The Blessedness of Christian Unity

The second to last of the Songs of Ascents, Ps. 133, begins with the call to behold something, something not often beheld in our day. David writes, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” David likens the blessedness of Christian unity to the oil of priestly ordination that flowed down from Aaron’s head and to the dew of God’s glory cloud descending upon the mountains of Zion. What unites these two similes for the blessedness of Christian unity is that they are both symbols of Holy Spirit. The oil of priestly ordination and the dew of God’s glory cloud are both fulfilled in Christian baptism as the Holy Spirit inducts us into his royal priesthood and claims us as His dwelling place forevermore. And Christian baptism is also the starting point for Christian unity, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Just like your earthly family is given to you by birth, you don’t choose them; even so your Christian family is given to you by baptism, you don’t choose them. If you were baptized as an adult perhaps you selected a particular branch of the Church to identify yourself with, but that’s the funny thing about baptism: you’re not baptized into the PCA, or the SBC, or the AG, or whatever; you’re baptized into the Triune name and thus into the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church that He has established. And Jesus prayed for you, for us, in John 17 that we who would believe in him through the Apostolic Word, “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that world may believe that You sent Me.” How has our witness to the world been hindered by the fact that Sunday morning at 11:00 am is the most divided hour in America? Even more troubling, given the imagery of Ps. 133, how have we grieved the Spirit of God by our divisiveness and disunity? Join me now in confessing these our sins and seeking to amend our lives to better manifest the goodness and pleasantness of dwelling together in unity. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.