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"Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord"
"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12,13).
The United States is described as the world's melting pot. From its inception, it has been a conglomeration of different peoples and cultures, yet the very name suggests that its citizens remain united
Upon further reflection, however, the US is not always as united as its name suggests. Without fail, troublesome issues arise, resulting in factions and divisions. The nation once even resorted to civil war. True unity has been nearly impossible to find. There are simply too many different parts!
At first glance, we might say the same thing about the Christian church. Though in the Nicene Creed Lutherans confess to believe in "one holy Christian and apostolic church," we also see the church visibly divided by false doctrine and practice. Just within American Lutheranism alone, there are an astonishing number of different church bodies. Division reigns.
Despite these visible divisions, however, a unity exists within the Christian church that cannot be found anywhere else in all creation. Though believers in Jesus are often visibly and sadly separated into many parts, there still exists an essential, though invisible, "unity of the Spirit," the unity of Christian faith. In Jesus, all faithful Christians in heaven and on earth share "one hope . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father" (Ephesians 4:3-6). The church has many parts yet remains one body. What a blessing of the Holy Spirit!
Martin Luther recognized both the invisible unity and the visible differences and prayed fervently that true unity in Christian faith and life might visibly exist among all Christians on the basis of God's Word. He showed this desire by authoring the Pentecost hymn "Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord" (CW 176). It is an ardent prayer for Christian unity.
In the hymn, we pray that the Spirit would pour out his blessings on all believers and that "by the brightness of your light in holy faith your church unite" (st. 1). Then the hymn describes how such unity is accomplished: when the Spirit causes "the Word of life to shine" and keeps us free "from ev'ry error" (st. 2). The final stanza looks forward to that day when all believers will be perfectly united in heaven forever.
Until then, our Christian faith recognizes that the many parts make up one body-the holy Christian church!
© 2007 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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