We are now in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and this year marks one hundred years of its being celebrated in the way it is today.
I am not instinctively stirred by days, events, gatherings or pronouncements designated for the commemoration, celebration or remembrance of something, however worthy of note the particular focus may be. It is not that I do not value or appreciate whatever may be the centre of attention, but that I derive most benefit from, and am best able to give of myself to something when I do so as a result of following my own leadings and promptings rather than the directions of any organized authority or organization.
I may find myself led to contradict those words by my actions, but when that occurs it will be because I am so led or prompted or drawn to respond by something other than the instructions or beckoning of men.
Christian unity, however, is an aim which should become unavoidable for every one of us, and though it is a long time since I attended an ecumenical service during this week, I am always drawn to an awareness of the immense sense of need for such unity in individuals throughout the Christian world. It is a need that goes far deeper than any expression of it coming from particular church hierarchies or groups of churches already striving to work together. It is an increasingly dull ache that is building within the hearts of so many of us, beginning to feel like emotional pain: a form of grief. It can bring us to a point where we feel as though something within us is going to crack, leaving us dissolving into silence and tears. It can take us and shake us, either beautifully or painfully, in the same way that beauty of sight or sound, of word or thought can make us more complete and whole by momentarily seeming to fragment us.
I recently came across something written by Fr. Tom Norris in 2002, which not only deserves re-reading and needs to be thought about again today, but also sits well with my own undirected but unquenchable desire for unity. Rather than attempt putting my own words together in a far less meaningful way, I reproduce his thoughts here. They convey something we all need to hear.
‘The Saviour of the world and the Lord of history has left us as his final testament, “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21 ). He wants our unity, he desires it, has suffered and prayed for it. Whoever shares that desire is close to his heart and he calls them blessed. The deepest desire of his Heart and the imperative of unity rhyme.
The fact of the Reformation profoundly marks the second half of the second millennium. Up until then the Church in the West was one. At the time of the Reformation, within half a century in fact, this unity was greatly damaged. Why did the Holy Spirit permit all these divisions? This raises the question of causes. There are two possible answers to this question. The first is the more negative one. It would see in these divisions the bitter fruit of sins committed by Christians. It seems quite clear from our vantage point that there was a major failure at the time to live in that mutual love which is the pearl of the Gospel (Jn 13:34; 15:12).
That is the negative answer. There is also a positive answer to our question as to why the Holy Spirit did permit these divisions and their legacy.
'Could it not be that these divisions have also been a path continually leading the Church to discover the untold wealth contained in Christ's Gospel and in the redemption accomplished by Christ? Perhaps all this wealth would not have come to light otherwise..."(John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Jonathan Cape: London 1994, 153).
The HOLY SPIRIT suggests the positive answer. He is capable of bringing forth good even from evil, from human failure and human weakness.
In the revelation of God communicated to humankind there is an embarrassment of riches. St Paul speaks of “the unfathomable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8), and asks his communities to pray that he may be able to make known these riches to others (Eph 6:19 -20). The different ecclesial communities since the Reformation have highlighted different elements of the 'unfathomable riches of Christ.' This is a patent fact.
The examples stand out. The Lutheran Church highlighted the Word of God: that Word which, though heaven and earth were to pass away, would never pass away. The Anglican Church highlighted the idea of communion, of unity in diversity. The Presbyterian Church highlighted the presence of the crucified and risen Jesus in the midst of those gathered in his name (Mt 18:20), as well as the baptismal dignity that makes each lay person a ‘royal priest.’ The Methodist Church highlighted from the unfathomable riches of Christ the Gospel as a way, a method leading to holiness, just as the first Christians in the Acts of the Apostles were called "followers of the Way."(Acts 9:2; 18:25 ,26;19:9,23;22:4; 24:14,22) The Catholic Church highlighted the Sacraments and the apostolic structure of the Gospel without neglecting the other dimensions.
This, however, cannot be a justification for the divisions that continue do deepen and even proliferate. The time must come for the love that unites us to be manifested. Many signs lead us to believe that that very time is now with us in a special way. The ecumenical movement can be interpreted as a potent sign of its arrival. A reunited Church would have to be reunited in terms of one Faith or Doctrine, one set of Sacraments with the Eucharist at its core, and one Apostolic Structure.
Such a reunited Church, however, would retain the emphasis of the Lutheran Church on the Word, it would retain the emphasis and experience of the Anglican Church on communion, the emphasis and four hundred years old experience of the Presbyterian Church of the equal baptismal dignity of all believers, and the Methodist Church's pursuit of a way of holiness. What has been lived by the various ecclesial communities could not be lost and would not be lost in such a Church. And such a vibrant Church, where the riches of the Lord's Gospel are lived out and so manifest, would be so beautiful as to be irresistible. It would become a home for the whole of humanity.’
(From ‘A fresh Perspective on the Disunity of Christians?’ © Fr. Tom Norris, 2002. St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.)
There is only one Body of Christ: one Christian Church; we are it.
Wherever we stand, we are and always have been united, though clearly not as our Lord would wish.
Our problem (and how clearly it has been shown to be both a problem and of our own making) is that we allow differences of opinion to become causes of separation, separation to become distance, and distance to become ingrained in our hearts and minds. We feel ourselves to be far apart and therefore different; unalterably so. We allow this to become the reality for us, and the one central truth which we all share and which is far greater than the differences between us – that we are all followers of Jesus Christ – seems to be forgotten.
Of course, it is easy for me to jot down a few thoughts as though oblivious to the considerable work needed to unravel all our knotted and tangled differences and causes of separation, but then, these are merely words on a blog page.
I admit to being simplistic, but if I prompt further thought in only one or two people it will have been worthwhile.
