So that we may be one

 

In readings from Ezekiel [Ezekiel 37:21-28] and Jeremiah [Jeremiah 31:10-13], we hear God promising to gather the scattered remnants of Israel, and in the Gospel [John 11:45-57], John, interpreting the high priest’s comments, sees Jesus gathering “into one the dispersed children of God”.  In all three of these readings, it’s God who acts.  Plainly we can’t do it ourselves.  Humans divide.  It is God who unifies.  What we need to hear and understand is that unity is what God wants.  Though we can’t do it ourselves, we certainly can impede it, and we desperately need to understand how doing that would be completely contrary to God’s will.

Even though people in these readings are separated by nationality, location, language, they’re brought together by one belief, one God, the King of all—regardless of nation.  The Gospel is leading up to Easter now:  leading up to Christ’s sacrifice and thinking ahead to the results of that sacrifice.  Caiaphas, addressed them: "Can you not see that it is better for you to have one man die [for the people] than to have the whole nation destroyed?"  (He didn’t say this on his own.  It was rather as high priest for that year that he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation -- and not for this nation only, but to gather into one all the dispersed children of God.)  When Christ died He brought into being that new nation of Christians, united under one God, one King, one belief.  Through this one death a whole nation was created.

I’m thinking of the ways we’re divided in this world – all variants of “us” and “them”: white and black, immigrant and native-born, gay and straight, rich and poor, Protestant and Catholic, liberal and conservative, clerical and lay. . . the list is endless.  These kinds of divisions are ingrained in our psyches – in our biology even.  That’s why what Jesus has done is to make something totally new – totally different.

This isn’t to suggest that these distinctions are trivial, nor that we can abolish them by willing it.  But they're not as important as the equality and unity of the new creation, which has to be given precedence whenever there seems to be conflict with the new creating that God is doing.  It's important to remember that we humans use these divisions for dominance.  But there is no dominance in the new creation.  There is, instead, only self-giving.  I recall what Paul wrote: “Neither Jew or Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female” [Galatians 3:28].   And Jesus, in His prayer to the Father at the last supper, asked God that: “they may be one, as you Father and I are one – so that the world may believe you sent me…..” [John 17:21]

 I’ve attended Mass in Italy, in Ecuador, in Mexico, and in at least five different states.  Despite different cultures and different languages the basic experience is the same.  The celebration of the Eucharist is beyond language.  Christ’s sacrifice is beyond national boundaries.  Anywhere in the world Mass is a coming together of the Christian community for celebration.  Separate nationalities become meaningless in the larger Christian community. 

“So that the world may believe. . . ”  Division doesn’t manifest God.  We, as Church, don’t show God’s presence so long as we’re divided.