Towards Christian Unity
/I admit that the second reading this weekend makes me cry. Every time.
Can you imagine a world of Christian faith where, "all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose."?
I mean, really, I can't even imagine the pain that would have been spared in just my immediate world if that were the case! Christian unity isn't just a passing item on an agenda packed with more important things. Christian unity is a big, big deal.
And it starts here. And wherever you are reading this. Then it spreads to coffee shops where women of different denominations can share from their hearts that God. is. good. Where they can bow their heads and pray God's blessing into the lives of one another. It spreads to soccer fields where boys begin to wonder about something special in the three that that gather to pray before every game. And the three? They share. Without asking for a membership badge or a special handshake, they just make the holy huddle a little bigger. And then a little bigger still. At the rate they're going, the whole team will be praying together before spring brings a thaw to those frozen fields.
The internet is a formidable force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-filled people pray for one another.
Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.
We've been doing this awhile now. I pop in here every week, share Sunday's scripture and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes. And then you share your heart and tell me how we can pray for you that week. Deal?
{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.}
Reading 2
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
that all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
“If we look at the divisions that still exist among Christians, Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, we are aware of the effort required to make this unity fully visible.”
“Our unity is not primarily a fruit of our own consensus or of the democracy in the Church, or of our effort to get along with each other; rather, it comes from the One who creates unity in diversity… The Holy Spirit is the mover. This is why prayer is important. Pray to the Holy Spirit that he may come and create unity in the Church.” ~Pope Francis
