In Christ There Is No East or West (Evangelical Lutheran Worship 650)
1 In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one community of love
throughout the whole wide earth.
2 In Christ shall true hearts ev’rywhere
their high communion find;
his service is the golden cord
close binding human-kind.
3 Join hands, disciples of the faith,
whate’er your race may be.
All children of the living God
are surely kin to me.
4 In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north;
all Christly souls are one in him
throughout the whole wide earth.
Text: John Oxenham; Music: African American spiritual; Public Domain
Devotion
We are masters at pigeon-holing people according to “who they are from home,” as some put it in one congregation I served. We have slang and sometimes derogatory terms we use for people from the county down the road, the state next door, the other coast, or a different continent. Splitting people into us and them is not a new thing, not a unique thing to our time and place.
However, the truth is we are all people. Regardless of being from the north, south, east, or west, and despite the differences we sinfully use to demean and separate ourselves from each other based on race, gender, and language, we are all one in Christ Jesus. All humankind, we are kin, bound by Christ’s love for each one of us and all of us together.
In Jesus is where all are truly welcome. You are truly welcome—just as you are, no matter “who you are from home,” throughout the whole, wide earth!
Prayer
Holy Spirit, come. Renew our sense of belonging and clear our eyes and hearts to see all who are welcome. Wrap us in your mercy, sending us throughout the whole wide earth to share your mercy and love. Amen.