Born in Carthage under the Roman Empire, the early church father Tertullian wrote a famous description of how the Church was viewed by the world of his day. This was many years before Emperor Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire, so there was no prominence attached to being a follower of Christ. Churches were small, often meeting in homes, and suffered regular and, at times, extreme persecution. Yet, there remained something about the Christians which intrigued the masses, something that stood out. Tertullian puts it this way, “It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. ‘See,’ they say, ‘how they love one another,’ for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. ‘See,’ they say about us, ‘how they are ready even to die for one another,’ for they themselves would sooner kill.”
See how they love one another. Love is the early hallmark of the people of God. But to love, especially the love Tertullian is speaking about, is far more difficult than it may seem from the outside. What we will be examining today is how love flows from the Word of God, and such love is encapsulated in God’s Law and Gospel. It is far more than an emotion or a desire for peace at all costs. In fact, such love may cost you everything. Love is the Law of God, the word that is for correction and rebuke, the word that declares sin to be sin, the word that no one wants to hear. Yet, this too is love. So, love is also the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, the word of hope and salvation outside of ourselves. Love is forgiveness and mercy when we are backed into a corner with no way to go forward on our own.
To love by the Word is the heart of our life together. God’s Law and Gospel collide with our lives over and over again. This brings repentance and assurance of salvation, and from that flows love. It is a love which ought to be visible to the world around us, a love that unites us together, binding us to one another. As Saint Paul famously said, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
In John 17, we are invited to listen as Jesus prays to His Father. It is a prayer for those who believe in His name, a prayer for the Church, a prayer for you. What a joy it is to read this prayer, to hear our Lord making intercessions for us as He knows the dangers and obstacles that will come. The central theme of His prayer is our unity. He says, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in us…” This unity is grounded in the Word, the Word which the disciples received, the Word they proclaimed, the Word you and I hold fast to this very day.
Our unity is not created or maintained by cultural norms, familial ties, convenience, or a particular appetite. No, it is the Word of truth that shapes and establishes the unity of the Church. But when we look around, when we take in the whole scene of the visible Church on earth, “unity” may not be the word we use to describe it. Factions, sects, and divisions overflow on the smorgasbord of options for a modern-day Christian. Now, some are easily understood. In some churches, the Word of Truth is not the only source of a particular denomination’s claims. Some buttress the Word with the traditions of men or the magisterium of the ancient orders. Others place the Word on the same level as the emotive expression of the Spirit in the lives of the believers. It is difficult to find unity where there is no agreement on what such unity is to be based on.
But even within a particular congregation, there are challenges to our unity. For we here today are not a monolith. We are a gathering of broken and sinful people with different backgrounds, different habits, and different desires. Some of you have hurts others will never know, while others are battling addictions and can barely make it through from week to week. We get accustomed to retreating into ourselves, even walling ourselves off from others, not wanting to risk being hurt again. We are reticent to be forgiving people, as we secretly desire our own little bit of glory, our own victories, even if it comes at the cost of someone else. We will easily identify ourselves more quickly with a political party than as brothers and sisters in Christ.
But there is hope. More than hope, there is the ongoing work and gifts of our Lord who prays for His Church. Through Him, week in and week out, the Word of Truth continues to create the perfect unity among the people of God. You see, we usually think about church in terms of what we each get out of it. But consider for a moment what the Word does to us when we gather together. We begin our service by being exposed to the Law of God. We do not come here as individuals, cashing in on how well we have performed. No, we are all sinners held accountable. Therefore, we all confess together that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and left undone. We confess we all deserve wrath and punishment. No one stands higher than another. All are sinful and born unclean. And then all are blessed together as you are forgiven in the blood of the Lamb, redeemed only by His work and love for you.
So, together we hear Jesus’ Word anew, and as brothers and sisters we hold fast to the Word of Truth that declares to you forgiveness and welcome in the merciful love of God. And then, we gather together, kneeling side by side at the table of our Lord. This is not just about you, about what you are receiving, it is also about the fellowship which God has called you into. It is about the unity of the faithful. Here, the one who prays for your unity comes into it, strengthening and emboldening you as you eat and drink the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus prays, “I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” And here in these gifts, this work is fulfilled. Let us then rejoice in this unity. Let us shake off the passions and shackles of a dying world and stand in the unity of the Word. Our God is faithful. He will not forsake His children. So, let the world marvel at how we love one another.
