Unity...Not Uniformity

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
January 8th 2006
Baptism of the Lord & Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Unity…Not Uniformity”
Galatians 3:26-28; Mark 1:4-11

The week before Christmas Emma had a Christmas party at her school. During the party Santa Claus made an appearance. Until that day, Emma was too scared to sit on Santa’s lap. So, when Karen picked her up from school that day she proudly told her mommy that she had willingly sat on Santa’s lap. After sharing Emma’s proud moment, Karen asked some of the other children, who were playing near Emma, if they had seen Santa. One of the other children’s siblings, who is about five years old, said: “It wasn’t the real Santa because Santa Claus is white.” The child’s mother was quick to correct the child telling him that Santa Claus can come in all colors.
Since Karen told me about this encounter I have been unable to stop thinking about it. What bothers me most about this encounter is that this child comes from a family that is trying to raise their children not to be racist. The child’s mother did try to explain that Santa Claus can come from many cultures and races. Yet, it appears that despite their best efforts this five year old knows that Santa cannot be black. The best intentions of this family are no match for a society that only shows Santa as white. By the time this child reaches the age of five all the words of the parents are simply no match for all the displays, cards, and holiday decorations which come in the default white color. It is a clear reminder how easily our children internalize messages conveyed by the images and symbols all around us.
Today, we are celebrating the baptism of Jesus. We have also celebrate the promise of our own baptisms. In doing so, one of the things we affirm is our unity with Jesus Christ and with one another. It is believed that in the early Christian church, one of the ways this was evidenced was at the conclusion of the baptism when these words were spoken: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 5:26-28). This is the passage we read from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
This baptismal formula is older than any other baptismal creed or confession including invoking the name of the trinity. Its’ use was a way to remind the newly baptized that those things which divide us, those things with put us at odds with one another are washed away by the virtue of our baptism is Christ Jesus. This is the foundation for the unity we have in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately this passage has been used with some unfortunate consequences.
In just a short time following the death and resurrection of Jesus, the calls for unity in Christ became tainted by the sin of our world. The calls for unity or peace and harmony became veiled attempts to make everyone practice their faith in the same way. Nowhere was this felt more than in the early church struggles about the Gentile followers of Jesus.
The struggle had to do with whether or not these Gentiles would have to follow traditional teaching in order to be a true follower of Jesus. There was a concern that the Gentile followers did not understand the rich history and traditions of the faith. These new followers were unaware about the way things were supposed to be done, or how ‘things had always been done.’ These new believers did not know the proper way to act. They ate food sacrificed to idols. The men were not circumcised, and many of these new believers did not seem to care. (Sounds like they needed a good new members class…) Unfortunately the witness we have from this early church conflict is not good. These questions were never really resolved. However, we know that most if not all of those communities which did not make allowances for the Gentile believers ceased to exist. It appears that uniformity was more important that the unity they shared in Jesus Christ.
Though we are no longer struggling over issue of food sacrificed to idols and circumcision, the Presbyterian Church is struggling with the bigger issues of unity and uniformity. It comes in many forms, from theology to sexuality and even the worship wars. While I believe we ought to weigh in on these issues, I believe there is one area of uniformity that many churches and members have overlooked. While I do not believe most of it is intentional, I do believe it has devastating consequences for our denomination and communities of faith like Westminster.
As a denomination we have worked very hard at trying to respond to our changing society by becoming a more multicultural denomination. Nowhere is this more evident than in the many documents and written statements regarding our God given mission. Presbyterians, if nothing, are really good about choosing words carefully. However if there is one area we need to do a better job of living out our words.
We live in an image driven culture. The old adage: “A picture is worth a thousand words,” still rings true. So if that is true we have to ask: What are we saying with our pictures, images, and artwork? What do these things, these images, tell other people about what the Presbyterian Church or our community of faith is all about? What do these images say about who is welcome in the community of faith? And, what do these images say about who is made in the image of God if the Son of God is only ever shown to be white?
These questions must be struggled with if we expect to live out the God given vision for our denomination and our community of faith. While they were questions I had thought about before, the urgency of these questions were brought to my attention by a five year old who knew that Santa could not be anything but white. It led me to ask: “If this is true for Santa Claus what unintended messages are we teaching about Jesus or God?” These questions must be struggled with if we want to get serious about our unity in Jesus Christ.
The unity offered in Jesus Christ, by the virtue of our baptism, is one which welcomes all people. It is a unity which is not bound by one culture. It is not a unity which demands uniformity of thought, art, or even worship style. It is a message which our divided world is dying to hear, and to see, lived out in our communal life, proclaimed in our well written documents, and reflected in the images we use to tell the story. So lets us go from here, wrestling with these questions, seeking answers, and working to tell this great good news story to a truly divided world. Amen.