UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL (Sunday, Easter 7, Year B, 2021)

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The last words of a very important person are very important. Those who ignore them do that at their own peril. From John 17, Jesus prepared to close the chapter of His physical existence on earth, and face His passion, death and resurrection. At those last moments, He deemed it necessary to speak about the things that are most important. In John 17, Jesus specifically prayed for unity. What is it about unity that made Jesus to pray for it?

 

In His prayer for unity, Jesus asked God to consecrate His disciples in the truth. To “consecrate” is to set apart. He prayed that His disciples should be set apart in the truth. Jesus’ prayer for unity should remind us of a particular truth: that God is one (cf. Deut. 6:4; Jn. 10:30). We were not thrown into the world for no reason. We were created to be like God. The truth is that God is one. The God-Head is a community of three divine persons existing as one. This is a truth which can never be fully understood.

 

In the readings, the Church indirectly reminds us that we have been consecrated in this truth. To distance ourselves from this truth is to jeopardize our existence. Of course, history testifies to the damages that humanity has done itself because some people, down the centuries, chose to dislodge themselves from that truth. The truth is that UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.


One of the most visible factors responsible for the growth of the early Church was because there was UNITY. Twelve uneducated men went beyond frontiers, making disciples of all nations despite fierce persecutions. One of the reasons why they accomplished much is because they were united.

 

When their unity was somehow threatened by the vacuum created by Judas, they made effort to close the gap. And their efforts were materialized in the choice of Matthias as a successor of Judas. Christ earnestly prayed for the unity of believers because He knows how catastrophic disunity could be. Our world is in shambles because humanity has toiled with unity.


God is one: the source of unity. To be maliciously divisive is nothing but an affront to God. Unity does not mean uniformity. We can be one in heart but diverse in many ways. God cherishes diversity and plurality. When there is harmony, beauty is born. A nice piece of music is a product of different musical notes played in harmony.


The path to unity is the path of love. For us to attain unity, we must love genuinely. Genuine love must know no boundaries, must ignore past hurts and should never be preoccupied with differences. It is only such love that can heal our fractured, wounded and divided world.


Prayer:

Lord Jesus, consecrate us in the truth. Your word is truth!


Have a blessed Sunday!



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