THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE (For Christian Unity)

The three tenors Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti were performing together in Los Angeles. A reporter asked them about rivalry among them, and they said there was none. But the reporter was not satisfied and kept coming back to the issue of rivalry among the three superstars. Then Domingo explained, “You have to put all of your concentration into opening your heart to the music. You can’t be rivals when you’re together making music. You can’t be rivals when you’re together making music.” As Christians are we called to be rivals or are we called to make music together?
This week we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, more simply known as Christian Unity Week (January 18-25). That the different Christian churches together agree to set aside one week for intensive prayer and action in view of Christian unity shows that they all feel the need for more unity among believers in Christ. The World Christian Encyclopedia has documented 34,000 different Christian denominations. The figure keeps rising. Many Christian churches today spend much of their resources not in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth but in fighting and cannibalizing other Christian churches. To maintain their identity and show that they are distinct from other Christian churches, they emphasize their differences rather that the things they have in common. They fight each other and forget that as Christians we are called to make music together in the world. This is a misunderstanding of what Christianity is all about, as Paul tells us in the second reading.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)
The varieties of gifts God gives to His daughters and sons for the common good, we have selfishly used as grounds for rivalry. As a parent, how do you feel when you bring home gifts for your children as a way of making the whole family happy, and they start a fight. Imagine then how God feels at the way His children are using His gifts as cause for sibling rivalry and violence. And God has a very large family with many, many children. The disunity and infighting among Christians is an abuse of God’s gifts. It is a scandal to the world. It is a sin for which we all need to repent.
Many people feel uneasy when they hear of Christian unity. They fear that Christian unity means putting everyone into the same mould, the same form of worship, the same way of serving God. No, Christian unity is not Christian uniformity. God gives His children varieties of gifts. Some are more intellectual and love to spend hours reading and reflecting of the Word of God, others are more charismatic and would rather sing praises, pray in tongues, shout alleluia and make a joyful noise to the Lord, and yet others are more service oriented and would rather spend their time helping the sick and feeding the hungry. Paul encourages us to engage in different services and ministries because we have different spiritual gifts. But he warns that we should not be so engrossed in the various works we do for the Lord, that we forget the one Lord of the work. In the various services we see diversity, in the one Lord we see unity. Christian unity, therefore, is a unity in diversity.
The disunity in Christianity is a scandal to the world that we are called to bring to God. It is a scandal that weakens the Christian message and witness. What moral right have we to ask the world to reconcile their differences when we as Christians cannot reconcile our own differences? Let us today ask God’s forgiveness for all of God’s children for the sin of disunity. Let us pray for Christian unity, and resolve to extend a hand of reconciliation and friendship to our estranged brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Lord, hear the prayers of your people and bring the hearts of believers together in your praise and in common sorrow for their sins. Heal all divisions among Christians that we may rejoice in the perfect unity of your Church and move together as one to eternal life in your kingdom. Amen.