The church does not exist for itself. The church exists for the sake of the world, to bring the world to that "life to the full" that Jesus speaks of when he says: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) That was his mission; and for the sake of that mission, Jesus called and sent his disciples into the world.
As Fr Stephen Bevans says, "The church does not have a mission, but the mission has a church." And why? Because "God is Mission ... self-diffusive love, freely creating, redeeming, healing, challenging ..."
Likewise—and for precisely the same reason—Christian unity is not something the church "has", much less works to create or achieve, but rather something it must undergo and receive as a pure gift from the God who is one. God is absolute unity: the communion of love between the source of all love, the "Father", the beloved recipient of that love, the "Son", in the union of their mutual love, the "Holy Spirit".
Christian unity is a gift that only the source of all love, the Loving Father, can and will bestow in response to the prayer of the Beloved Son: "Father, may they be one as we are one ..." And the bestowing of that love is the "gift of the Holy Spirit": not a possession we "have" or a work we "achieve" or a reward we "earn", but a transforming, "sanctifying and uncreated" grace we undergo.
And why? To serve the world that God loves into being, sustains in being, and brings to life ... life to the full.
As Christians in the northern hemisphere begin the week of prayer for Christian unity, we, in the southern join our hearts and minds and voices with theirs:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
God Eternal Love Invincible
Grace Irresistible
make us one as you are one that we may serve the community of all creation
Amen
Comments