WE ARE CALLED TO BE ONE

III SUNDAY OF THE YEAR: 1 Cor 1:10-13,17

In the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for the community of his disciples, that they may be one (Jn 17:11). That they may be one is Jesus will for his Church, one that we have betrayed since the very beginning. The divisions in the Church of Corinth was one of the main reasons for Paul to write them a letter: "For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you" (1 Cor 1:11). And Paul appeals to them to reconcile and to "be in agreement", so that they may "be united in the same mind and the same purpose" (1 Cor 1:10). In the early Christianity, there was a big diversity due to different cultural and social backgrounds, but they recognised each other as brothers in Christ, who share the same faith, the same hope, the same baptism and the same bread, struggling to be one with Christ in love.

However, throughout the centuries, the Church, which is the body of Christ, has been torn to pieces, with endless quarrels and insights, based on personalities (like in Corinth) and on different practices and mainly on different interpretation and different doctrines. All this comes about, because we forget Christ and bypass him, leaving aside and putting ourselves and our pride in the middle. We listen to the desires of our hearts instead of being docile to the inspirations of the Spirit and obedient to the word of Christ.

Putting Christ in the middle of our lives and our communities, we must learn to respect each other and to cooperate, even though we recognise our differences, and some are so big that we cannot ignore them.

Many times, I hear people say: "We are the same, we worship the same God." But then, why are we divided, moving along parallel or even conflicting lines? However, that observation must lead us to recognise and appreciate what we have in common.

We are just finishing the week of prayer for the unity of the Church. We must pray together with all our brothers in Christ that we may be one. And this praying together will help us to understand and appreciate each other, giving us the courage to work together.