CHRISTIAN UNITY St. Peter’s City Centre Nottingham 18 January 2026 Bp Paulina Hławiczka – Trotman, Lutheran Church in Great Britain

“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us. Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward. /Gospel of Mark 9: 38-41/

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

It is a joy and a privilege to stand with you here at St Peter’s for the first time and at the threshold of a New Year 2026! A year not yet written. A year held already in God’s mercy.

Tomorrow the Anglican Church celebrates the Confession of St. Peter’s, which refers to the moment when Peter declares Jesus as the Messiah, a pivotal event in Christian theology that underscores the identity of Jesus and the foundation of the Church.

And the Gospel today is brief, but opens a wide door. John comes to Jesus and says, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, Messiah’s name, Saviour’s name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”

----Not following us.----

Jesus answers with calm authority: “Do not stop him. Whoever is not against us is for us. Even a cup of water given in my name will not lose its reward.”

This is not a lesson on strategy. It is a lesson on grace. Jesus loosens our clenched hands over our traditions, inheritance, belongings and one of these is usually our church as well. We know how it is to be done, and we don’t expect any interruptions in our way of making and arranging church…

But Jesus interrupts! He widens the circle. He reminds us that the kingdom of God is larger than our traditions, our schedules, our exhaustion, commitment and even our certainty.

How good and pleasant it is when brothers, sisters, all siblings dwell together in unity,

sings Psalm 133. Like dew falling gently on the mountains.

Not forced unity. Not uniformity. But a unity that flows, that refreshes, that blesses.

Unity is grounded in Christ, not in uniformity. For Martin Luther, leader of the Reformation movement over 500 years ago, true unity is unity in the Gospel, not sameness of practice, structure, or custom, and he says:

“The unity of the church does not consist in outward forms, rites, or ceremonies, but in the unity of faith, doctrine”… and hope. (On the Councils and the Church, 1539)

And yet, if we are honest, unity feels like one more thing we do not have time for.

We may be tired and we are rather occupied with everything on our plates... Some of us Christians face criticism regarding different allegations directed towards our church, so we rather say after Apostle Peter: “No, it is not my church…” Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. This event is consistently recorded in all four Gospels, affirming its historical truth. After the third denial, Peter remembered Jesus' prediction about his denials and wept bitterly.

Jesus, however, does not wait for perfect reply or order of events to make you his disciple and follower. He does not ask for the right label. He looks for love in action. A cup of water. A small mercy. A human hand extended in His name, doesn’t matter the denomination or church’s name. And this is where unity begins, without any big words, plans. And documents.

Many of our young people already know this. They are less interested in denominational boundaries and more concerned with justice, dignity, and belonging. They march, they sing, they speak out. They remind us that there is one human race, one wounded world, shared future and responsibility!

The church is not only here, within these walls. The church is also outside, in neighbourhoods, online communities, streets filled with protest and prayer,

concert halls where someone dares to sing about one world, one love, one dream.

God gathers us here not to escape the world, but to be recharged, to be reminded, and then

to be sent to this world full of worry and trouble, war and conflict, injustice and despair…

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people dwell together in unity… not because we are the same, or completely ready and prepared, but because we can say, no I don’t belong here, no, I don’t know this church, no, I’m just a visitor…

But because unaware we belong to God – our Creator, and in God’s image we are created differently, every person is individually shaped, modelled, polished and equipped… If we were to be exactly the same, God would’ve created us in such a way…

St Irenaeus wrote, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”

Fully alive means there is room for ups & downs, joy & sadness, hard work & relaxation, as there is room for studding and reflection; Room for difference. Room for questions. Room for those who do things differently, yet still act in Christ’s name.

The basket called fullness has space for you, and you, and you, and me.

Sometimes our own flame grows weak, and it is rekindled by a spark from someone else’s...

..And sometimes God calls us not to be a fire that overwhelms, but a spark that gives courage.

We are not owners of God. We are witnesses. We do not possess all truth, we walk toward it together. Where there is light, there will be shadows. Do not fear them. They only prove that the light is real…

So let us not stop those who truly love in Christ’s name. Let us not withhold the cup of water or wine… Let us not claim the only truth; Let us dwell together, as oil that blesses, as dew, falling gently on the mountains, that gives life, life forevermore!

Amen!