MAY THEY ALL BE ONE

May 20, Thursday

 

SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER

 

“May they all be one… May the love with which you loved me be in them, so that I may be in them.” There is perhaps no stronger witnessing – that the world would believe that Jesus is the one sent – than that those who believe in Christ would also be united in one love by the bond of love which is the Holy Spirit. But, the tragic reality is that, Christians are divided in many denominations and sects. Even in our Church, there are different groups, usually people of good will and full of good intentions. We need ecumenism not only between Churches but also in our Church. Is the love with which the Father has loved Christ not in us?

 

First Reading: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11

The next day, determined to get to the root of the trouble and know for sure what was behind the Jewish accusation, the captain released Paul and ordered a meeting of the high priests and the High Council to see what they could make of it. Paul was led in and took his place before them.

Paul, knowing some of the council was made up of Sadducees and others of Pharisees and how they hated each other, decided to exploit their antagonism: “Friends, I am a stalwart Pharisee from a long line of Pharisees. It’s because of my Pharisee convictions—the hope and resurrection of the dead—that I’ve been hauled into this court.”

The moment he said this, the council split right down the middle, Pharisees and Sadducees going at each other in heated argument. Sadducees have nothing to do with a resurrection or angels or even a spirit. If they can’t see it, they don’t believe it. Pharisees believe it all. And so a huge and noisy quarrel broke out. Then some of the religion scholars on the Pharisee side shouted down the others: “We don’t find anything wrong with this man! And what if a spirit has spoken to him? Or maybe an angel? What if it turns out we’re fighting against God?”

That was fuel on the fire. The quarrel flamed up and became so violent the captain was afraid they would tear Paul apart, limb from limb. He ordered the soldiers to get him out of there and escort him back to the safety of the barracks.

That night the Master appeared to Paul: “It’s going to be all right. Everything is going to turn out for the best. You’ve been a good witness for me here in Jerusalem. Now you’re going to be my witness in Rome!”

 

Gospel: John 17:20-26

I’m praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.

Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendour you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.

 

Prayer

Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
and Father of all people,
we believe in you
and we know that you loved Jesus
with a deep and trusting, lasting love.
Let your Holy Spirit pour out this love
into the hearts of all those
who believe in Jesus, our Savior and Shepherd.
Let this love unite us in one common bond
of understanding and respect for one another
and let that love dispose us
to live for one another and to serve one another
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Recognize the good and beauty

In the third part of his “Priestly Prayer” Jesus stretches the horizon. After having pleaded with the Father for him and for the community of disciples, he now asks the Father for the gift of faith and love for all believers: “May they all be one, like you, Father, in me, and I in you.” The highest request of Jesus. Brotherhood is the inevitable sign of authentic Christian fellowship.

This brotherhood that Jesus asks for is not uniformity. It is not that we all have to go through the same model. Our faith fellowship is a permanent invitation to know how to integrate the differences of others, not to see them as a threat, but as a possibility of mutual enrichment. It is a constant challenge. By natural instinct we tend to associate with people of same culture, who speak our language and share our sensibilities. When we tend to see people who are different from us, in culture, colour, race or nationality as an enemy, our world becomes so divided, and we run into bloody conflicts and wars.

The words of Jesus are clear and it calls on us to live as brothers and sisters, sharing the joys and concerns of one another. And if we thought, it is easy to consider the other as our brother or sister, just try it! Soon we would realise how hard it is not to impose ourselves, not to compete. Jesus prays that we, his brothers and sisters who are in this world, have the generosity to reach out to help one another, to understand one another, to lean on, where mercy and compassion are a priority.

We easily forget this invitation of Jesus to unity. It is not something that is imposed. It is a gift that is received and needs to be cultivated. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit we are aspiring for. Jesus concludes his prayer by asking that we all love each other.
Pope Francis composed a beautiful prayer for fraternity in his encyclical Fratelli tutti. Let us join him and pray:

Lord and Father of humanity,
who created all human beings with equal dignity,
instil in our hearts a fraternal spirit.
Inspire us with a dream of reunion, dialogue, justice and peace.
Impulse us to create healthier societies
and a more dignified world,
without hunger, without poverty, without violence, without wars.
May our hearts open
to all the peoples and nations of the earth,
to recognize the good and beauty
that you sowed in each one,
to strengthen bonds of unity, of common projects,
of shared hopes.
Amen.
(Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti )

 

Video available on Youtube: Recognize the good and beauty