Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 24, 2007 - Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
[Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 and John 17:20-26]Jesus prayed saying: "I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.
Jesus prayed saying: "I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. These words of Jesus are often quoted in ecumenical as well as interreligious contexts. Jesus prays for unity among those who will preach and as a result create the same unity in love in their listeners. This is a difficult challenge. In a strange sort of paradox, the globalization of communications has made it ever more clear how far apart the major religions are in their beliefs and even how far apart major Christian denominations are. Some strides have been made toward better "understanding" but it is difficult to call this understanding "unity." For one thing, it is not certain what kind of unity is being sought! For some, the best that can be hoped is that no one will want to kill someone else because of religious beliefs. For others, it means uniformity in worship, dogma, and ministry. Between these two poles the range of meaning is vast. Right now, our own Catholic Church in this country suffers from severe polarization which valiant efforts such as Cardinal Bernardin's Common Ground Initiative, are trying to bridge. If we Catholics cannot love one another, how can we expect to be one with other Christian believers , let alone one with other major religious families such as Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.? To fulfill Jesus' prayer, there will have to be a lot more respectful and open listening. We cannot strive for unity if we are not unified in our notion of what unity means! In the meantime, we must continue to pray as Jesus did and try to spread the word in response to his prayer. AMEN
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