Praying for Christian Unity

How many of us know that we are in the middle of the week set aside by the Church for prayers for Christian unity? I would guess that it passes most of us by without a great deal of thought. This is of course a great sadness, because we know that for Jesus, one of the things which he prayed for during the Last Supper was that we may all be one. He prayed this prayer in order that our witness as his disciples, should be testament to the world that it was the Father who sent him. These words are his final ones to his disciples gathered together before his goes to his fate. What are we to make of them?

I think that we have become a bit blasé about the whole concept of Christian Unity and tend to treat it as something which is no longer high up in the order of importance in matters ecclesial. We have we contend, more urgent issues to think about within our own denominations, and that the larger and wider topic of ecumenism can be left for a little while longer, for a time when our own concerns within the context of our own communities have been resolved. Well maybe, but it does us no good to disregard what Jesus himself prayed for, and so, one week in the year is the least we should be prepared to offer in the cause of true and faithful ecumenical action. The very word ecumenism refers to a “sense of renewal of the house” which as Christians we all inhabit together, by virtue of our common baptism. However, as we read in the Second Reading at Mass this weekend, we have from the very outset of the Church been prone to prioritise our own preferences and thus create differences. St Paul reminds us that at the heart and centre of our faith are the deeds and words of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, and we must never neglect or forget this. Of course, doctrinal and liturgical differences matter, and we strive with all our resolve to heal the wounds that have so bruised our fractured unity. We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the clear desire on the part of our Church leaders to steer the barque of Peter in the direction of unity, such wounds can and will be healed.

But what of us here now? What can we do? Well, we can make the effort to become involved in the work of ecumenism. As our new parish emerges shouldn’t we also be reaching out to our fellow Christians in common mission and discipleship which can be achieved by becoming closer and more united in our witness? Perhaps a group of parishioners might like to start up such a collaboration. If so let me know and we can see what can be done. As for celebrating this special week we are invited to prayer at Kingswood Methodist Church, Lambourne Drive, Wollaton at 6.30pm on Sunday. Let’s make the effort and help steer the barque.