20220602 FORGING UNITY IN CHRIST
02 June, 2022, Thursday, 7th Week of Easter
First reading |
Acts 22:30,23:6-11 © |
'You have borne witness in Jerusalem: now you must do the same in Rome'
Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.
Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11 © |
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.’
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.
or
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn16:7,13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will lead you to the complete truth.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn17:21 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
With them in you and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realise that it was you who sent me,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 17:20-26 © |
Father, may they be completely one
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father,
I pray not only for these,
but for those also
who through their words will believe in me.
May they all be one.
Father, may they be one in us,
as you are in me and I am in you,
so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.
I have given them the glory you gave to me,
that they may be one as we are one.
With me in them and you in me,
may they be so completely one
that the world will realise that it was you who sent me
and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me
to be with me where I am,
so that they may always see the glory you have given me
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Father, Righteous One,
the world has not known you,
but I have known you,
and these have known that you have sent me.
I have made your name known to them
and will continue to make it known,
so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,
and so that I may be in them.’
FORGING UNITY IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 22:30; 23:6-11; JN 17:20-26]
Fostering unity is one of the greatest challenges in every level of life, whether it is within the family, organization, workplace, our community, society or among nations. The world is so divided because we forget that we are one family of God with God as our Father. We fight, destroy and kill each other, failing to realize that we are brothers and sisters of the human race regardless of race, language, culture, religion or nationality. The Church is called to be the Sacrament of Unity. In the gospel, Jesus prayed to His Father, “May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.”
This contradiction saddens the Christian world because we are so divided and fragmented as Christians, and even within the same church there is much division, misunderstanding, disagreement, injustices and discrimination. It is hard to truly proclaim that we are all in Christ when we are not united with each other. How can the world believe that we are God’s children when we ourselves are so divided? And how can we build communities of love if we ourselves are living in divisive community? We can be sure that division among Christians saddens the heart of Jesus. We are counter-witnesses. If there is no love, compassion, forgiveness and inclusivity in the way we regard others, there will always be division.
Indeed, we have never learnt the lessons of history. In the first reading, we read how the meeting of the Sanhedrin was broken up because of the doctrinal differences between the Sadducees and the Pharisees with respect to the doctrine on the Intermediate State and the resurrection. When St Paul who was brought to trial before them, he began by saying, “‘Brothers, I am a Pharisees and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three.”
In the Catholic Church, the Church was split between the East and West, the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 ADover the disagreement with the Filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. The Roman Catholic Church had insisted on adding “and the Son” to describe the procession of the Holy Spirit to avoid the doctrine of Arianism, which denies the divinity of our Lord. This resulted in a schism. Then again in the West in 1517, another schism took place over abuses in the use of indulgences, which led to disagreement over the doctrine of justification by faith and the doctrine of grace. After the Reformation, the Church became even more fragmented than before as authority no longer resided in the leaders of the Church but on the individuals who interpreted the scriptures. But because there are many interpretations on any text of the scripture, it became even more difficult to get everyone to agree on the meaning of the texts. Without a central authority, it is difficult to know what is the correct interpretation of the texts.
So how can we preserve the unity of the Church today? Praying for each other and with each other should be the first step towards unity. Jesus shows us the way. He prayed for the unity of the Church. We too must begin with prayer. And we must never give up hope in praying for unity. This is why the Church at the beginning of every year celebrates Christian Unity Week, culminating on the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul. Whilst we might not agree on many aspects of doctrines, at least we can pray together to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. It is this ability for us to stand together and pray to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that makes us truly sons and daughters of God, and brothers and sisters in the Lord. When we are conscious that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, this will help us to be more open, cordial and sensitive to each other’s needs and perspectives of faith.
The second step towards promoting unity is to gather Christian leaders together because these are the ones that will influence their flock. This was what the Lord said, “Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.” Indeed, the Lord expects Christian leaders to be united in faith and doctrines. Hence, the Lord prayed for the leaders so that they could lead people in truth and in love. Promoting unity among leaders of course is the most challenging and daunting of all tasks because each one has strong convictions that make them unable to agree with those whose positions are at variance with theirs. This is why, leaders must pray together first so that with the grace of the Holy Spirit, they will be able to approach each other’s viewpoints with faith and love and humility, listening to each other not just with the head but with the ears of the heart so that we can genuinely feel each other’s concerns.
Thirdly, unity must be rooted in Christ. Jesus said, “I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.” This must be the basis of unity. We must be one in Jesus before we can be one with each other. Our oneness with the Lord must be in imitation of Christ’s oneness with His Father. Jesus’ utter oneness with His Father is the reason for Him to ask the Father to glorify Him “so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” Unless Jesus is glorified, His message would not be credible. So the glory that Jesus asked for ultimately is for the sake of the glory of His Father. “Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.” Similarly, we too must root our unity for the greater glory of Christ, not our glory but that the world might believe in Jesus through our love for each other. If we truly love our Lord, then we will do everything possible to preserve the unity among Christians.
Fourthly, we must be realistic because there will be cultural differences that will lead each community to interpret the scriptures and the Church’s doctrines differently. Whilst it would be great to have everyone on the same page, yet this would not be possible because faith is always inculturated. This is to say that faith would be expressed most of the time according to the felt needs, culture and symbols of the community. Unity is not uniformity. Hence, in our conversation with Christians from other denominations, we must begin with those truths that unite us. These are the essential truths of the Christian Faith, of which all Christians confess as delineated in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
Beyond these fundamental truths, there will be variation in the practice of the faith, in the application of moral principles derived from the scriptures, and in the way, we worship. Whilst some of these are more fundamental than others, not all churches share the same understanding of scriptures because each comes from a different tradition. The experiences, the history and the background will be the context in which scriptures are being reinterpreted in the light of new developments. As there is no central authority governing all churches together, each one can only rely on their own church authority. This is where respect for each other’s tradition is necessary. However, we need not stop here because we can continue to share our traditions, our faith experiences and our love for each other. It is through these non-judgmental relationships and mutual respect for each other’s beliefs and sentiments, but with a common love for the Lord and the love and reverence for the scriptures, that we should continue to journey with each other, growing in unity through diversity.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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