Unity

The Blessedness of Unity

How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard,

on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes.

It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.

-          psalm one thirty three

 

I really like how the psalmist rejoices in his relationships!  So often we feel burdened trying to love those around us and find it difficult.  We rarely celebrate the relationships we’re in let alone thank God for them.  We also fall short of declaring their beauty and importance.

 

gentiles hear the good news

Then Peter began to speak to the: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.  You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – He is the Lord of all.  That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem.  They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 

The last few days I’ve been going through scriptures with a few friends and it’s amazing to me how many times the resurrection is mentioned throughout the New Testament and all of the letters to the churches.  One of our neighbors (a PA!) has been discussing with us how he is on sabbatical from church right now and how much he hates pastors who always talk about the cross and violence; proclaiming God to be a God of love.

Any person passing by our room is constantly surrounded by shouts of ‘the cross!’ or ‘the blood!’ as my roommate and I express our frustrations with Christians who are annoyed by our insistence that the death and resurrection of Jesus must be central to a Christian faith.  Isn’t it obvious? 

All of scripture points to the resurrection!   Without the resurrection our faith is meaningless!

As Paul writes, if the death, burial and resurrection are false, Christians are the ones who should be pitied the most.