We are coming to the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The sad divisions among Christians wound the heart of our Lord. As long as divisions remain among Christians, the impact of the Gospel upon the world will remain a lot less than what it could otherwise have.
Many of our families are affected by the divisions among Christians. I myself have served as an ordained person in two Christian communities that are not yet in full communion with each other. There are a number of ecumenical marriages, marriages that are recognized by the Catholic Church in which one partner is Roman Catholic and the other partner is a baptized member of some other Christian community.
Let’s look at how we might relate to the reality of divisions among Christians in a manner that promotes that oneness of Faith for which our Lord prayed for all who love Him. There are two extremes that we need to avoid if we are to promote Christian unity. One of these is the notion that all Christian traditions are about the same. Along this line of thinking, differences among Christian faith communities are not really all that important. Sad to say, significant differences exist to this very day between Christian communities. All Christians are not of one mind and one heart.
The other extreme to avoid is the idea that significant differences exist among Christians to such an extent that the struggle for Christian unity seems to be hopeless. In line with this outlook is the observation that each faith community is entrenched in its own way of articulating the Faith and in offering directions to its members as to how the Christian Faith is to be lived out. In this setting, it is important to remember our Lord’s words that a tree can be judged by the kind of fruit that it produces. One can observe that a number of Christian communities that are not in full communion with one another have the capacity to produce persons who have given their lives for the cause of Christ. In the Roman Catholic Church, we designate these persons as martyrs. It is humbling for persons of various Christian traditions to appreciate that from time to time, the Lord writes straight with crooked lines.
During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, let’s continue to keep in mind that the work of Christian unity is God’s work, a work in which all of us are called to participate. We can do this in ways such as the following: 1) Let’s continue to pray with and for one another. This is so important in ecumenical families. Along this line, let’s study and reflect upon the Scriptures, a source that all Christians treasure. 2) Let’s assume the best about Christians who belong to faith communities other than our own. By God’s grace, we all want to get to heaven, where we will be fully one with the Lord and with all who have loved Him forever. 3) As Catholics, let’s make a proactive effort to learn more about the Faith of the Catholic Church, to discover where we are coming from. How do we come up with that which we believe, teach and practice? 4) As we become secure in our own identity as Roman Catholics, let’s be eager to learn from other Christian faith communities where they are coming from. Let’s ask ourselves how our experience of the Christian life can be enriched from the spiritual wealth that other traditions have to offer. 5) As we grow in these ways, we will strive to put to death erroneous stereotypes that different faith communities have about one another, e.g., that Catholics worship Mary and the Saints, that all Protestant communities are the same, or that all Protestant communities don’t take seriously the historical development of the Christian Faith.
In our willingness to continue to pray for Christian unity and to strive to understand where our own tradition is coming from as well as from where other Christian faith communities have developed, we can do much to promote that oneness of faith and life that our Lord earnestly desires for all who love Him.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor