Our common call

During this coming week, the Church is encouraged to pray together for the grace of unity, especially among Christians.  Every year, this week reminds us of a time when all those who worship Jesus as Christ (the anointed one) were united in our beliefs and in our gathering around the table of the Eucharist.  This week also reminds us of the frailty and humanity of our Church because the unity that we enjoyed for the first millennium of our existence was disrupted because of conflicts that could not be resolved.  Ever since that time, we have been working toward re-establishing the unity that once existed.

In our search for unity, it is helpful to remember that whether we pray according to the Roman Catholic or other Christian traditions , whether we gather with other Christians who follow the Western liturgy or the Eastern one, we share a common past for we are all striving to live according to the example and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, the man who walked along the Sea of Galilee and saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea (Mk 1:16).  This same Jesus also saw James ... and his brother John ... mending their nets (Mk 1:19).  In both cases, Jesus invited them to follow him, and they left their old lives behind and followed him (cf Mk 1:18, 20).

When Jesus saw these four men on the beach that day, he invited them to change their ways, to risk letting go of a lifestyle that they knew and to set out on a new adventure.  Jesus challenged them to go into uncharted territory.  I think that those four fishermen were very brave because not everyone would be able to give up the security of an established way of life and to set out in search of something new, yet they were willing.  And what about us? Are we courageous enough to set out with Jesus on a new adventure?  Are we willing to embrace a new beginning in a few weeks’ time when all Catholics in Elliot Lake will begin to gather under one roof?

Long before the disciples set out on this adventure, there were others who had been invited to do the same.  Today’s first reading recounts the story of Jonah who heard the word of the Lord saying: Get up, go to Nineveh ... and proclaim to it the message that I will tell you (Jonah 3:2).  Throughout the history of God’s relationship with his beloved people, he has constantly invited us to get up from the places and activities that we know best, to allow ourselves to be shaken out of our complacency so that we can be awakened to new encounters.  We never know where or when our God will need us to proclaim the message that he reveals to us, and we never know the effect that our words may have on the hearts and souls of those who hear them.

Saint Paul’s words addressed to the young Christian community at Corinth reveal a belief on his part that appointed time when Jesus would return had grown short (1 Cor 7:29).  Two millennia have gone by since Paul wrote those words, but we still do not know for sure when Jesus will return, so should we not strive to live as though that time were sooner rather than later?  Now is the time for us to do what we can to recognize the hurts that have resulted in separations: not only among our fellow Christians but also among our own families and friends.  Now is the time for us to pray for the grace of healing and to resist the temptation to wait for others to make the first move.  If we took the initiative to begin the process of reconciliation, perhaps there would be less turmoil among our friends and families, perhaps there might even be a chance for promoting unity among Christians who still long to see the day when we will gather around the same Eucharistic table to pray and to break bread again.