I am not instinctively stirred by days, events, gatherings or pronouncements designated for the commemoration, celebration or remembrance of something, however worthy of note the particular focus may be. It is not that I do not value or appreciate whatever may be the centre of attention, but that I derive most benefit from, and am best able to give of myself to something when I do so as a result of following my own leadings and promptings rather than the directions of any organized authority or organization.
I may find myself led to contradict those words by my actions, but when that occurs it will be because I am so led or prompted or drawn to respond by something other than the instructions or beckoning of men.
Christian unity, however, is an aim which should become unavoidable for every one of us, and though it is a long time since I attended an ecumenical service during this week, I am always drawn to an awareness of the immense sense of need for such unity in individuals throughout the Christian world. It is a need that goes far deeper than any expression of it coming from particular church hierarchies or groups of churches already striving to work together. It is an increasingly dull ache that is building within the hearts of so many of us, beginning to feel like emotional pain: a form of grief. It can bring us to a point where we feel as though something within us is going to crack, leaving us dissolving into silence and tears. It can take us and shake us, either beautifully or painfully, in the same way that beauty of sight or sound, of word or thought can make us more complete and whole by momentarily seeming to fragment us.
I recently came across something written by Fr. Tom Norris in 2002, which not only deserves re-reading and needs to be thought about again today, but also sits well with my own undirected but unquenchable desire for unity. Rather than attempt putting my own words together in a far less meaningful way, I reproduce his thoughts here. They convey something we all need to hear.
‘The Saviour of the world and the Lord of history has left us as his final testament, “May they all be one” (Jn 17:21 ). He wants our unity, he desires it, has suffered and prayed for it. Whoever shares that desire is close to his heart and he calls them blessed. The deepest desire of his Heart and the imperative of unity rhyme.
The fact of the Reformation profoundly marks the second half of the second millennium. Up until then the Church in the West was one. At the time of the Reformation, within half a century in fact, this unity was greatly damaged. Why did the Holy Spirit permit all these divisions? This raises the question of causes. There are two possible answers to this question. The first is the more negative one. It would see in these divisions the bitter fruit of sins committed by Christians. It seems quite clear from our vantage point that there was a major failure at the time to live in that mutual love which is the pearl of the Gospel (Jn 13:34; 15:12).
That is the negative answer. There is also a positive answer to our question as to why the Holy Spirit did permit these divisions and their legacy.
'Could it not be that these divisions have also been a path continually leading the Church to discover the untold wealth contained in Christ's Gospel and in the redemption accomplished by Christ? Perhaps all this wealth would not have come to light otherwise..."(John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, Jonathan Cape: London 1994, 153).
The HOLY SPIRIT suggests the positive answer. He is capable of bringing forth good even from evil, from human failure and human weakness.
In the revelation of God communicated to humankind there is an embarrassment of riches. St Paul speaks of “the unfathomable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8), and asks his communities to pray that he may be able to make known these riches to others (Eph 6:19 -20). The different ecclesial communities since the Reformation have highlighted different elements of the 'unfathomable riches of Christ.' This is a patent fact.
The examples stand out. The Lutheran Church highlighted the Word of God: that Word which, though heaven and earth were to pass away, would never pass away. The Anglican Church highlighted the idea of communion, of unity in diversity. The Presbyterian Church highlighted the presence of the crucified and risen Jesus in the midst of those gathered in his name (Mt 18:20), as well as the baptismal dignity that makes each lay person a ‘royal priest.’ The Methodist Church highlighted from the unfathomable riches of Christ the Gospel as a way, a method leading to holiness, just as the first Christians in the Acts of the Apostles were called "followers of the Way."(Acts 9:2; 18:25 ,26;19:9,23;22:4; 24:14,22) The Catholic Church highlighted the Sacraments and the apostolic structure of the Gospel without neglecting the other dimensions.
This, however, cannot be a justification for the divisions that continue do deepen and even proliferate. The time must come for the love that unites us to be manifested. Many signs lead us to believe that that very time is now with us in a special way. The ecumenical movement can be interpreted as a potent sign of its arrival. A reunited Church would have to be reunited in terms of one Faith or Doctrine, one set of Sacraments with the Eucharist at its core, and one Apostolic Structure.
Such a reunited Church, however, would retain the emphasis of the Lutheran Church on the Word, it would retain the emphasis and experience of the Anglican Church on communion, the emphasis and four hundred years old experience of the Presbyterian Church of the equal baptismal dignity of all believers, and the Methodist Church's pursuit of a way of holiness. What has been lived by the various ecclesial communities could not be lost and would not be lost in such a Church. And such a vibrant Church, where the riches of the Lord's Gospel are lived out and so manifest, would be so beautiful as to be irresistible. It would become a home for the whole of humanity.’
(From ‘A fresh Perspective on the Disunity of Christians?’ © Fr. Tom Norris, 2002. St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.)
There is only one Body of Christ: one Christian Church; we are it.
Wherever we stand, we are and always have been united, though clearly not as our Lord would wish.
Our problem (and how clearly it has been shown to be both a problem and of our own making) is that we allow differences of opinion to become causes of separation, separation to become distance, and distance to become ingrained in our hearts and minds. We feel ourselves to be far apart and therefore different; unalterably so. We allow this to become the reality for us, and the one central truth which we all share and which is far greater than the differences between us – that we are all followers of Jesus Christ – seems to be forgotten.
Of course, it is easy for me to jot down a few thoughts as though oblivious to the considerable work needed to unravel all our knotted and tangled differences and causes of separation, but then, these are merely words on a blog page.
I admit to being simplistic, but if I prompt further thought in only one or two people it will have been worthwhile.
.
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