The theme ‘You shall love the Lord your
God… and your neighbour as yourself’ (Lk 10:27) of the Christian
Unity Octave (2024), initiated by the Catholic and Protestant Churches, the
World Council of Churches and other ecumenical bodies, and collaborated
generously in drafting the prayers and reflections, reflects
on the familiar story of the Good Samaritan, and all are encouraged to ‘Go
and do likewise’. The ecumenical bodies of Churches through this moment, try
to collaborate in making unity happen. The Gospel theme connects between love
of God and love of neighbour beyond boundaries – in giving of self in service
of the other. Jesus, throughout his ministry had
only one Mission: to gather the ‘scattered tribes’— the rich and the poor, the sinners and the saints, the outcasts and the marginalized in
charity, mercy, justice, and unity. All are
welcome to establish the unity of all
God’s people, created in His image of loving the mankind. This presents, the
coming together of heaven and earth — the coming of the Kingdom of God of
unity, justice and peace; the coming together of divinity and humanity in
Jesus, the Unifier and the Unified— yet distinct, in the plural-Trinity. Yet, how many divisions we find among the
followers of Christ! Christian Unity Octave, is aimed at promoting unity, not
just within the Churches, but among all peoples. This event, was influenced by
French Catholic priest and theologian Paul Couturier (1881-1953), and based on
Jesus’ prayer to God die Father: "That they may he one!" (John
17:21). Jesus asked for this not only for his followers, but for all humanity.
What must we do to achieve such unity? This
crucial question we all need to answer, if we are to find meaning of our life
on earth and for eternity. Every person wants a life of fullness ( Jn 10:10),
for “The glory of God is a human being fully alive” (St. Ireneus). The
existential realities of life, with divisions and disunity, often distance us
from the quest for the One God.
Our inner quest for unity brings us closer to
God and to each other, by strengthening the Christian unity, through collaboration
with Christians of all Churches. This can be a difficult task. It requires solid
commitment to dialogue and discernment, ever open to the Spirit for the sake of
serving God, and God alone, fulfilling Christ’s prayer– that all be one. Jesus showed equal love to all, including the enemies.
Being on the path of Christian unity, through loving one’s neighbour means not
being selective, but being attentive to their needs, despite of diverse
traditions.
Loving one’s neighbour “as yourself” presumes
self-acceptance just as we are, and self-respect, acceptance of one’s own Church
or community, with all its assets and failures. It is of natural instinct to
love someone of the kin, of own faith, those sharing the social status, outlook
and values. We prefer people and places of familiarity. Yet, the obligation is to
love all, regardless of caste, colour, culture and creed. To be a ‘neighbour’
within a reality of distrust and uncertainly, is to open our hearts with love
towards all, especially those who are in
need.
Christians of diverse denominations need to
go beyond convention, overcome “ecclesial and culturally conditioned
short-sightedness” and see how the life and witness of other Christian faith-fellows
reveal God’s love to others. It is only through widening our vision that we
will be drawn to others in union with Christ. The story of the Good Samaritan
teaches us that we learn more from those who are different from us, than those who
think alike. Every situation serves as an opportunity to help the needy ‘other’.
How do we, then, respond to our ‘neighbours’, within the Christian fold? How do
we heal Christ’s ‘broken’ and ‘crumbling’ Church, manifested in superiority,
insecurity, distrust and division? Do
the diverse prayerful and sacramental rituals of reconciliation, healing and blessings,
build up the Church or do they persist in divisions that distance us further
from God, and wound the Body of Christ
(Church). A Christian union that builds up the broken Church, also enhances a national unity in diversity.
The crave for social unity through solidarity
requires the recognition of others as
brothers and sisters. However, when faced with insecurity, suspicion and distrust
of our neighbours, hospitality and ecumenical dialogue become the starting steps
towards unity, in contexts of religious and cultural pluralism. Christians,
therefore, are challenged to find Christ within their Christian communities, by
loving one another. Moving beyond the
confessional traditions overcoming hostility and hate, and by practicing
ecumenical hospitality, we become ‘neighbour’ to each other –‘the one who shows
mercy.’
Neighbours are discovered in the most
unexpected people and in unexpected situations. For example, in today’s society that is so much polarized by politics which set majoritarian religion
against the minorities and by inter-communal conflict, Christians are challenged
to cross the walls of separation and build unity. Following the Lord’s command
–“Go and do likewise”, we are called to act mercifully, and genuinely love our
neighbours – to be “other Christs.” We accept, recognize and respect, and not
reject those who are different. We bring down the peace of God on all people of
goodwill. Christ calls all of us to
enter in close relationships with members of other church traditions, and bear
witness together to God’s love. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ (2
Cor 5:20), being reconciled to God and to one another. Working together for
Christian unity through mutual trust, by
opening up ecclesial wounds, will only help rebuild the single Body of
Christ.
