Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 2-220 Sunday 10 Nov 2002

Reading: Psalm 133 – UNITY FROM ABOVE

‘Help me, Lord, to see fellow believers as your beloved children, not just as they are naturally.’

How do we feel about our fellow Christians? What are our relationships with them like? Do the edges begin to fray as we vulnerable humans recognise that we are far from perfect? The personal diversity that makes up a Christian community can be creative, but can also cause havoc! We tend to magnify others’ weaknesses, opening up gaps in understanding that Satan loves to exploit and use for his destructive ends – to sow seeds of discord in the fellowship, to weaken our sense of oneness in Christ.

This song of ascent may well echo the weary pilgrims’ journey to the Temple, full of hope and joy, yet, not surprisingly, tired of the staleness of their neighbours’ breath, the staidness of their humour or piety. This psalm reminds us that being in unity is in reality a blessed and pleasant experience that will be found not through human invention, but as God gives it. Does the psalm reflect the unity that David saw as the tribes came together at Hebron, acknowledging his role as shepherd and ruler, sharing in the triumph of Jerusalem conquered? (2 Sam 5)

Through subsequent ages, in the shadow of the cross, even men and women cast together by misfortune and suffering have experienced a dramatic, healing unity of purpose. Witness those dehumanised men on Burma’s notorious River Kwai during the Second World War, mysteriously drawn together, as God’s hand began to touch lives and work miracles of grace.* There is no confining of the anointing oil, no holding in of the fragrance. The heavy, rich dew of Hermon was available on lesser Zion. But sustaining unity in a sadly disintegrating world is hard work.(Eph 4:3)

‘Father, help me to enjoy loving harmony with believers different from me.’

* Ernest Gordon, Miracle on the River Kwai

– David Blair

Copyright Scripture Union, 2002

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