One of my favourite psalms is Psalm 133 which begins:
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”
The 2011 NIV obscures the original word “brothers”, choosing to translate it with the more inclusive “God’s people.”
Something is lost in this politically correct adjustment. The word “brothers” evokes memories of biblical brothers that are famiar to us: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Esau and Jabob, Joseph and his brothers, David and his brothers, and the two sons in the parable of the waiting father.
The common thing in all these examples is conflict. The biblical story of brothers is one that is usually accompanied by misunderstanding, jealousy and conflict. In fact the story of the very first pair of brothers in the Bible, Cain and Abel ends up with one killing the other.
I was reminded of this when the annoucement was made of the reunion concert of Oasis, who have not performed together since 2009.
The band broke up acrimoniously due to the unresolvable conflict between the Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel. These are not the only musical siblings to have fallen out with each other. Similar troubles surrounded the Everly brothers and Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks. Ray famously stabbed his brother Dave with a fork at the kitchen table because Dave had stolen a chip from his brother’s plate. It was thankfully not a fatal wound!
Hence when the first readers and contemporary readers of Psalm 133 read the word “brothers” they have these narratives of conflict in their minds. It is something of a breath of fresh air to read about brothers who are dwelling in unity.
Preachers can either be misty-eyed or cynical about Christian unity.
The cynical and suspicious can only see unity as a sell-out that settles for the lowest common denominator by burying everything distinctive about what they believe. Unity at all costs is disastrous. Politicians will say at a time of crisis that “we must all come together.” It is difficult to know what exactly this means in practice. It often means that we are called to forget our principles and settle for a position that helps no-one. It is a phony calm before a real storm.
By contrast the misty eyed see unity as the be-all and end-all. They say, “let’s get together,” and “together we stand divided we fall.” Such a message can be superfical and overly optimistic.
Some are wondering whether the much touted Oasis reunion will survive the two Gallagher brothers being in the same space at the same time. They did famously sing the song Don’t Look back in Anger. Perhaps that will be the new soundtrack of their lives. But don’t hold your breath. The rest of Psalm 133 reminds us that genuine unity is never self-generated but proceeds from God.
“It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”
Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash
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