Living in Unity

 This is World Communion Sunday, a day when I like to remind my parishioners that we aren't the only Christian community in the world; and the more we know about people in other countries, the less likely that we are to stereotype them negatively. I hope that this sermon is a good reminder for you, too.

One of the sporting events that Fred and I look forward to every year is the Tour de France. It is the largest and arguably the most prestigious race in professional cycling. During three weeks in the summer, the cyclists travel over 2,000 miles all around France, over level ground and over mountains, finishing at last in Paris. This year’s Tour was one of the most exciting races in recent memory! 176 riders who rode for 22 professional bicycling teams took part in the race; and I’ll be happy to give you more details if you are interested.

Right now, though, I want to talk not about the race itself, but about the cyclists who rode in it. This year, they came from 30 different countries: from France, of course, but also from Australia and Israel, from Luxembourg and Russia, from Slovenia and Ireland, from South Africa and Spain, from Kazakhstan and Colombia. They often don’t speak one another’s language. Yet, they not only get along, they frequently become the best of friends. I heard a story about two men who competed together one year: one was from Denmark, the other from Sweden. Even though those two countries are located very close together geographically, they don’t speak the same language. These two cyclists, though, cobbled together their own language – a little bit of Danish and a little bit of Swedish – and understood one another very well. When they are racing, they are fierce competitors. Every man rides for his own team, hoping that they will win one of the prestigious prizes that are available. And every bicycle racer is not the same. Some of them are sprinters. These men can summon a tremendous burst of speed in the closing meters of each day’s stage to win the daily race even before the entire race is decided. Others are climbers. They lead the way up the mountains, riding up inclines that I might not even attempt to walk! They all have something in common, though – their life is bicycling; and their lives are organized around their health, their physical condition, and how well they can perform on their bicycle. Although they are from different nations and have different skills, they understand one another very well. They have the same priorities in their lives; and they have the same goals.

Maybe you’ve guessed where I’m going with this on this World Communion Sunday. Those bicyclists are not all that different from we Christians who come from all over the world. We live in very different places; and we don’t speak the same language. We come from different cultures; and we have very different backgrounds. Even here in the United States, although we may speak the same language, people who were born in New Hampshire, California, and Alabama will have grown up very differently. But we’re all on the same team, and we have the same goal: all of us are trying to follow Jesus Christ the very best that we can.

The reality is, though, that we often don’t get along very well. It is so tempting to believe that our way to be Christians is the only way, especially in this day when we are suspicious of one another, and mistrustful of people who are from other countries. There’s a lot of stereotyping going on, and it’s easy to buy into it. We’ve all heard untruths about foreigners. We’ve heard that Mexicans are lazy; the French are rude; Colombians are drug dealers; Russians are religion-hating Communists; and all immigrants, no matter where they are from, want to come to this country to take our jobs. But these stereotypes only divide us in a time when we need to be united! Mark Twain once said that “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”  And, indeed, the more that I travel, the more that I learn that people are people everywhere. They love their children; they are proud of their accomplishments; and they want to make their lives better.

The Christians that I have met are just like we are, too. They are trying to follow Jesus as best they can in a world that is often hostile. I met families in Russia who had a space set aside in their homes for religious icons, despite the old Communist policy that outlawed Christianity; and many had continued to attend small local churches throughout the Communist era. I met people in Denmark who told stories of caring for the property of their Jewish neighbors during World War II when those neighbors were carted off by the Nazis. They kept that property in pristine shape, because they wanted to be both good neighbors and good Christians. And I visited a church in Scotland that has hosted both Roman Catholic and Reformed worship during its 700-year history, and has witnessed both violence and reconciliation between those two factions of the Christian faith. I have been inspired by all of it! I know that there are good Christians all over the world, because I have met some of them!

Now, you might not be able to travel. Some of us can’t, for physical or financial reasons, or just because traveling may not be appealing. But I encourage you to learn about the people of other countries. There are plenty of TV channels that highlight life in other countries if you can’t go there yourself. You’ll find out how similar we really are, even though we are different in many ways! Whether we realize it or not, we are a global community of faith; and we need to care for each other even as we care for the world around us. “How good and pleasant it is,” says Psalm 133, “when brothers and sisters live together in unity.” On this day when Christians all over the world will celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, I invite you to pray that one day, the unity for which we yearn will be not just a dream, but a reality.