"Put the Brooms Away!"

What I’ve learned from personal conversations with those who are suspicious of thee Christian faith is that the greatest barrier to believing in Jesus is the perception (sometimes fact) that Christians just can’t seem to get along. They say, “Why should I be a part of a group of people who claim the power and unity of one called Jesus, but who just can’t seem to get along with each other?”

Religious people certainly could do better. But instead we tend to get involved in petty battles – sometimes scholarly, sometimes denominationally, sometimes even literal. These petty battles make our faith look foolish to a wide variety of folks. We given them plenty of ammunition when it comes to rationalizing their reluctance to believe and follow Jesus.

Jesus painted a picture of those who stand with him to stand with each other. Not to fight one another, but to be a united community, people with a common loyalty to Jesus and to each other.

Jesus not only expected this kind of unique community. He prayed for this unity (John 17). He prayed that all would be one. He prayed for a unity among his followers, among believers, that would mirror the unity, the oneness, which exists between Jesus and God, between the Father and the Son. But somehow there is still division. There are church fights.

Here is another example. Christmas at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is a season of stress for many as pilgrims come from around the world to visit the birthplace of Jesus. Fights and brawls during this season have become so common place that the world watches for the yearly brawls among the clergy-caretakers of the church.

This year was no exception as Palestinian riot police had to be called to break up a fight between monks having a broom fight! The video made TV news. If you didn’t see it, be sure that millions of non-believers did. They laughed and made additions to the already long list of reasons that the whole “religion thing” is a farce.

You see, three Christian traditions (Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant) claim the Church of the Nativity as the traditional site of Jesus birth. Today the church is under a shared administration. But, the church is in disrepair – the roof leaks and water in resulting in further damage to the building. The three groups can’t agree on who should pay for repairs. Each group wants to and is willing to pay the whole repair bill, but they aren’t able to work together to share. So, repairs aren’t made and the damage continues to expand – not only damage to the physical property, but damage to the wider perception of “religion” and Christianity.

What happened this Christmas is this. A monk from one of the groups was apparently sweeping the floor in an area claimed by one of the other groups. A “holy man” from that group took offense and started swinging. A melee began. The police were called. But the cameras were rolling and the events made headlines. All because a few people became petty and narrow about who cleans a few square feet of floor!

My experience has been that most church squabbles and church fights have been over things equally as petty. We get territorial. We point fingers. We squabble. While the world, with much bigger worries, problems and cares, watches and asks, “Why can’t believers just get along and cooperate for the greater good?”

So, dear readers, let’s just put the figurative “brooms” away and live out the unity, the oneness, Jesus prayed for. Let’s get our act together and work together as a witness to the Kingdom of God, as a witness to the non-believer who is watching. And let’s focus on the kingdom issues that matter, for the Gospel’s sake!

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