it, one whole planet, the home
of one beautifully diverse human family.
So both are before us—the globe as human
beings have made it with its dividing lines,
and earth from space as God made it, one
whole planet, the home of one beautifully
diverse human family.
Both views tell us something real. God made us one
human family. But the reality is families don’t always
get along. Especially the whole human family.
Look at our neighborhoods . . . people are still
losing jobs, losing insurance, losing homes. It’s
hard to feel like one, when we feel like we might be
next.
Look internationally. It’s hard to feel like family
when we can’t figure out how to share the holiest
places of the Holy Land or how to stop the mineral
wars of Eastern Congo that keep our cell phones
fueled but also fuel the outrage of women raped and
maimed as a weapon of war.