In Christ, All are One

Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

In the mid-1980’s I flew with a dozen church leaders to East Berlin, spending two weeks traveling in several nations behind the Iron Curtain. Our purpose was to connect with Christians there to see how we could help and to bring them encouragement. I learned so much.

When we reached Bratislava on a Friday afternoon, a place where we would stay for the weekend, I was asked if I would bring the Sunday morning sermon to those in attendance. I had not prepared myself for this but agreed. The next day, I met at the church my translator, Frau Anna. She had requested a manuscript (which I spent much of the night preparing) and gave it to her. I requested that we sing, “In Christ there is No East or West” a song she said they knew.

In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.

Sunday morning came and at the right moment I climbed the stairs to the high pulpit suspended above the congregation. Wow! I had worked with translators before, so I proceeded to preach, looking down at wide open mouths looking up at me! At the end, we did not sing the song I requested but I felt I had brought my thoughts on the importance of Christians from other nations, cultures, and languages to realize we are united by our one faith in Jesus Christ.

When I asked Frau Anna how it went, she informed me that she had been told that the message I brought was not approved by the government. She had reworked my thoughts to become an approved sermon! In the end, it said not what I had prepared but a watered-down version of “Jesus loves us!” Likewise, the song “In Christ There Is No East or West” was not government approved either!

When we sang this song last Sunday, I recalled this incident! How sad it is that these words are such a threat to leaders and powerbrokers! May we praise God that we can sing them! May we work diligently to make them heard wherever we go!

Prayer: Lord, let your words calling us to oneness, unity, and hope be heard through us! Amen.