OUR UNITY IN CHRIST
Dear Friends in Christ:
"Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one." (John 17:11b)
Jesus, at the Last Supper, prayed that God would protect God's people in order that they might be one, even as the Father and the Son are one in the unity of the Spirit. And the unity of the Spirit is the unity of love, of a common heart, of a shared life. That, in the very simplest of terms, is what Jesus desires for us, that we might be "of one heart and soul." (Acts 4:32)
That is a very great challenge for us. We are, after all, the children of one of the most individualistic societies in human history, nurtured on the vision of an individual's right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And to us has come the call to be "of one heart and soul."
Unity in Christ is not something that we can experience on some spiritual plane without our lives being radically changed. To be one in Christ with the other members of the Body is to have set aside much that our individualistic society counts as desirable, even essential, for human life. To be one in Christ is to discover the abundant life and the perfect freedom that are given to those who are servants of God and one another, not for our sake alone, not only for the sake of the common life of the Church, but also for the sake of its mission, for the sake of the world. Our mission is to the world, and the goal of that mission is, in the words of the Book of Common Prayer: "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ." (p. 855) It is that unity for which people yearn, and it is not only a yearning for unity with other people, but also for unity with the whole of creation, with this good earth and with all things living.
We often find it hard to experience unity with others with whom we find ourselves disagreeing. We have had to face that difficulty in our life together in this parish, and the Episcopal Church continues to face that difficulty as we grapple with important and potentially divisive issues. We can't avoid dealing with those issues, with the almost inevitable disagreements that will arise in the process. But in the midst of our disagreements, we need to remain open to the gift of unity.
Jesus prayed that we might be one, prayed for unity as God's gift to us. The gift has been given by the power of God's Spirit, but God will not force us to receive it. The choice is ours, as it always is. Will we choose to receive this gift and to have our lives transformed?
Jesus, at the Last Supper, prayed that God would protect God's people in order that they might be one, even as the Father and the Son are one in the unity of the Spirit. And the unity of the Spirit is the unity of love, of a common heart, of a shared life. That, in the very simplest of terms, is what Jesus desires for us, that we might be "of one heart and soul." (Acts 4:32)
That is a very great challenge for us. We are, after all, the children of one of the most individualistic societies in human history, nurtured on the vision of an individual's right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And to us has come the call to be "of one heart and soul."
Unity in Christ is not something that we can experience on some spiritual plane without our lives being radically changed. To be one in Christ with the other members of the Body is to have set aside much that our individualistic society counts as desirable, even essential, for human life. To be one in Christ is to discover the abundant life and the perfect freedom that are given to those who are servants of God and one another, not for our sake alone, not only for the sake of the common life of the Church, but also for the sake of its mission, for the sake of the world. Our mission is to the world, and the goal of that mission is, in the words of the Book of Common Prayer: "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ." (p. 855) It is that unity for which people yearn, and it is not only a yearning for unity with other people, but also for unity with the whole of creation, with this good earth and with all things living.
We often find it hard to experience unity with others with whom we find ourselves disagreeing. We have had to face that difficulty in our life together in this parish, and the Episcopal Church continues to face that difficulty as we grapple with important and potentially divisive issues. We can't avoid dealing with those issues, with the almost inevitable disagreements that will arise in the process. But in the midst of our disagreements, we need to remain open to the gift of unity.
Jesus prayed that we might be one, prayed for unity as God's gift to us. The gift has been given by the power of God's Spirit, but God will not force us to receive it. The choice is ours, as it always is. Will we choose to receive this gift and to have our lives transformed?
Your brother and priest,
Daniel+
