In one of his most famous sermons, “Catholic Spirit,” John Wesley wrote, “Though we can’t think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may.”
Wesley lived in a very divided England, a country recovering from years of religious and political upheaval and with a great gulf between rich and poor. He was calling his hearers to listen to those with whom they disagreed and to focus on what they shared in common. He was teaching them (and us!) to build bridges rather than walls.
The word catholic is a bit confusing to some, but in this context it simply means “universal.” It conveys the sense that the church, the Body of Christ, is made up not only of people who are in my denomination or tribe but of all who call upon the name of Christ, even if they disagree on this or that point of doctrine.
The twenty-first century is as polarized as eighteenth-century England. We’re not Tories and Whigs, conformists and dissenters, Anglicans and Puritans; we’re Republicans and Democrats, fundamentalists and progressives, liberals and conservatives. Yet divisiveness and conflict drain us of our spiritual vitality and leave many today longing for a different approach, an approach like Wesley’s catholic spirit.
How do we do embrace or approach division today?
Paul described it when he admonished the believers in Philippi, who themselves were divided, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:3).
The Apostle Paul to the Christians at Corinth, who were deeply divided, noted that love was the defining characteristic of Christian life, and then he went on to describe the character of Christian love: “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
Please join us in worship this Sunday as we continue a sermon series titled, “Be Still and Know.” Our subtitle this week is “In Times of Division.” I look forward to sharing a message from the Gospel of John 17: 6-23.
Blessings,
Pastor Dave