Why do Christians argue and fight with each other so easily, so often, and so much? Peace among the new Christians lasted from chapter 2 to chapter 5 of Acts. Jesus’ ministry, from the very beginning, had to contend with Jewish religious leaders who argued with him and before long sought to kill him. The Church throughout the ages has struggled with matters of doctrine and practice. Christ’s church has divided again and again and again. There was the Great Schism with the Eastern churches in the eleventh century, the Protestant Reformations in the sixteenth century, and the struggles we see today.
Jesus Plea for Unity
Why? Christians seek to follow Christ and to do the Father’s will. Christians seek to be “animated by the Holy Spirit” in all things. Yet we do not do what Christ asks us to do in today’s readings, in what was the last “homily” he gave his disciples on Holy Thursday night:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me….
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
What does it mean “that they may all be one”?
For whatever reason, I often ponder this tendency we have to be ready to at least verbally fight with other Christians. Jesus is clear in today’s Gospel and the entire Farewell Discourse that he wants unity in his followers.
We do not give it to him. Why?
Though the first reading from Acts describes religious argument among Jews, rather than Christians, I think it gives some insight into how come Christians regularly and deliberately disobey Christ—and feel justified in doing it.
Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
Unity is Lost Because Our Faith is Important
Religious matters are literally matters of eternal life and death, of our relationship with God. We want to be right about them. It is important we be right—for ourselves and for those to listen to us and follow us. We care about what we believe and about following God.
Let’s read again what Jesus says to us today:
…that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
When Jesus gives us this picture, we want to be brought to perfection—by the design in our minds.
That is the difficulty. We have different designs in our minds. Or, at least, that is one difficulty.
Different Perspectives
I am reading a book about St. Paul. The author makes the point that when St. Paul was introduced to Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to him “as Lord.” He came to him as powerful: Jesus blinded him, knocked him off his horse, spoke to him, and was surrounded by great light. In his initial interaction Jesus told Paul to go into the city and wait for a Christian to lay hands on him to heal him, and to tell him what he should do. Jesus introduced himself to Paul in a very kingly, powerful way.
That is very, very different from the way Jesus introduced himself to Peter and Andrew. They were invited to “come and see,” to visit with Jesus for a day where he was staying. Next Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. THEN he worked a miracle of a great catch of fish, so Peter said to Jesus, “Depart from me, I am a sinful man.” Jesus introduced himself to them as very approachable, informal, even ordinary.
These are two very different introductions to relationship with Jesus, to entering along the way to unity with Jesus and the Father and the Spirit…and all the other Christians in the history of the world.
The Same Christ in Different Clothes?
I bring this up because this book has helped me realize that when I hear descriptions of Jesus as “Lord,” as “King,” from the latter part of the New Testament, Jesus is Lord to me, but he looks and acts and treats me the same way as Jesus interacted with the disciples in the early days of the Proclamation of the Kingdom–approachable, informal, ordinary. The Jesus who is Lord to me is truly God, but he is a God who sleeps on the ground, washes feet, and serves the least and the lowly. He is very much a God of mercy.
I have good friends whose introduction to Jesus was similar to St. Paul’s. They see his greatness. They think often of when he will come again “to judge the living and dead.” They get excited about being his servant–or even his slave. While Jesus is merciful to them, he is also very much a God of power and justice. They yearn for “all the peoples to humble themselves and bow down.” I wonder if, even when they are reading Scripture where Jesus is on the dusty roads of Galilee with hurting people, they always see Jesus as the Christ with a halo around his head.
Both these pictures are scriptural. Both are True because they come from the Word of God.
But, wow, us Christians can get intense about our preferential picture.
Division Limits the Effectiveness of Our Faith
Satan uses this to divide us. Satan, too, heard Jesus say:
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
Satan uses our tendency to only see through our own eyes to create division. He thus limits the power of unity in love.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
Unity in Love
Yes, we Christians can even argue about what “the love with which you loved me” looks like. But, if we review the Gospels and the epistles, the main outlines of what love looks and acts like are clear:
“Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (John 13: 34)“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
How do we love when we think a fellow Christian is wrong? What if we go to them as Jesus taught, and confront them, but they do not repent or change their minds? How do we respond?
Jesus washed Judas’ feet. And Peter’s. He did it before he confronted them. He did it knowing their betrayal.
He accepted Peter’s repentance by the Sea of Tiberius–even though Peter was not quite ready to embrace agape love.
He appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, even though Paul was persecuting him by persecuting Christians, even though Paul had up to that point totally rejected him.
I don’t want to be wrong. My relationship with God is THAT important to me.
But in my concern about being correct in belief, do I sometimes (maybe more than sometimes) fail to do what is not a matter of confusion or controversy:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Greater love has no man than this: to lay down his life for his friends.”
“Go out to ALL the world…”
Prayer:
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace—by choosing to behave in caring ways with all—saints, sinners, agnostics, atheists, casual Catholics, other Christians, people of other faiths, friends and foes. Make me a fruitful fruit tree, filled with actions that speak love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If I am mistaken or rebellious about ANYTHING that is of your Truth, teach me what is correct—and do the same for those with whom I disagree. I want and need to know Truth, Lord, but never let my search for Truth get in the way of my practice of Love as You Love, the Love that makes You and the Father and the Spirit One, the Love that invites ALL of us to enter into that Love.
