So, 

I don’t know if you have been paying attention to the craziness that is our political world. Folks on the right and left are about as estranged as they were before and during the Civil War talking about the abolition of slavery.

Anger, frustration, suspicion, even some folks advocating violence against people who think differently than they do. Friendship have been lost and some families split over how to do what different people think is the way to do American life. 

It is what conflict management people would, I think, rank as at least level 4 or 5 conflict, where the lines are drawn and you are either in our group or not and where everything that is wrong in the world is the other teams fault. BTW, there is nothing after level 5. 

These kinds of conflicts often happen in families, businesses, and even churches, because we are no longer willing to recognize that what holds us together is more important than what separates us!

It is a choice of the will. What I believe is more important or “more right” than what you believe. And so, I can no longer love you or respect you. 

And that where we find ourselves today when we open the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians!

Keep in mind, the Corinthian church to which Paul is writing is one he founded (the story is in Acts 18:1-11). 
Corinth, though a city in Greece, was actual a Roman city, because the Romans had destroyed the Greek city, killed or enslaved its inhabitants and destroyed its buildings!

It was then resettled as a Roman city almost 100 years later by orders of Julius Caesar and populated by former slaves, or freedmen, who were given the right to even be its mayor.

It was also settled by merchants who saw the city’s remarkable economic opportunity an amazing port set right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea set as it was right between east and west in the Roman Empire.

But this church was being torn apart by conflict, conflict that was creating different teams of Christians who were more concerned about who they were as opposed to; more concerned about who “they” were, as opposed to the “others”!

They were more concerned about their differences than they were about the gospel.

Rather than being in communion with each other, that is in a community that was focused on sharing the good news of Jesus death and resurrection, they were picking sides.

But for Paul, understanding and living the gospel was everything! 

And understanding that we together are the body of Christ and all part of it - as Paul pointed out in last week’s reading in 1 Corinthians 12:12-19 - meant that separating into teams was as non-sensical in Paul’s head as the ear saying it is not part of the body because it isn’t an eye.

Paul stresses, the body needs all of its parts, even those who may feel like they are less important. The body needs all of its parts because the mission of the church is everything in the Kingdom of God!

The body needs all of its parts, even those parts that perhaps some of us  have decided are not part of the body because they are not like us, don’t think like us, don’t understand things the same way, are not the same color, don’t speak the same language, are slaves or free, male or female, city dwellers or country folk. Even if they are democrats or republicans.

Because we are a community. We are a communion. We are a people. 

We are the baptized!

Paul is not arguing that we can’t disagree, because we can, we do, and we will!

But as I have shared before there is creative conflict, what the conflict management people would call level 1 & 2 conflict. Conflict, or differences of opinion that result in thinking outside the box, coming up with new ideas, looking forward at the opportunities as opposed to stressing over what has changed.

To be clear we should celebrate what is in our past that is joyous, refreshing, and gives us hope. And we should learn from our mistakes and do what we need to so that we do not repeat our mistakes. We do not need to repeat our bad judgment, our prejudices, our marginalization of women, people of color, and so many more.

Because the body of Christ is amazingly diverse!

As Paul makes clear, the body of Christ is made up of slaves and free, Greeks and barbarians, Gentiles and Jews, men and women, to which we add abled and disabled, those who speak English and the billions of folks who don’t, and every other person God has created. 

Conflict in community can make us better when that conflict allows us to speak truth in love to each other, especially when the love is so remarkably evident that even the most prickly of friends in the faith feel compelled by love to listen with open hearts.

Because….

And this is essential…

In order to bring others into a loving relationship with Jesus…

We must be able to work together, listen to each other, set our deeply cherished rights aside and consider for a moment whether there is a more excellent way to reach out with God’s love.

But in order to dream about our church dreams, we need to understand we are all on the same team. 

As Paul says, “Has Christ been divided up?” 

No!

Not if we his followers can help it. 

So, remember, we are all in this together, because, we are the baptized!

Amen!