by Pastor Parker

“Believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” (1 John 3:23)

Our church membership vows include this passage where we “promise to study [the] purity and peace” of the church. One of the premier ways we can do that as Christians is to reflect deeply and well upon the unity of the church, especially when it comes to what is meant to unite us.

In a sense, I feel united to others who share similar preferences to me, right? I have non-Christian friends whom I feel solidarity with and unity with because we are all listening to the new Weezer album the first day it comes out. I feel united to people in other ways, as well, and I’m sure you all can relate to that worldly sort of unity. That is to say, in this world, we feel solidarity and unity with different people for different reasons.

We could make the mistake of thinking that the unity of the church is supposed to be like that, where we say, “We are united together as long as we see things the same way” or like the same things. But the unity of the church is different from those other sorts of unity. What do I mean?

Believers have a closer unity. Paul speaks to this unity in a couple of places. In Romans 12:5 he tells us that “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” So even though there are lots of us, we’re united in what? “In Christ.” Christ is what unites us. We place our faith in Christ, we’re indwelt by the Spirit, and we are united to our brothers and sisters in Christ and we form a new family. That is God’s plan. Paul says something similar in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Paul rattles off literally the biggest differences that can theoretically be imagined between believers in Jesus, and his answer is, “Those differences still exist, but they don’t divide because we are in Christ.” Being in Christ makes all the difference.

This is why Paul tells us in Romans 14:10, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” We are united by what matters, and we hold secondary things lightly. We are easily tempted to make secondary things primary things, especially if they are divisive and heated in the cultural moment. Let me now get even more specific, maybe awkwardly so.

When the pandemic first began I think a lot of elders out there sensed that the unity of their churches would be tested by 2020 and 2021. This past year has borne that suspicion out, I think, as nearly every pastor has felt himself pulled in all directions by people that he knows on every side to be loving and reasonable people.

I’m starting to believe that we are entering a new phase that is equally challenging. This is a moment I have personally yearned for ever since I arrived at Evergreen, where we’ve started to see vaccinated folks returning who have been worshiping on zoom for over a year now. It almost seems like this moment is where the unity of Christians actually gets tested in a potentially more tangible and relational way, because the ways we receive each other in this moment in some ways shows what we believe really unites us to each other. We must choose: are we united by Christ? Or are we united by our views on masks, and our views on vaccines?

In a sense, it’s almost as though over the course of the past year two different congregations were forming throughout every church in America: one that was meeting in person, and one that was meeting on the zoom call, with very little overlap between. Now here we are – vaccines are flowing, people are back, and we’re gradually coming together again. In this moment, unintentionally hurtful things can be said, sometimes words of unintentional judgment from either one or the other can come through in the way we speak. And these issues are so intense that the hurt is difficult to hide.

It is important that Christians display our unity in Christ by the thoughtful charity we show to one another. We assume the best about each other, not the worst. For example, if someone has been in worship all this time and is not wearing a mask, love, charity, and unity means no one should assume this is a person who hates their neighbor, wants all their loved ones to die, or is coldhearted about others – instead we assume they have what they believe are good reasons, even if we disagree.

Likewise, if someone hasn’t been in worship for over a year, we assume they have been looking out for others in the best way they knew how. “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother?”

How should we speak with each other? I think it is wise for Christians newly mingling to not assume each person they meet has the same views as them on these issues. Leading off conversations with “this government sure is stupid, huh?” is probably not the most edifying or helpful way to speak on Sundays in general, but certainly not with someone whose views you don’t really even know. There is great diversity on these issues in the body of Christ – let’s remember that and assume it as we speak! Let’s make Christ the substance of our conversations. Let’s discuss this week’s sermon. Let’s praise God for the various ways he has really cared for us and protected our souls in what could have been a soul-wrecking season. Let’s share our own prayer requests and talk about blessings God has shown us during this time. Let’s exalt Christ, in other words.

There is a lot of potential for pain and nastiness right now. Another pastor told me that during the pandemic a member of their church was going around before and after services, directly telling people in masks that they didn’t have enough faith and that removing the mask was a sign of true faith. Other pastors have told me this is a common sentiment as well among some. This arises from pride: “I have spiritual strength, and you are weak. I am brave and you are a coward.” And yet Jesus says that Christians are to be people who are “poor in spirit.”

If someone returns to worship but is still wearing a mask, let us not speak to them (or about them!) as though mask wearing is a sign of faithlessness or unbelief. That is the worst possible interpretation that a person could make about another believer on a secondary issue. Scripture tells us that love “believes all things,” and “hopes all things.” Ask God to make you Christlike enough to assume the best and not the worst.

My immediate response is to ask the one speaking to repent of their pride, and I also think it’s right to defend the mask wearer against such accusations: “mask or not, everyone I know puts on a seatbelt when they drive their car. That seatbelt isn’t a sign of unbelief, nor is locking your front door at night. If someone thinks the mask is beneficial, then it isn’t a sign of faithlessness.” Many are wearing masks for reasons you may not even know – perhaps they are doing it for you, believing that it helps them not to unknowingly spread germs to you. Perhaps they have sick family members they are caring for and do not want to carry germs back to their vulnerable loved ones. Let’s think the best of each other, not the worst. Each time you are tempted to judge, ask the question: “what is the best thing I can assume about this brother or sister in this moment?” and then seize hold of that. Those on the more “cautious” side of things should be encouraged to think of those on the “less cautious” end of things in the same way.

I realize I am skewing more in defense of those who have stayed home in what I say. I believe it is necessary because the majority of our church have been in worship, and I think that in our local context, there is a danger of pride from those who did not stay home. I realize if you’re in the “physically attending” camp, you’ve indeed felt beaten up by society, by the media, by other churches, and maybe even other family members over this past year, but it’s important for the pastor to also stand up to those we may be tempted to divide against or talk down to right here at home. There is danger from every perspective and plenty of potential pride and judgement to go around.

I know that I am being almost uncomfortably direct here, and I know that drawing attention to these things comes with its own dangers, but I am jealous to defend the unity of the church, and especially those at home who even now want to return but wonder how they will be treated upon their eventual return. If that means the pastor stepping on every party’s sacred cows to some degree, then so be it. We will not (and need not) be united in our politics, our views of masks, our views on vaccines, or any other secondary issue. But we are all “one in Christ” by God’s design, which is a greater, deeper, more lasting unity.

In this beautiful new phase where zoom participants and those who have been in person for some time start to meld back together corporately, it is very important that we love each other in the extreme and that we rejoice in each other without hesitation. Let’s receive each other the way Christ receives us, and not dispute over secondary things. Even if they are important, they are still not worth damaging the purity and peace of the church over. Read the Scriptures yourselves and ask God if this is not true.

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Romans 12:10)

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:11)