Psalm 133: 1-3

In this sermon commentary I suggested that there is an evil power at work in the universe that has a vested interest in wrecking the unity among God’s people in the church. Unsurprisingly that put me in mind to recall the C.S. Lewis classic work The Screwtape Letters in which senior demon Screwtape writes letters of advice to the junior demon Wormwood. The letters are mostly a primer in the art of temptation. Here is a passage that gets at some of what was discussed regarding Psalm 133 in this commentary in terms of how we are tempted to take on attitudes toward the church that would more than tug a bit at our sense of unity with others. Regarding the Christian whom Wormwood is assigned to tempt (the Christian is referred to as the “patient”): “Make his mind flit between things like ‘the Body of Christ’ and the actual person sitting next to him in the pew. Provided any of his neighbors sing out of tune or have boots that squeak or have double chins or odd clothes, the patient will easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous. [Keep him from thinking] ‘Well, if I can be a Christian with all my foibles, why not these others?’”

If Psalm 133 sings the blessings of familial, ecclesiastical, and national unity, the current divisions in the United States show the curse of disunity. This country is under more danger from disunity than it is from North Korea and Russia and China put together. They might bluster and plot, but if we don’t come together, we’ll destroy ourselves. As Lincoln so trenchantly put it, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” He was, of course, quoting Jesus in Mark 3:25. How can God bless American or your church when we don’t live in unity?

The clearest illustration of the unity spoken of in Psalm 133 was seen in the earliest days of the Christian church, according to Acts 2:44-47. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” And, listen to this fulfillment of Psalm 133 and John 17 in response to their unity. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Alas, this unity continued only a little while. It was broken when self-centeredness reared its ugly head in the greedy lying of Ananias and Sapphira and the bickering of the ethnically divided widows (Acts 5 and 6)...

If Psalm 133 sings the blessings of familial, ecclesiastical, and national unity, the current divisions in the leadership of the United States show the curse of disunity. I’m writing this as the whole U.S. government has shut down because brothers and sisters can’t/won’t live together. This great country is under more danger from disunity than it is from North Korea and Russia and China put together. They might bluster and plot, but if we don’t come together, we’ll destroy ourselves. As Lincoln so trenchantly put it, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” He was, of course, quoting Jesus in Mark 3:25. How can God bless American or your church when we don’t live in unity?

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