"That they may be one"

In a recent reflection (6/29) by Benedict XVI, the Holy Father said, “The aim of the Church’s mission is a humanity that has itself become a living glorification of God, the true worship that God expects.  This is the profound meaning of catholicity.”

I love this picture of the Holy Father!

He later refers to the great Passion psalm, Psalm 22. This was the psalm that our Lord cried out on the cross, those famously chilling and mysterious words, “My God, my God, what hast thou forsaken me?”  But less known is the conclusion of the psalm:  “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the families of the nations shall worship before Him.” In this Psalm we see Christ’s work vividly mirrored from beginning to end:  His Most Sorrowful Passion, His Death on the Cross, and in verse 27, the Victory of God in the Resurrection.  It is the conclusion of this psalm that forms the core of our Faith and leads Benedict to contemplate what unity is.

The Holy Father says, “The unity of man, in their multiplicity, became possible because God, the one God of heaven and earth, became visible and showed himself to us in the face of Christ.” The fact of the Incarnation is an essential truth of Christianity.  It unites us as brothers and the victory of God captures us as we are in turn captivated by the Face of God in Christ in worship.  “We are the worshipers who worship in Spirit and Truth.”  It is only worship that can unite humanity, and it is only worship in “Spirit and Truth.”  Scott Hahn once said, “The only hope for a united humanity is in the true worship of the One True God.”  This is the heart of Christianity’s vision for humanity, and it is the heart of Benedict’s pontificate in terms of the renewal of the Church.  Benedict  concluded his reflection with this statement: “Catholicity and unity go together, and unity has a content - the Faith that the Apostles transmitted to us on behalf of Christ.”

The  phrase “unity has a content” caught my attention the most in this reflection.   Unity is something every committed Christian longs for.  (This was beautifully expressed in thePope’s sermon on the Eve of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.)  The most profound and beautiful expression of unity in Scripture is from Jesus' prayer in John 17: “That they may be one, as the Father and I are one.”  For unity to mean anything, for unity to be able to unite, to bring together around something common, it must have a content, a core, a center.  The content of unity is the Apostolic teaching received from Jesus and passed on and safeguarded by the Church.  The form of unity is that very content being lived out in the Liturgy (See the blog on Moved by Grace, "Viva Christo Rey", on how Katie and I experienced this a taste of this unity through the Liturgy).    This conviction to the Truth of the Apostolic Witness and the right worship of the One True God form the impetus behind any real thinking about unity.

 In my journey to the Catholic Faith I’ve had many long and heartfelt discussions about unity.  Some of these are beautiful and filled with humility, patience, zeal, and a spirit of inquiry.  Truly, these are exemplary of a “faith seeking understanding” as Anselm said.  Some of these amount to mere  expressions of sentiment that quickly end once the “content” begins to be discussed.   Others don’t get off the ground because a latent indifference in regards to the content.  This indifference among what most consider strong Christians saddens and frustrates me.  I think the refusal to think is a rejection of the Logos, the living Word of God, Christ.  In my experience, many of my evangelical friends, when I told them about my path to Catholicism simply said, "that's cool" and didn't want to discuss it. I'm sure there are many reasons for this kind of response, but at least one is an erroneous view of unity, one not rooted in content but in sentiment, insecurity, or something else. Perhaps Christians who seem indifferent to the division within the Church are unaware that, whatever one’s ecclesiology, the division hinders the very witness the people of God are trying to live and teach. 

Finally, there are still other discussions (these are the most rare) that rightly focus on the intellectual divisions between Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, that is, on the nature of the Apostolic Faith that has been given to us “on behalf of Christ”; These discussions of the content of unity take courage and time to engage in (hence the rare part).  Some of these are fruitful and others aren't.  The unfruitful discussions are not done with “the spirit of fear and timidity” and not “the spirit of love and self-discipline” given us by Divine Grace.  I confess I have many times fallen into this unproductive dialogue with that hidden monster, Pride, in my heart.   There are also those in this kind of discussion that out of insecurity and fear find the exit door of the conversation when their understanding may be too closely under scrutiny.  I think this may be because we forget that God doesn’t accept us because we understand him or comprehend him (I think the latter ) but only through sheer and lavish Grace.  These are the kinds of discussions I’ve had about unity. 

This reflection today, combined with some articles and blogs, and a recent fruitful dialogue with two deep friends have helped me grow in my understanding of unity and how to live and think about it with Christians who differ in doctrine.  I read an article in First Things entitled, “The Reformation Wrongly Blamed”, that pointed out the deeper failures of Christian love in the tragedy of the Reformation.  This without ignoring the intellectual aspect, for it was about what the “content” of the Faith was and is.  This resonated with me, especially in light of a recent experience with two deep friends, both passionate men who love Christ and who are not Catholic.  One is from the Reformed tradition and the other is (loosely, I'm sure he'd say) from the Anabaptist tradition.  The Reformed friend said in the email inviting us to meet: “Let’s get together and drink good beer and have some unorthodox chats about orthodoxy.  You know the joke, right?  What happens when a Catholic, a Reformed Christian, and Anabaptist go into a bar…”  My heart warmed and I smiled as I read this.  Needless to say, we met, drank good beer, had fruitful unorthodox chats about orthodoxy and life and deepened the unity we do have.

In true humility we discussed Peter Leithart’s recent article on unity and related blogs and articles. We talked about the Eucharist, all painfully aware as we ate and drank around a table at McMenimens, of that tragic division that remains, yet none of us blaming others in anger or fear for that tragedy.  My friends asked me questions I couldn't answer and that was okay.  We agreed and disagreed out of love and respect.   I know that I truly trust God in them.  I know they are on their own pilgrimage, fighting their demons, and striving to be holy as He is holy.

What struck me about this meeting, the article from First Things, and this reflection today by Benedict is that unity and catholicity is first rooted in Truth.  True ecumenism is about the Truth, but at the same time and equally important is that the Truth cannot stand and walk without  Love and Humility.  Unity, and I’m thinking specifically of unity between Protestant and Catholics, is impossible apart from these, and especially the latter as the First Things and conversation brought out.  I think what my wife had engraved on the inside of my wedding ring from 1 Peter 4:8 can serve as a helpful reminder for me in any discussion on unity:  "Love one another deeply, for love covers a multitude of sins."

I pray we may all learn to love more deeply and I pray that through this love our Lord would be pleased and our witness to his victory would be stronger - for in unity is strength.  I leave you with a joyful lesson that I pray encourages you in your relationships with those brothers and sisters and family and friends who believe differently, especially in the dialogue between Protestants and Catholics.  You have heard the joke, right?  When a Catholic, Reformed Christian, and Anabaptist go into a bar and come out again with more love towards one another, the joke is not on us!  Ironically, and with truly deep humor, the joke is on the one who cannot laugh – the prince of darkness who glories in distrust and division.