Thought for Today
Genesis 10:25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.
Psalm 78:13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.
Mark 3:24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
Luke 12:52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;
This election year, most of us have been repeatedly confronted with the reality that we live in a nation divided. Last evening, I was confronted with an even deeper, wider division dividing much of our world into 2 different camps.
Sometime in the deep, dark, musty corridors of the history of computing (shortly after Peleg and Joktan?), the world was divided between PCs and MACs. “Both PC and Mac are personal computing devices, they differ in their origins, operating systems, software compatibility, manufacturing, and price points.” (https://www.difference.wiki/pc-vs-mac/) Last night, I was part of an online meeting dealing with how to post on our church’s website. Half of us were on PCs, half on MACs. Additionally, most were familiar with and using a particular web browser. I rarely use that browser, but I did open the meeting on that browser.
If you have ever been in a similar situation, you know that the original choice to take computer development down 2 differing paths has created a great divide. The gulf between PC and MAC rivals that between Israelite and Samaritan, Roman and Visigoth, Catholic and Protestant. We can all talk to each other; we can all be in meetings online together, but we will experience irreconcilable differences in the experience! Was Mark prescient in his words? Can the kingdom of computing not stand?
If you are reading this, you are almost assuredly using some sort of computer, smart phone or tablet. Versions of all of these exist on both sides of the divide. Some of us straddle the divide, I have a PC computer, an Apple smart phone and an iPad. I regularly use all 3. Although I have tried, have googled how to do it and followed all of the ‘guaranteed’ ways to do so, I have never successfully shared my calendar among all 3. Some gulfs cannot be bridged.
I wonder, is Christendom fated not to stand? Are we irrevocably doomed to eventually fall because of our divisions? Look around your own world. Christianity is divided into at least 3 major divisions: Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox. Each of those is further divided into various denominations. The divisions are now firmly fixed and long standing. Catholic and Orthodox separated July 16, 1054. Pope Leo IX excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople, Cerularius. Cerularius burned the papal bull and declared Pope Leo IX’s chief advisor, Cardinal Humbert a heretic. Catholics and Protestants irrevocably split on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the All Saints' Church and other churches in Wittenberg, Germany. At times, ever since, it seems as though Protestantism fractures almost daily.
Yet, almost all Christians accept and believe that first line of the Apostles’ Creed: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. We just can’t seem to agree on the details of exactly what that all means. We fuss, fume and separate over the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We split over how and when to take communion and over exactly what is going on when we do. We are divided over how to govern ourselves, over who is in charge and who has power.
And, of course, here in the U.S.A., we are divided over separation of church and state. I am old enough to remember when, in elementary school we were led each morning in the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Some days led by Catholics, some days led by Protestants and some days led by Jews. Yet, the world moved on, our nation survived.
Maybe it’s time we all just took a deep breath, reflected on that beginning sentence in the Apostles’ Creed and united in our belief in Jesus and his teachings to “Luke 10:27 love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Stay safe, love each other, trust God,
Pastor Ray