A Lesson In Unity

Have you ever experienced the power of working together in unity? I ran across this inspirational story on the internet about this very idea. The following is an abridged version of Fred Walker’s story, Jump Out of Your Boat.

“There were five flounders in the box, the water was clear, and the sun was shining. It was a hot July day off the coast of New Jersey. This was one of those rare days when the water of the Atlantic Ocean was filling the bay with an incoming tide of crystal clear, almost Caribbean blue seawater. Life was good. That day my Dad and I were fishing in a deep hole on the back side of a sand bar, off of the main channel.

Navigating the waters near the inlet is a little tricky, and all of the local boaters know that there are a lot of sandbars, shoals, and shallow areas outside of the marked channels. For the unfamiliar, or unobservant boater, the shallows are traps that cause many to run aground, putting a cloud over even the sunniest of days.

Just then, I saw a Bayliner coming toward us. "I guess this looks like a good spot to fish so here he comes" I thought to myself. Then it occurred to me "I wonder if he can see that sand bar,” for between he and us was about 14 inches of water on a 20 foot wide sandbar, and the tide was going to change very soon, making it even less.

Keep in mind, the Bayliner is a fiberglass boat that is more of a floating camper in my opinion that weighs several tons out of water. With all of the comforts of home below, and very little deck space topside, these are luxury vessels, not fishing boats. The hull on this particular boat probably ran about 36 inches deep, and if the skipper didn't turn soon, they were going to become one with the sandbar.

The skipper didn't turn. They ran squarely aground at about 20 knots. We could hear the grinding of the engine as they dug themselves in deep on that sand bar. The boat listed to the port side as it came to rest, gleaming in the sun.

After a minute or two of reversing his engine and using the prop to dig a hole in the sand, the skipper got out and surveyed the situation. He tried to push the boat, but one person wasn't going to budge that hull. Finally, the other two guys onboard came out to help him. We watched as they argued and screamed and pushed and examined the boat. They looked like the three stooges out there, working against each other, and it was amusing to watch. I was certain they needed some help, so I told my Dad to bring our boat up to the sandbar, and I jumped out. Now we had the four stooges.

A strange thing happened next. Soon, another boat pulled up with two more volunteers, than another, and another. Now we had a crew, with 12 or 15 people we had a chance of making a difference for these folks if we could only achieve unity and work together. We had to work fast because when the tide changed in an hour or so this bayliner was going to be high and dry.

Somehow, I got elected Forman on this job (the result of being there first I am sure), and after some convincing, I persuaded everyone to adapt my idea on how to get the boat off of the sand bar. To move the boat we had to use the tide to our favor. With 14 inches or so of water the Bayliner still had a little buoyancy. I had the skipper and one of his buddies go onboard. Directed to sit on the stern of the boat the two guys onboard worked as counter weights making the bow come up a little. The rest of us put our shoulders against the bow and pushed like a football team on a blocking sled. The bow moved, a foot or so. At last, with a final shove, the vessel was afloat in the deep hole that we had earlier been fishing in, on the back side of the sandbar. We were all “high-fiving” each other, and celebrating our accomplishment when the skipper shouted from his boat "hey you guys is there anything I can do for you?" For a moment no one said a word, but then I shouted back, “remember the power of unity next time you see someone stuck and in need of help!”

Indeed, we had pulled together on that sandbar that day in July. With a common goal, some creativity, and collective strength we accomplished something that was impossible for any of us to have done working as individuals. It’s amazing to think how much can be done when people are unified for a common purpose.”

As we read John 17, we find the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to His Father about the coming hours that would ultimately be his last. Yet, with all the peril that awaited him, the one thing most pressing on his consciousness was his disciples and their ability to stay strong after his death. As Jesus pray for unity, we see true unfettered heart of the Messiah humbled before the Father. His prayer extended not only to those with him whom he loved, but to his Church today.

In your worship this week, contemplate the idea of unity and what it is to work together for a common goal. Conceptualize what it would be for this church to work in tandem, as those boaters did in the above story, to move a mountainous object in comparison to themselves. Meditate on Jesus words as he pleads for those who would come after him to show that same type of unity as, together, they move the world closer and closer to a full knowledge of him.

Resounding Themes:

The Oneness of God
Unity
Christ’s Reign Over Our Lives
Common Cmmunion

Getting READY to Worship

Ready, Set, READ

John 17

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- After reading the entire prayer, what strikes you the most about it? What do we learn about the relationship between Jesus and God? What specific power that Jesus cites has been given him? What, indeed, is eternal life?

- Before Jesus prays for the world at large, he interceded specifically for the disciples. Why? Why does Jesus seem to be praying this very intimate prayer directly in front of the disciples? Besides Jesus’ death, what is coming for the disciples in the future?

- After begging the Father for “his own,’ he next prays for the entire world – that they might know God. How is this idea different than the world had ever known prior to Jesus?

- What analogy does Jesus cite over and over to reinforce his desire for his disciples? The Church? The world? In the end, why is unity so important? What dies Jesus imply that can be gained by operating in unity with one another?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Righteous Father! It is our prayer that we all be one in Christ Jesus, just as You are one. Our desire is for a relationship strong with You that the whole world will see and know that Your love is upon us. We pray that we remain strong in the face adversity – clinging to Jesus and each other as our source of strength. God, we know that opposition will come, and that there will be times when our unity will be fractured against one another. Father, in such times, would You mend our brokenness and restore to us the joy of Your salvation, that our witness might be strong and visible and unwavering.

Lord God, we know that Your fullness is Your Oneness. For in Your fullness You offered Your Son and left the deposit of Your Spirit. Yet, in Your Oneness, You remain the faithful God – unchanging and ever-present. In that power, shore-up this Church for the tasks that lay ahead, the we might bring others to a fuller awareness of You, and that we all might be with Jesus, our Savior. In him wee pray and find our unity.

AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!