Stephen
Terry, Director
Unity
in Worship
Commentary
for the December 15, 2018 Sabbath School Lesson
“But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to
the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but
that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers,
every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with
it.” 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26, NIV
In October, 1987, a Rob Reiner movie, “The Princess
Bride” was released to theaters. A delightful, comedic fairy tale, it had many
memorable sound bites. Perhaps one of the best known was when Inigo Montoya,
played by Mandy Potemkin, stated “You keep using that word. I do not think it
means what you think it means.” Throughout this quarter the focus has been on
one word – Unity. Repeated over and over again it seems to be offered as a
panacea for the problems within the church that might divide us. However, in
the context of recent administrative actions by the General Conference in
session, and by the General Conference Executive Committee and Annual Council,
some within the church appear to have come up with a special understanding of
how to define that word. It is possible that what they offer as unity is
actually uniformity. Some are troubled by this and fear that such an emphasis may
be aimed at creating “cookie cutter” Adventists around the globe,
indistinguishable from one another in every subtle nuance of theology and
praxis, praxis that extends to worship styles and even to the point of defining
gender roles in each Adventist home. Some would maintain that those who do not
fit the style cookie they prefer should be considered “in rebellion” and
removed. The message seems to be “work hard to conform.” There is no room for
creativity that might question that conformity. If we would only all be identical,
we would finally be happy, have unity, and would “finish the work.” Jesus could
hardly refuse to return in that event, could he?
Apart from such a belief implying that we have God on a
leash and if we only all pull the leash together we can jerk him back to heel,
there are some fundamental flaws in this perspective. First, if God would not
reveal the key to the Parousia to the angels, or even to Jesus,[i] doesn’t it seem a bit
strange that he would give control of such an important event to human beings?
Maybe we are this way because patience is not one of our cardinal virtues. We
prefer to be in control so we can expedite everything. Fortunately, probably
for good reason, God is in control of the apocalyptic timetable, and we can
trust him to properly determine the denouement of our story here on Earth and
bring his people home with precision, coupled with compassion, as only he can.
We tend to be focused on whom we would exclude, which creates no small conflict
with his efforts to save as many as he can. We find it difficult to tolerate
diversity, but he revels in it as his creation, including us, demonstrates.
A second and perhaps more serious flaw is that unity
expressed as uniformity introduces a questionable emphasis on our ability to
work our way to salvation. We are in effect offering up our works of conformity
as evidence of our right to grace. We stand like Pharisees, pointing out to God
and to one another our conformity as opposed to those other miserable souls who
make little effort to conform. As Pharisees, we all know how cheap words are.
Those non-conformists can act humble all they want, but if they aren’t doing
what we are doing, we know they are on the wrong path. Yet, strangely, it is
the humble soul who sees no value to God in what they are doing that Jesus says
found justification in the example he shared in the Parable of the Pharisee and
the Tax Collector.[ii]
Works-based righteousness has been wrong since the beginning. Cain presumed on
the value of his personal works before God. Instead of nurturing a humble spirit,
he was filled with pride at the value of what he had done and trusted in the
fruit of those labors to secure justification.[iii] Instead of offering up
the prescribed sacrifice as his brother did, he offered up the works of his
hands. When he saw that his brother Abel’s offering was accepted, he became
enraged and killed him, demonstrating that works alone no matter how well
presented are no guarantor of the tenor of the heart. Unwilling to humbly seek
grace from God, he and many of his descendants turned from their creator and
walked away, generations later perishing in the deluge, still unwilling to come
to God for salvation. Sadly, many who are relying on their works to gain them
justification before God would be just as indignant as Cain if the reality of their
spiritual condition were to be exposed. Some of these may have even become pastors
and administrators, or in other denominations, priests and bishops. Others who,
like them, are unable to discern what lies in the deepest recesses of the heart
may have elevated them due to admiration of their outward display of good
works. With that elevation, pride, like a cancerous seed, may grow, and their
expectation of God can become skewed into an understanding that God grants them
special favor because of who and what they are, without regard to the sin that eats
at every soul.[iv]
Humility can morph into arrogance and a feeling that the blessings that God
bestows on all[v]
as being specially deserved in their case based on their behavior and even as
an endorsement by God of their spiritual perspective. It is not difficult to see
how such a belief can progress into unexpected areas like Prosperity Theology,
the belief that God rewards righteous behavior with material prosperity. But the
devil is well able to be the provider of prosperity and even offered effortless
prosperity to Jesus?[vi]
Wealth, position, and righteous acts do not save us. It is only the compassion
of God that providing grace to us through Jesus that accomplishes that. But
this can only happen if we recognize that we need it. Unfortunately, when we
see power, position, wealth and influence as endorsing our spirituality, we can
lose our ability to discern that need..
At this point, some may be feeling that they can readily identify who the
Pharisees are in our church, and maybe to some extent they can. They may have been
on the receiving end of the judgmental hostility of those who feel they have
arrived spiritually. Sadly, those who feel that their works have made them
examples of righteousness that have the right to become “fruit inspectors,”[vii] examining what everyone
else is doing and passing judgment on it. They may judge other church members
based on what they are wearing. The may judge the church pianist based on their
playing ability even though they themselves have never touched a keyboard. They
may judge the church pastor on their sermon delivery, even though they have
never taken any training themselves in public speaking. They simply know what
they like, and since God has favored them, he likes what they like. It is easy
to see what problems it can cause when such persons are elevated to positions
of authority within the church. Even if they are not promoted based on their
works, they may find access based on their wealth. Heavily contributing to
church projects and monthly operating costs can easily gain position and favor
in most denominations. Heedless of the division it can spawn, they then advance
their personal spiritual agenda as though it were the veritable voice of God.
Young people who have yearned for a more contemporary
worship style have often run up against Pharisaical intransigence. It is as
though they ran up against a brick wall with a huge sign on it that said, “Uniformity
is the price of admission here, and conformity to my perspective is the
definition of that uniformity.” How frustrating this must be for them. No one
knows how many have simply walked away from church when it is defined by the Pharisees.
Some have made the effort to establish their own congregations, but discovered
that they could not escape the Pharisees, for they came to the new
congregations as well. How could that be if the Pharisees did not like the music?
Why would they bother?
We can understand how that can happen as voiced by Walt
Kelly’s Pogo cartoon character who said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
No one is immune from the tendency toward Pharisaic perspectives. It is just as
easy to be a judgmental Pharisee with a perspective that prefers contemporary worship
styles as with any other style. So what is a person to do? Is there no escape?
Perhaps we can grow to believe that unity is not contraindicated by diversity.
We don’t have to be “cookie cutter” Christians to love one another and we can provide
an environment that nurtures every heart that loves God and loves others and
allows the diverse ways that such love can be expressed. We can allow the younger
members opportunities to share their developing creative talents, even if those
creative pathways are not ones we are used to. We can teach women that the
church has no glass ceiling separating them from the fullness of any calling
that God may draw them to. We can teach young people regardless of gender that
God does not call them to power and control but rather to humility and service.
These things may seem simple, but can be the hardest things we have ever done.
But they only happen when you and I make them real in our lives, not as a work
to prove we are more righteous about these things than others, but as an
expression of love, the same love God has expressed toward us.
