¹⁰ I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. ¹¹ For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹² Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”

¹³ Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Dear God, what role do I play in divisions? It’s probably more than I know. For example, there is a church in town whose message scares me a little because of its political overtones. How would I respond if I went to church there? How should I respond? Would I speak my peace to leadership privately and then join in worship? Would I silently disagree with what is happening and just try to be your presence? Would I let people know where I disagree and then sow dissent within the congregation? Heck. Even praying here right now, I’m not totally sure what the right thing to do would be.

Being a non-Catholic attending a Catholic church has actually given me a lot of freedom to silently disagree when I disagree. I know I’m the minority there. I know that the things I disagree about really don’t make much eternal difference. I know the people I’ve met there, nearly every single one, loves you deeply and worships you. So my disagreements are immaterial.

Perhaps that’s my answer. The way I live my life inside and outside of community (which hopefully is always the same) is going to say what I believe without me having to say it. And as long as I am in a church that preaches you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, our redemption and reconciliation to you through Jesus life death and resurrection, then even something with a more politically active focus than I’m comfortable with would just be another flavor about which I might even be wrong.

Father, let there be peace within your church, and let it begin with me. Help me to love everyone who calls on Jesus as their savior and reconciler to you as my sister or brother. From there, make my life and my activities about encouraging Jesus in the lives of others. I was thinking about a coworker this morning who is such a good woman, but just needs to enjoy what can be possible by fully sinking into you and pursuing you with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help me to know how to lovingly encourage that in her and everyone else with whom I come into contact today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen