Daily Less for April 14, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from John chapter 17 verses 20 and 21:

‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.'

In September in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent events of the Black Lives Matter summer I wrote a letter to the our Board of Deacons at Broadway calling for the establishment of a new Church council to address the systemic issues and sins which have historically divided the body of Christ even in our own congregation and work towards a more whole and complete unity within our Church. The following is an excerpt from that letter:

"The Broadway mission is to 'share in Christ’s work of reconciling the world to God.' We are also called to the work of reconciliation with one another. To that end, I am requesting that a special ACT Committee be formed, with the express purposes of studying, identifying, and developing a vision relative to the acronym ACT: Acknowledge, Confess, and Transform. I ask that the ACT Committee be charged with helping both the members and institution of Broadway to acknowledge our histories of both confrontation with and also complicity in the personal and societal sins of racism, segregation, white supremacy, and other forms of prejudice and/or exclusion, including discrimination relative to gender, sexual orientation, and denominational affiliation. The purpose of this Committee is to give a broad account of the history and harm which has been done by our individual and corporate support of what Ephesians calls 'the dividing wall' of separation (Eph. 2:14), and a greater recognition of the Spirit’s ongoing work of dismantling that wall in our personal and congregational lives, thus bringing about greater healing and wholeness for ourselves and our Church, and helping us all to 'reach unity in the faith . . . and attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ' (Eph 4:13).

The Body of Christ must not be divided. For Christ is not divided. Christ is One with God and we are called to be one with God and one another in Christ. This is not easy, but it is the work to which we are called. For the Church is called to the full inclusion and reconciliation of all people everywhere.

11am on Sunday is still the most racially segregated hour in America. This is a shame with a history. 11am Sunday is also segregated in many other ways as well. This too is a shame with history. Our task is to understand those histories and do the the difficult work of undoing their harm.

There were many things Jesus could have prayed for on that last night of His life. He chose to pray for our unity.

It's up to us to put feet to those prayers. In other words, it's up to us to do the hard, and systemic work to do what it takes to be one together in God in Christ.

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church.