To some conservative factions of the various
Church denominations, who consider the Catholic Pope Francis to be a dangerously progressive, in his epiphany
homily this year on the issue of
ideological splits in Church, asked the faithful to abandon
“ecclesiastical ideologies”, and focus on poor, not 'theory'. He warned against
“basking in some elegant religious theory” instead of finding “God who comes
down to visit us”, especially in the poor. The Church needs to ensure that
"our faith will not be reduced to an assemblage of religious devotions or
mere outward appearance.” Instead, we open up more to each other, resolve
conflict, and strengthens our bonds of unity. In fact, the same Francis and the
Archbishop of Canterbury jointly have commissioned bishops for a unified
mission. A special summit, took place during the Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity, that brought together over 50 Anglican and Catholic bishops representing
27 countries. Additionally, some recent publications related to ecumenical
movements, evoke the spirit of Pope Francis in charting a new course, exploring
the “desire for Christian unity” with a
global reach.
In the midst of many existing divisions among the followers of Christ,
the effort towards Christian unity promotes ecumenical unity, as well as unity
among all peoples, who seem to be in distress and pain. The prevalent practice
is to claim an individual’s, group’s, or nation's distinct identity as
different from others, by creating distance. It’s all about being oneself.
Within this global ‘egotistic’ disorder and false nationalism with diverse
identity-based communities, further fragmented by Hindutva political
propositions, the Christians face the
challenge of identifying themselves as a single body of Christ, as mistrust is
on the rise. It proves difficult to break the barrier of denominational
identity in order to be recognised as 'Christians', building up a visible unity
in Christ. Acknowledging each Church’s vulnerabilities, the varied voices and
the prevailing cacophony, and by speaking with one voice under a common
formula, the principle of unity is to be sought after, so that there be only
one flock and one Shepherd – the Christ. Christian unity cannot be achieved
through mere theoretical discussions. We need to seek new practical ways: to
encounter one another, challenge each other, harmonize diversities, overcome
conflicts and reconcile differences.
In this context, the prayer moments during
the Christian Unity Octave seeks the spiritual support of the ecumenical
movement. A complete and universal Church unity is not just a goal, but a
prophetic path for all Christian communities lead towards the common good of
all, realized through a shared mission and witness. Through such
ecumenical observances, prayer moments, dialogue and discussions, we can find concrete
and creative paths to grow together in joint witness and mission. Jointly, as
apostles of Christ, ecumenically we need to be ‘sent’ in reciprocal pairs, or
through ecumenical groups, to be witnesses to Christian unity.
It’s time for all the Churches and denominations
jointly to move closer – a hard task
though. All it needs is the will act now, if we want to overcome the disunity in the
Body of Christ. Through dialogue, personal friendships, learning from each
other, listening to the Gen-X youth, tapping
their energy and enthusiasm, we can stir up the ‘ecumenical mantra’ against
institutional inertia that is existing today. Let all denominations together
make statements about political and social matters by resourcing all
investigations and commissions through joint initiatives. And mostly, let the ecclesial
authorities act in the light of the Gospel, through shared responsibility. Unity
cannot be achieved through the personal authority of the supreme heads of the
Churches alone. There is the need to explore ‘synodality’, within the
ecumenical process, keeping guard against autocracy while being open to dissent,
and to exercise the freedom to be
different. The need for pastoral care of the wounded and excluded through
social charity and through a leadership
from below, would act as a catalyst to connect and build up that Christian
unity – a hope for the future.
Finally, only an ecumenical opening to God’s
love and love of neighbour, – the primary principle of pursuing peace and
reconciliation – will help discover our shared identity. Such quest may be
hindered by the eroded moral values and a commercialized spirituality, a lack
of humaneness and of concern for the common good, probity and integrity.
Therefore, faced with these realities, it is all the more imperative for all the
Christian Churches to witness to God’s love as a single member of the Body of
Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, as
we walk with You towards unity, let us not avert our gaze from the world, but
keep it vigilant. Grant that, as we travel the paths of our life, we are able
to stop and hold out our hand, to bind up the wounded and thus feel that You
are present in them, You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
The ecumenical movement
is understood as a twentieth-century movement of European origin with a global
reach. The book, (L’unità dei cristiani. Storia di un
desiderio. XIX-XXI secolo. I. Aurora ecumenicae), A History of the Desire for Christian Unity. Ecumenism
in the Churches (19th–21st Century) is
a multi-volume reference work on the history of ecumenism, "a reference work, a
reconstruction of the arc of time in which the Christian churches transitioned
from a position of hostility to one of dialogue, and from separation to forms
of communion. Scholars across the continents and disciplines explore a history
of individuals and groups, generations and assemblies, documents and programs,
theologies and practices, all firmly placed within the framework of a desire
for unity." An international research project its text brings
together contributions from scholars of various disciplines and different
Churches. It shows how Christians, during the 19th and 20th centuries, participated in
a process unprecedented in the history of the Church, towards the need for the unity
not only of Christians, but of all people. This is the first of three-volume work
project. Cf. Alberto Melloni (Author),
Luca Ferracci (ed), A History of the Desire for Christian Unity - Ecumenism
in the Churches, 19th-21st Century, Dawn of ecumenism, Foundation for
Religious Sciences, Brill, Leiden, 2021.
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