Growing in Unity
“I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn 15:5a)
1 Cor 1:10-13; 3:21-23: Is
Christ divided?
Jn 17:20-23: As you and I are
one
Meditation
On the eve of his death, Jesus
prayed for the unity of those the Father gave him: “that they may all be one …
so that the world may believe”. Joined to him, as a branch is to the vine, we
share the same sap that circulates among us and vitalizes us.
Each tradition seeks to lead us
to the heart of our faith: communion with God, through Christ, in the Spirit.
The more we live this communion, the more we are connected to other Christians
and to all of humanity. Paul warns us against an attitude that had already
threatened the unity of the first Christians: absolutizing one’s own tradition
to the detriment of the unity of the body of Christ. Differences then become
divisive instead of mutually enriching. Paul had a very broad vision: “All are
yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God” (1 Cor 3:22-23).
Christ’s will commits us to a
path of unity and reconciliation. It also commits us to unite our prayer to
his: “that they may all be one. . .so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).
Never resign yourself to the scandal of the separation
of Christians who so readily profess love for their neighbour, and yet remain
divided. Make the unity of the body of Christ your passionate concern.
The Rule of Taizé in French and English (2012) p. 13
Prayer
Holy Spirit, vivifying fire
and gentle breath, come and abide in us. Renew in us the passion for unity so
that we may live in awareness of the bond that unites us in you. May all who
have put on Christ at their Baptism unite and bear witness together to the hope
that sustains them.
Taken from Resources
for The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2021, Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, p. 23.
Credit: Creative Commons Public Domain
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