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You can see Paul’s urgent message for the Corinthians:
Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose. (1 Corinthians 1:10)
Paul is appealing for unity in the community. We can see that the community is divided.
For it has been made clear to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12)
In the Corinthian church, people were choosing sides. Factions were forming.
In the world today, countries are deciding who to align with. Which large country will we make deals with? Which countries will we partner with?
For a long time, Canada was intimately tied with the United States.
We cleaved ourselves to the world order they created.
But as we heard in a speech by our Prime Minister, that world order has been ruptured.
A relationship that was once close has fractured. Our relationship with the United States was never perfect. There have been many things we disagreed with. But it was nonetheless a warm relationship.
When 9/11 hit, Canada poured out its support with genuine feeling. But much of that warm feeling has gone away.
We may have to do what they say out of necessity for our survival, but much of that trust and warm feeling has gone away.
So I realized: true unity is only possible when there is amity – real feelings of friendship. Togetherness. Same mind and purpose.
At Paul’s church in Corinth, instead of that amity, you can see hostility and division.
We need relationships to function, but our experience is that real unity rooted in amity is so difficult. In marriages, friendships, co-workers, bosses, employees, even in church; In any place human beings gather, genuine amity is rare.
Instead of amity, you find relationships marked by enmity and hostility. People might keep the peace on the surface, but inside there is a distance. A coldness, an inner hostility.
Right now, we see a world divided by contempt and hostility.
When a powerful world leader speaks with contempt on weaker countries, it breeds hostility and resentment.
What is the answer to this predicament?
For St. Paul, the answer was the cross.
Jesus was crucified just like many other criminals in the Roman Empire, but in Jesus’ crucifixion, Paul saw something different.
This is what he saw in the cross of Jesus:
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us… that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. (Ephesians 2:14-16)
The cross puts to death hostility that divides us. The cross reconciles us with God and one another. The cross creates one new humanity in the place of two.
The cross brings unity.
What did Jesus do on the cross that makes unity possible?
He forgave.
This is what he said on the cross:
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34)
Jesus removed hostility by forgiving. The power of the cross is the power of forgiveness.
Forgiveness is the key to turning enmity into amity. It is what makes reconciliation possible.
Jesus was hurt by his rejection. He was hurt by the betrayal of those closest to him. The cross was a crushing, disappointing end to what began with so much hope.
But Jesus did not let that hurt control him.
Instead, he could see people’s hearts clearly – they did not know what they were doing. Instead of anger and bitterness, he felt compassion for his enemies. He asked God to forgive them.
If you don’t treat a wound, it gets infected. That infection spreads and affects other parts of the body. If you don’t treat it, then your whole body is at risk.
When you are hurt by others, your heart is wounded. If the wounded heart is not treated, it gets infected with hostility.
When your heart is infected with hostility, it affects all of your relationships. You perceive everything through your wounded heart. Everything is a slight or offence. Whatever people around you do stirs up that hostility within you.
A wounded heart that goes untreated creates enmity in your relationships.
Hostility breeds more hostility. It creates a bad cycle that creates further division.
The only thing that can break the cycle of hostility is the power of forgiveness.
When you have that power, you can break the cycle. You can begin a new course. You can create a new history.
Jesus had the power of forgiveness. On the cross, he broke the cycle of hostility. He absorbed the world’s hostility and put it to death through forgiveness. He charted a new course for humanity.
That is the gospel. We were enemies of God. Our hostility controlled us. It led us deeper into sin. We were headed toward destruction.
But Jesus forgave us on the cross. He broke the power and cycle of hostility in us. He opened the door to a new path for us.
Through his blood, we are healed and freed from our sins and hostility.
When you have experienced true forgiveness, your hostility breaks down. When you experience grace, you see the errors of your ways. You repent. You seek change.
Your own heart becomes more forgiving. From a forgiving heart comes more grace. Grace for yourself and grace for others.
A forgiving heart becomes the power to break the cycle of hostility. It opens the door to a new way forward. True unity becomes possible.
Paul said that anyone in Christ is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. The old is the hostile heart filled with enmity. The new creation is a forgiving heart that has grace for others.
Jesus said that anyone who wishes to follow him must carry their cross and follow him. The cross we carry is the cross of forgiveness. Forgiving others is our calling.
It is not something we can do on our own. When you’ve been hurt, forgiving others is the hardest thing to do.
It is the Holy Spirit who gives you the power to forgive.
The world we live in is filled with enmity. We can feel the hostility everywhere we go.
We need a new way forward.
We need the power of forgiveness to heal the hostility that is within us and around us.
To the world, the message of the cross is foolishness. Forgiving others looks weak in the eyes of the world.
But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. We know that having a forgiving heart is true strength.
Forgiving others doesn’t mean you turn a blind eye to injustice. In fact, it is quite the opposite.
You can look at injustice clearly. You can diagnose what is wrong with a clear mind and heart. You are not driven by emotions of hostility and a desire for revenge. You are seeking justice without resorting to the hate that others have.
That is the kind of justice that Martin Luther King Jr practiced.
This past Monday was Martin Luther King Jr Day. His philosophy of nonviolence was rooted in the message of the cross.
He was able to fight for justice without a heart filled with hostility and enmity.
He never saw white people as enemies. He saw them as brothers and sisters in need of curing from the disease of racism.
He had the power of forgiveness in him that opened a door to reconciliation. We need more of that power in our lives.
The power of forgiveness will mend your relationships. It will make you a more gracious person. It will give you more peace and happiness.
When Jesus appeared to his disciples behind the locked doors, this is what he said to them:
Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. (John 20:22-23)
The Holy Spirit gave his disciples the power to forgive.
Everyday, we should pray for the power of forgiveness. Everyday, we should strive to be people who can forgive others.
That is true strength.
When you receive the Holy Spirit, then true unity will be possible.
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