“That They Might Be One”
 

You’ll see below the schedules of “special” worship services in which we
are participating in the months of March and April (excluding our visit to Antioch this Sunday).
Some of you may be asking yourselves, “What’s this all about? Why is Pastor Chris
encouraging us to visit other churches?”
The simple answer is that I try to take seriously all the teachings of Jesus. In John’s Gospel, we
read a long description of his final meal with his friends, very different from the stories of the
“Last Supper” in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In John, Jesus teaches his disciples and prays over
them, praying specifically for their future unity. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on
behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you,
Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you
have sent me” (John 17:20-21).
“That they may all be one.” In reality, we Christians haven’t been very good at this. Since early
in the history of the Church, followers of Jesus have argued over points of theology, some of
which seem silly today, to the point that they refused to worship together, cursed each other, and
even killed each other. We may have gotten past that last action, but there are still Christians
who refuse to worship together or take Communion together for very slim reasons indeed.
That’s not what Jesus intended. I’m quite sure that Jesus knew his followers wouldn’t always
agree – the disciples didn’t always agree when he was alive! But he would have wanted us to put
our differences aside and love each other. It’s mighty hard to love someone you don’t even
know, so your pastor is encouraging you to go to these extra services at strange churches so you
can get to know, and hopefully love, our sisters and brothers from other segments of Christianity.
Ecumenism (a fancy word for worshipping with Christians not of your denomination) has been
of lifelong importance to me. A Southern Baptist by raising, I attended Church of England
schools as a boy, counted Episcopalians, Catholics, Methodists, and members of the Community
of Christ among my early friends, and even married a Catholic girl, not just because she was cute
(which she is) but because we understood our Christian faith in very similar ways. My faith has
been enriched by learning more about how others believe and act upon their beliefs in Christ. I
have been blessed by all those connections and many more over the years. I wish for you, a
group of people I love, these same blessings!

Rev. M. Christopher Boyer