In with and through

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the tension between people with differing opinions in contrast with the unity of living in, through, and with Christ in the Father and the Spirit.

Dealing with different opinions

In the passage from Acts, Paul speaks before the Sanhedrin and the assembly deteriorates to conflict.

* [23:5] Luke portrays Paul as a model of one who is obedient to the Mosaic law. Paul, because of his reverence for the law (Ex 22:27), withdraws his accusation of hypocrisy, “whitewashed wall” (cf. Mt 23:27), when he is told Ananias is the high priest.1 

Psalm 16 reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God.

 * [Psalm 16] In the first section, the psalmist rejects the futile worship of false gods (Ps 16:2–5), preferring Israel’s God (Ps 16:1), the giver of the land (Ps 16:6). The second section reflects on the wise and life-giving presence of God (Ps 16:7–11).2

In the Gospel from John, the Priestly Prayer of Jesus turns to our unity.

* [17:24] Where I am: Jesus prays for the believers ultimately to join him in heaven. Then they will not see his glory as in a mirror but clearly (2 Cor 3:18; 1 Jn 3:2).
* [17:26] I will make it known: through the Advocate.3 

Barbara Dilly asks how does faith sustain us on a day to day basis?

Can it be, that we too are in the presence of angels as spirit messengers from God?  The Bible says angels exist, so I believe they are real. But I don’t know exactly what they look like or sound like.  I don’t think anyone has a definitive definition of their essence, despite the fact artists have imagined them variously for ages.  I’ve never seen those angels except for maybe at a children’s Christmas pageant. But I do believe angels comfort and protect us and help keep us on the right path by bringing messages to us even today just as they did for our ancestors throughout the Old and New Testaments.   I often feel them near, especially during difficulties, and always in times when I am drawing on my faith for courage to witness to the Gospel. I can’t explain it in concrete terms and I don’t feel the need to do so. It is a matter of faith and I think it is an individual thing with each of us.  We all must develop our own faith and our own relationships with angels. It isn’t going to be the same for everybody.4 

Don Schwager notes that Jesus' prayers were personal, direct, and focused on the welfare and well-being of others - especially that they might find peace and unity with God and with one another. Schwager quotes “Prayer of unity for all who believe,” by Cyprian of Carthage - first martyr bishop of Africa, 200-258 A.D.

"The Lord's loving-kindness, no less than his mercy, is great in respect of our salvation in that, not content to redeem us with his blood, he in addition prayed for us. See now what the desire of his petition was, that just as the Father and Son are one, so also we should abide in absolute unity. From this, it may be evident how greatly someone sins who divides unity and peace, since even the Lord himself petitioned for this same thing. He no doubt desired that his people should in this way be saved and live in peace since he knew that discord cannot come into the kingdom of God." (excerpt from THE LORD'S PRAYER 30.1)5 

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 17:20-26 comments that unity of purpose can help us understand one facet of the unity that Jesus prayed for in today’s Gospel, but he wants us to know much more than unity of purpose. He wants us to know unity of love and unity of vision as well.

It’s no secret that the Church is fractured and that Jesus’ prayer remains unfulfilled. We know that Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox are separated. There are countless different denominations, and the Catholic Church continues to suffer from internal divisions. Even on a smaller level, every parish seems to have its own difficulties.
And so Jesus continues to pray that his followers become one as they share in his Father’s perfect, selfless love. He wants more than cooperation and tolerance. He wants reconciliation and love. When our divisions no longer define our relationships, we’ll begin to see each other as brothers and sisters. We may not believe everything in exactly the same way, but we can rejoice that there is far more that unites us than divides us.
How can we promote Christian unity? By praying. We can bless our brothers and sisters from other traditions. We can ask the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts toward each other. We can echo Jesus’ prayer that all barriers of hostility would be broken down and that God’s children would be one.6 

Friar Jude Winkler provides background to the differences between the Sadducees and the Pharisees concerning Sacred Texts, angels, and resurrection. Paul is called to take the message of Christ from the spiritual centre of the world, Jerusalem, to the political centre in Rome. Friar Jude restates the theme of Jesus prayer for all to be in a relationship of truth and love.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares a short excerpt from Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis’ book “The Power of Stories” as he hopes we will commit to change our culture, communities, churches, and institutions into places where all feel like they belong and are completely welcome.

The gospel message is clear, yet relatively few clergy are able to lead their congregants into this vision of shalom. Clergy do not lead in a vacuum; they work in a context and in a culture that is often counter to the gospel. In other words, the vision we are called to story is often met with resistance that needs to be navigated. We must learn to cross cultural borders and break down resistance to a radical ethic of welcome.7 

In the excellent podcast discussion AST Podcast on Climate Catastrophe, David Deane of the Atlantic School of Theology expresses concern about the tension that labels Catholics, including Pope Francis as “liberal” and “conservative”.

The differing opinions of people present challenges to overcome as we strive to choose unity supported by our Life in the Spirit of the Father and Son.

References

1	(n.d.). Acts, chapter 23 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/23
2	(n.d.). Psalm 16 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/16
3	(n.d.). John, chapter 17 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/17
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved June 6, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
6	(n.d.). Saint Norbert, Bishop (Optional Memorial) - Mass Readings and .... Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/06
7	(2019, June 6). Breaking Down Walls — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 6, 2019, from https://cac.org/breaking-down-walls-2019-06-06/