Scripture: Ephesians 4:13
Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, capsule attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Thought for the Day: This is one of those passages of Scripture that is often taken out of context. Paul wrote this, physician like so many of his letters in order to keep the fledgling churches on track with Paul’s understanding of Jesus the Christ. For Paul, see Jesus is the message. It’s about God’s activity in Jesus, most importantly for Paul the death and resurrection. If his churches began to sway from this message, they faced Paul’s admonishment.

However, then as now many Christians placed more authority in what Jesus had to say and teach about God than in his physical death. Many Christians see Jesus as the messenger, a revelation from God about God’s nature, our nature, and our human relationships with the Divine and with the divine in each other. These differences in interpretation are one of the many reasons there are so many Christian denominations (I read somewhere that if you broke them down to specifics there are something like 44,000 Christian denominations).

Today is World Communion Sunday, though. An opportunity for all Christian faiths to set aside their theological wranglings and break bread together. Sometimes you just have to get back to the basics. Sharing a simple meal and drink reminds us we are one body in Christ, and more, that all of humanity is one body in God.

Prayer: God of unity, may you ignite our souls with a passion for cooperation, a thirst for justice, and the manna to make it all real. Amen.