For the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25), the members of the NC Conference Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships (CUIR) committee are sharing daily devotions rooted in Ephesians 4.

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Day 7 – Ephesians 4:7
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

On a trip to Colonial Williamsburg years ago, my sons and I wandered into one of the homes. There we found a weaver sitting at her loom. We watched as she gracefully intertwined the strips of fabric one into another and into another. Before our eyes an intricate pattern began emerging, formed by varying textures and colors. “What will your beautiful piece be?” I asked. Without breaking the rhythm of her work, she answered, “It may be a blanket, or piece of clothing, or even a tapestry to hang in the church or our meeting house.”

That image has travelled with me through the years. It calls to mind Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  The Hebrew word makhashabah, translates to “plans,” but also points to something much deeper. It speaks of the intricate weaving together of fabrics.

I can’t help but envision God as the Master Weaver creating something beautiful and purposeful. In this week of Prayer for Christian Unity, imagine us all placing ourselves in the hands of our Master Weaver. Just like the woman sitting at her loom in Williamsburg incorporating fabrics of different colors, textures, and patterns, in the hands of our Lord, our Master Weaver, all the aspects of our diversity can be shaped into a beautiful, unified whole which is not only lovely but also useful. Woven together by God and for God’s purpose, we too can help blanket our neighbors from the cold, clothe the poor, and adorn our community spaces with the unifying power of God’s love.

A Question to Consider

How will our relations change if we accept that diversity of gifts is not a reason for opposition and competition but for mutual strengthening and sharing?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
by the action of the Holy Spirit in the one baptism,
you have bestowed wonderful graces and multiple gifts upon
us
for the sake of building up your Body, the Church.
Grant us now the willingness to fully appreciate the richness of their diversity
and use them fully to further the spread of the Gospel.
In your name we pray.
Amen.

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