Psalm 133:1-3 Look, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew from Hermon running down on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commands this blessing: life to eternity.
“Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:3,4). Amen.
You may have noticed that there has been a little division in our nation lately. Masks, mandates, executive orders, race relations, protests, riots, Afghanistan, abortion, inflation, our southern border, and more. These are serious topics with no easy solutions. But it seems like no one can calmly talk to each other anymore. It is all shouting. Very little listening. And if you don’t agree with someone, suddenly that means you are in opposition to them. There doesn’t seem to be any room for middle ground, discussion, debate or differing ideas.
There can also be disagreements in a church. Those disagreements can lead to division and disunity. Common issues in almost any church can be finances, repairs, time, ministry goals … and more finances.
In my 25 years in the ministry at two churches in Kentucky and Wisconsin, I have witnessed disagreements and long discussions on times of worship services, using a screen in the sanctuary, and switching hymnals. In Kentucky there was a lot of discussion in our mission church about remaining in our rented storefront or building a brand-new church building. Recently, we had a lot of discussion about remaining two separate churches of Epiphany and New Hope or combining to become Water of Life.
If you’ve been involved in any church, you know that the one issue that seems to affect any church of any size or denomination is … the color of the carpet.
All of these are important items to discuss and debate. But we need to remember that these are only important for the short term. Do any of them ultimately have any bearing on eternity? If not, then why do we let ourselves get so upset about them?
These items are important to discuss and debate. But too often the devil loves to use them to divide. He pits one idea against another; one person against another; one group against another. Suddenly, there is division all over the place. Harsh words. Grumpy attitudes. Hard feelings. An unhealthy church.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this should not be.
The good news is that all these divisions can be solved with beard oil! … Yes, beard oil!
Last year for Christmas, my lovely bride gave me a beard comb, beard conditioner and bear oil. She really likes a nice, shiny, aromatic beard. … Who doesn’t?!
I know this sounds weird. But it also sounds biblical. Listen again to King David’s words in Psalm 133. “Look, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like the precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes.” David compares the blessing of unity to oil that is poured on the head of the priests, runs down their beards, over their collars and into their robes.
The recipe for this special oil is given in Scripture. God gave the people of Israel detailed instructions concerning the oil to be used in consecrating the tabernacle that was used for worship, its utensils and furnishings, and the anointing of the high priest Aaron and his sons. The list of ingredients called for liquid myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, aromatic cane, cassia and olive oil – all in measured amounts. It was a sacred, precious oil, never to be poured on the body of an “ordinary person” (Exodus 30:23-33). This sacred, sweet-smelling oil was not to be replicated for common use. Why not? God wanted his people to smell this sweet, distinctive aroma of the priests. This was an oil and an aroma that was reserved for the blessing of all God’s people uniting with one another for worship.
Centuries after this beard oil was introduced for worship, King David uses it as a picture of the beauty of believers uniting together in worship. David wrote Psalm 133 as a psalm of ascents. This means that the people of Israel would sing this psalm as they came from all directions walking up the hill to worship at the tabernacle in Jerusalem.
Imagine David sitting on the highest point in Jerusalem. He is on the rooftop of his palace watching the procession of tens of thousands of people walking and singing in unison as they are coming to the tabernacle to celebrate another of God’s holy days. They are anticipating God’s deliverance. They are sacrificing for their sins. They are thanking God for his protection. They are praising God for his forgiveness.
And David can’t control himself. “Look, how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”
The music we’re enjoying for worship today is amazing. Children, choir, soloists, ensembles, congregation, various instruments. Even the sounds of nature and traffic. But we are only several hundred voices. Imagine tens of thousands of voices. Jaw-dropping beauty. Joy-inducing music. Brothers and sisters in the Lord singing in unison. Like David found out, this is a beauty in sight and sound and smell that is specifically reserved for worship.
Where does this unity come from? What is it based upon?
As we well know, unity can be elusive. Elusive in our family. Elusive in the workplace. Certainly elusive in society. And – unfortunately – it can even be elusive within the church.
This can lead us to becoming cynical and hopeless to ever again become the “United” States of America – uniting like we did on September 12 twenty years ago. But unity within the Christian Church is different and unique. That’s because we don’t unite based on politics, ideas, geography, skin color, language or any other worldly way of identity.
Our unity is based on God’s work to unite us to himself. He overcomes the division our sin created between him and us. Greater than any division we feel with others, there is a massive divide that sin caused between our holy Creator and his fallen creatures.
On the night before he died, Jesus prayed for unity among his disciples of all ages. He prayed to his Father, “May they become completely one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (John 17:23).
Jesus not only prayed for unity – he also re-established this long-lost unity between sinful people and our holy God. Jesus went to the cross to pay for the sins of all our prejudices and pride, our selfishness and arrogance, our refusal to listen to the needs of others, while only promoting our own opinions. Jesus took all of these on himself on the cross. He prayed for reconciliation, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” He won that reconciliation when he cried out with his dying breath, “It is finished!”
Jesus died our death. He paid our price. He endured God’s wrath. He did all this so we could once again be united with our God. Become his children. Be called his saints.
Now that Jesus has united us to God, he then works to unite us to one another as God’s children.
We are blessed to now be Water of Life Lutheran Church. But it isn’t a name that unites us as one church in two locations. It is much deeper than that. We are united and anointed – but not with oil. We have been anointed by Water, Word and the Spirit in Baptism. “For by one Spirit we all were baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free people, and we were all caused to drink one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The individual members of the Christian Church are put together in one body in Christ. God arranges us in this body for the good for all. As members in this unified body, we care for one another with the self-sacrificing love and care that Christ our Head has for us. We suffer with each other. We pray for one another. We encourage one another. We support one another … Even if we don’t always agree with each other or even always like each other.
This is a unity that we enjoy only in the Christian Church. This is a unique unity we have especially here at Water of Life, at Wisconsin Lutheran School, at Shoreland Lutheran High School, and in our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
This unity is based on a shared faith in the doctrines of God’s Word. God’s Word that gives us the forgiveness of sins in Christ’s death and resurrection. God’s Word that is poured over our heads in the waters of Baptism. God’s Word that is combined with the bread and wine to give us new life in the Lord’s Supper. God’s Word that unites us as God’s children so we can pray together today, “Our Father in heaven …”
By giving us these words of “Our Father,” Jesus invites us to recognize the everyday reality and blessing of being a part of the Holy Christian Church, to be a member of God’s family, and to belong to Water of Life Lutheran Church.
When our Lord allows us to address him as “Our Father,” let us remember that we have been called to part of a holy community. He did not call us to remain in isolation but placed each of us somewhere in the body of Christ, along with every other believer in Jesus through the world in every age. We ask for God’s grace to set aside our petty differences, our ego trips, our stung prides, and our self-important attitudes. We also ask for God’s grace to grow as a team, work as a team, worship as a team, to weep and laugh and live as a team. May God grant us the wisdom and strength and humility to partner with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are seen and unseen by us today. So that we may work together in unity grow God’s Kingdom here in Caledonia, in Racine and beyond.
We thank God for today because this is the first real opportunity to celebrate this unity with this special outdoor Unity Sunday worship service. We pray to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that as they are united in one Holy Trinity, they will also continue to bless the unity they have established in us to become Water of Life Lutheran Church.
We express this unity with worship, work, prayer and service … and maybe even some beard oil. Amen.
“There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all” (Ephesians 4:5,6). Amen.