The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to reject the chaos of separation from others and accept the prompting of the Spirit to be One as Jesus prays for our unity.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul testifies before the Council.
* [23:11] The occurrence of the vision of Christ consoling Paul and assuring him that he will be his witness in Rome prepares the reader for the final section of Acts: the journey of Paul and the word he preaches to Rome under the protection of the Romans. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 16 is a song of Trust and Security in 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). (Psalms, PSALM 16 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of John concludes the Prayer of Jesus with an exhortation that we be One.
* [17:1–26] Climax of the last discourse(s). Since the sixteenth century, this chapter has been called the “high priestly prayer” of Jesus. He speaks as intercessor, with words addressed directly to the Father and not to the disciples, who supposedly only overhear. Yet the prayer is one of petition, for immediate (Jn 17:6–19) and future (Jn 17:20–21) disciples. Many phrases reminiscent of the Lord’s Prayer occur. Although still in the world (Jn 17:13), Jesus looks on his earthly ministry as a thing of the past (Jn 17:4, 12). Whereas Jesus has up to this time stated that the disciples could follow him (Jn 13:33, 36), now he wishes them to be with him in union with the Father (Jn 17:12–14). (John, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)
Eileen Wirth thought about this as she meditated on today’s gospel of John, “As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.” How, given our traditional Catholic reticence about proselytizing, can we do this? Good works, we do all the time but preaching, seldom or never.
We don’t work in soup kitchens and food pantries, sponsor refugees, visit the sick etc. just for themselves but because we believe that Jesus has commanded us to do so. If someone finds what we are doing attractive, we can tell them that we are motivated by our love for Jesus without forcing ourselves on them.
We should start by reminding ourselves of what Jesus commands his followers to do when they go out into the world, carry out the central commands to live for others and remember we do so in the name of Jesus.
Matthew 25. Even we Catholics can remember this citation and make it the foundation of our lives. (Wirth, 2024)
Don 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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 17:20-26 declares that Jesus knows the divisions that exist between believers of different faith traditions, and He knows the divisions in our own hearts.
“Lord, help me to share my gifts with others. In your goodness, draw all of us closer together. May our unity be so striking that it would testify to your amazing love and become an invitation for the whole world to believe in you!”
“Father, please make all your children more fully and more gloriously one in you.” (Meditation on John 17:20-26, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the strategy of Paul before the Jewish council that pits the Sadducees against the Pharisees and begins the process of his arrest and journey to Rome. The Word is preached to the ends of the earth from the spiritual capital, Jerusalem, to the political capital, Rome. Friar Jude notes Jesus' declaration of God’s choice that He prays for unity as He consecrates all who will follow Him.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares how a regular practice of contemplation changes how people behave in the world, even on a larger scale. A regular practice of contemplation makes it almost inevitable that our politics are going to change. The way we spend our time is going to be called into question. Our snug socioeconomic perspective will be slowly taken away from us. When we practice contemplative prayer consistently, the things that we think of as our necessary ego boundaries fall away, little by little, as unnecessary and even unhelpful.
Whatever our calling on behalf of the world, it must proceed from a foundational “yes” to God, to life, to Reality. Our necessary “no” to injustice and all forms of un-love will actually become even more clear and urgent in the silence. Now our work has a chance of being God’s pure healing instead of our impure anger and agenda. We can feel the difference; so many works of social justice have been undone by people fighting from their small or angry selves.
Because contemplation feels like dying and is, in fact, the experience of the death of our small self, we can only do this if Someone Else is holding us in in the process, taking away our fear. If we trust that Someone Else to do the knowing for us, we can go back to our lives of action with new vitality, but it will now be much smoother. It will be “no longer we” who act or contemplate, but the Life of the One “who lives in us” (see Galatians 2:20), now acting for and with and as us. (Rohr, n.d.)
“We and they” is a misunderstanding that supports conflict and is opposite to the prayer of Jesus for us that we be one.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB Daily Readings. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/23
John, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/17?20
Meditation on John 17:20-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/05/16/966713/
Psalms, PSALM 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/16?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Prayer and Politics. Wikipedia. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/prayer-and-politics/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). May They Become Perfectly One. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=may16
Wirth, E. (2024, May 16). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 16, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051624.html
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