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Psalm 133:1 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹ How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴ Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵ If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many members yet one body. ²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²² On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect, ²⁴ whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, ²⁵ that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶ If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

John 17:21-23 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²¹ that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,^[a] so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Footnotes

1. 17.21 Other ancient authorities read be one in us

October 5, 2025 – World Communion Sunday – Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Psalm 133:1, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, John 17:21-23 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Rev. TJ Mack – Union Congregational Church of Hancock

This morning we, and congregations around the globe are celebrating World Communion Sunday. It is good to embrace our shared faith. It is good to acknowledge our similarities and our differences. In a world that is often divisive and fractured, hurtful and hateful, it is good to come together as one body, celebrating that which we each bring to the table. 

This year the World Communion Sunday scriptures chosen by the national UCC worship team remind us of our unity in Christ. Psalm 133:1 celebrates how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in harmony. From 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, we learn that the church is like one body made of many different parts, each important and needed.  And in John 17:21–23, Jesus prays that all believers may be one, just as He and God are one. Together, these passages invite us to celebrate our differences while remembering the unity we share at Christ’s table.

You may have noticed throughout our service this morning a theme of many voices from many countries. I wish to include another voice, that of Rev. Dr. Michael Kalito of Zambia who prepared a sermon to share internationally today. I will share only a portion of what he wrote in relation to the 1 Corinthian text. 

“Beloved in Christ, I greet you in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Today, we join millions of Christians around the globe to celebrate World Communion Sunday.

From Africa to Asia, from Europe to the Americas, from the islands of the Pacific to the deserts of the Middle East – the family of God gathers at one table: different languages, different cultures, different traditions, yet one loaf, one cup, one Saviour.

…

In Zambia we know the beauty of unity in diversity. We come from 73 ethnic groups, speaking many languages and observing diverse traditions, but we proudly say, “One, Zambia One Nation.” Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12 remind us of this truth in the church: though we are many, we are one body in Christ. And the surprising part is this – in God’s Kingdom, the so-called weaker members are given greater honour. 

It is worth noting some of the key themes that Paul raises in the passage. 

Firstly, the ideas of unity in diversity (vv. 12-13)

Paul states that just as the human body is one, though it has many parts, so is the body of Christ. He further points out that through baptism in one Spirit, all believers – Jew or Greek, slave or free – are made one. Thus, the mentioned diversity is not a threat but a gift for the unity of the church.

Secondly, Paul mentions the necessity of every member (vv.14-20)

From Paul’s perspective, no part of the body can claim it doesn’t belong (“Because I am not an eye, I do not belong…”). Inferiority complexes and exclusion have no place; every member is essential. God Himself [Themself] arranged the body to function with interdependence. 

Thirdly, [in regard to] interdependence and mutual care (vv. 21-26)

The stronger cannot despise the weaker (“I don’t need you”). On the contrary, weaker of less “honourable” members receive greater honour and care, just as hidden but vital body parts are protected. Amazingly, in Paul’s language, when one member suffers, the whole body suffers; when one rejoices, all rejoice. 

Fourthly, Paul ultimately highlights Christ as the source of unity (v. 27)

In this regard, the church is not just like a body; it is the body of Christ. Paul brings forth the reality that believers are individually members, yet collectively part of Christ’s living presence in the world.” 

We proclaim this every week in our bulletin. We are the body of Christ. What we say and do in the world is essential.

Communion is a sacred meal that unites Christians across every culture and community. On World Communion Sunday, we remember that when we share the bread and cup, we are joining with believers around the world at Christ’s table.

Amen

Rev. TJ Mack – October 5, 2025