What Advent and the Christian Unity Movement have in Common

Advent could very well be the ideal season through which to understand the movement for Christian unity.

At least, that is true at this point in history.

That is because the characteristics of Advent are so similar to the current moment we find ourselves in.

Nebulous 

The movement for better relationships among Christians--and ultimately for Christian unity--can be a difficult thing to understand. That is why a paradigm to understand what we are going through can be helpful.

To put it bluntly:  The movement for unity among Christians is a pretty difficult thing to wrap your mind around if you want concrete answers and clearly defined goals. It is often described as "nebulous."

We don't really know where God is leading us. For example, how can we have any kind of unity when people on both sides of a denominational division may think their way is the only way? Either one side is wrong or else we are being led to a truth that transcends our categories. We know Christ himself prayed for the oneness of all believers (John 17:21). So we have faith that what Christ has prayed for will eventually come to pass, but we don't know what that may look like nor can we see the path to get there.

It is easy to look at 2,000 years of Christian wars, reformations and schisms, with the number of denominations counted in the tens of thousands today--not to mention all those individuals and congregations that simply consider themselves "independent"--and then when we consider human nature on top of that, it is easy to resign ourselves to the conclusion that there simply is no path of unity at all.

[Of course, right at that moment, we might be tempted to just give up on unity and accept each other as we are and then boom!  Maybe there is something of a foggy first step to be found there after all... and so the path through the fog continues.]

Going through Advent is like going to the gym. It is like a workout for your faith. It is a time of waiting. We are practicing how to fan a small spark of faith into a flame of hope. We are also deepening our patience through which to endure the lengthy exile we are in. We have to sit and wait not knowing the answers. We learn how to go through life without all the answers.

Whether we like concrete answers or not, we simply don't have them in this situation. However, that doesn't alleviate us from the duty to work towards this goal and to sit in the tension in the meantime.

Advent is a time pregnant with possibilities--quite literally for mother Mary. Here was a young girl who found herself in a very precarious situation. She had a pregnancy that was very difficult to explain. She trusted in God but it was probably still unclear where that journey would take her or what changes her life would undergo. This pregnancy would eventually culminate in giving birth in the poorest, most humble of circumstances and then almost immediately fleeing as a refugee to Egypt to escape a brutal authoritarian ruler's destructive reach. But during Advent, Mary probably didn't know that. She had to simply endure the discomfort of not knowing and having to wait for the answers. Such is pregnancy.

And such is the moment were are in when it comes to the unity of all believers. We know we are called on this path. We know it is in line with what Jesus himself wants. But we don't know where it will take us. And people will tell us we're crazy because we can't offer a clear explanation of exactly what we're trying to do or what it will look like. People will be suspicious that there must be some hidden agenda. But like Noah, building an ark in the desert may seem like pure madness . . . until the floods come.

That's because when you say "yes" to God's invitation you aren't guaranteed a road map of what exactly are your next steps. If you had that, of course, it wouldn't be as much of a journey of faith, now would it?

The Kingdom: Now . . . and Not Yet

There is so much about the Kingdom Jesus alerts us to that is already realized but unseen--and other parts that are not yet fully realized. The unity of all Christians is one of those.  We have to live in the tension between the unity that Jesus prays for and calls us into and the disunity we experience. There is indeed a unity that is already present but we simply can't fully see it yet, even though it's right there. But there is also a true disunity. This disunity has real impacts on our lives and our witness--and it could dampen our hopes.

But it must be stated that Advent is not a time of passivity. There is much that can be done. I'm sure Mary had many daily labors during this time. She took each step that presented itself to her. She did the things she could do. She did today's work today and left tomorrow's work for tomorrow--she had no choice. And neither do we.

The movement for Christian unity follows likewise: We may not know what the "end game" looks like--but there is work to be done today. We can build better relationships among Christians. We can get to know each other in full respect as people of faith. We can do the things together that we are already agreed upon. We can forget about our differences and simply work together. Or perhaps through our differences we may find a stronger voice. We can't just say "there is no way to untangle this mess" and then give up. Advent is a time that speaks to living in this space and which hopefully gives us both the tools and the strength to go through it.