PHILLIPS BROOKS: All One in Christ

In 1862, though the Civil War was dividing the country in racial hatred, an Episcopal pastor was convinced that both black and white could live together in Christian harmony by each person dedicating there lives to the love of Christ.

Phillips Brooks has been called the greatest American preacher of the 19th century and though he preached for academic elites, he is most remembered for working for reconciliation between free man and slaves. “Forgive and forget,” he taught, “bare with the faults of others as you would have them bare with yours. Be patient and understanding. Life is too short to be vengeful.”

Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free man. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Christians have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and no matter what race, color, or creed; are now one family in the Kingdom of God. As brothers and sisters our lives should demonstrate the tremendous capacity we now have to love our fellow man and live in mutual respect with one another.

As Brooks wrote: “Be such a man and live such a life that if every man were such as you and every life a life like yours; this earth would be God`s paradise.”