Opening to the Spirit
Today’s word: Unity
) In unity there is strength, courage and inspiration. Perhaps that is why human beings have so often organized themselves into interest groups, villages and countries. Although there is much to be said in favour of unity, the danger lies in confounding unity with uniformity.
Governments can become totalitarian and companies may brand, as disloyal, dissenting voices in their ranks. Religious organizations can also fall prey to mistaking diverse opinions as a threat to unity. Differences of opinion about the nature of God and what God asks of us have led to persecutions and wars. Those who insist that a literal interpretation of the Bible is the only kind possible would seem to me a good example of demanding conformity for the sake of unity.
Yet unity is weakened through coercion and fear tactics. If we take our inspiration from Mother Nature we see that mono-culture agriculture leads to weakened species and disease. Just so in human society; although disruptive and annoying, diversity of opinion prevents us from becoming too sure of our own. History teaches us that human arrogance and hubris can lead to disaster in science, religion, economics, politics and just about any field of human endeavour you can imagine. When looking for common ground on which to unite, we can all agree we share the same species and the same home.
Consider taking the advice of the prophet Micah from the Hebrew Testament: What does the Lord require of you? Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. Surely true unity will be strengthened and we will lead happy, productive lives. ) When we chose this word my mind leapt to January when we celebrate the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Traditionally this meant that local churches met together for an ecumenical worship service that rotated through various congregations. Attendance has dropped over the years and in my area there hadn't been a service for a few years. One day I decided to host a different kind of event, a Curling bonspiel. I jokingly called it the Week of Play for Christian Unity. The name stuck and the annual bonspiel is still going strong. Why is unity so hard to manage? Maybe we really do need to play more and pray less. During the bonspiel we laugh and tease each other. We share stories, games, and refreshments, and our only goal is to enjoy each other's company. When we do that the unity comes naturally.
I don't think that it is a coincidence that there are peace talks between North and South Korea just a few months after they played sports together at the Olympic Games. There have certainly been obstacles in the way, but even the talks are hopeful signs that may lead to unity.
In our world, some sort of unity is a goal we can all aspire to. However, getting to that harmonious place seems so difficult at times. Even in church circles our competitive nature can stop us from working together. Perhaps we need to play together, laugh a bit, and then the unity will come.
) Unity is a basic principle of design theory; variety is another. Unity and variety exist in art not as opposing principles that along with other essential elements work together to create a whole. They are like two sides to the same coin.
Contrary to some of our social groupings or many of the ways we establish belonging, unity does not require sameness. It has nothing to do with homogeneity and everything to do with diversity. A favourite example of this in art is the mosaic. Imagine a picture made up of bits of ceramic in various colours. Each piece is unique and could stand alone, different in shape, size and positioning from all the others. The central image that emerges is a result of and requires each individual piece and could only exist because of their collective diversity. I find it a useful metaphor for human culture.
As did Reginald Bibby, Canadian sociologist who wrote a book back in the 90s about the challenges of pluralism, creating unity out of human diversity. In Mosaic Madness, Bibby contrasted the mosaic and melting pot metaphors for social organization. In a melting pot all flavours blend; in a mosaic they remain distinct but contribute to the whole. His premise was that while we have made significant progress in promoting individual and group rights, we've often done so at the expense of our collective wellbeing. Do we truly believe that each person is of infinite worth? On a cultural level, we've yet to integrate our efforts to achieve the common. Bibby's call to work for collective rather than individual freedom Is as relevant today as decades ago.
Is it possible to create a social artwork on a global scale? Our vision of a "world made fair and all her people one" is the age-old dream of our diverse humanity living together as a unified whole.
) Many of us have a hard time with unity. Most days, we don’t even have unity within ourselves. I am “of two minds” about many things, and I suspect you probably are too. I want to help and I also want to avoid fostering dependency. I want to go to the party and I also want to have some quiet time alone. Every day there are decisions that must be made, even if part of us wants something else.
When it comes to groups of people, we also often find a resistance to unity. I have been trained into comfort with ambiguity and have nurtured the value of rejoicing in diversity. As a group facilitator I was taught to look for the dissenting opinion and to draw this out, in order to avoid “groupthink” or excessive uniformity. A strong group is made up of people who are clear individuals who know themselves and can express a variety of opinions. A strong group also listens to each other and seeks to learn from the other, especially when the opinion is different.
What I am describing is not chaos or anarchy, but rather a unity that can hold diversity. We can be united in our decision to be a group, a community, or a church. We can be united in our desire to share a common mission or purpose. We can be united in our agreement to respect each other as we work together. As Christians, we are united in Christ and nothing can change this, even if we have a variety of ways to express our worship and our beliefs.