I woke up this morning with the realization that I was preparing to leave for Rome tomorrow. Not merely to visit or sight see, but to be a part of a delegation from the Communion of which I belong that will be visiting with Pope Francis. Our purpose is to discuss how our two Communions might work for the reality of “visible unity.” For those of you who have been following these developments you know that this is the prayer of our Lord.
John 17:20-23 ¶ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word :21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. :22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one :23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Visible unity is crucial to the Church’s witness so that people will be able to see and believe in Jesus. “…the world will know you are my disciples because you have love for one another.” Visible unity is in harmony with the nature as well as the purpose of the Church. We are all called to reaffirm our commitment to the goal of visible unity. The Church can be a forceful and effective sign of unity in a world marked by militant division and massive discrimination only when its unity is concretely recognizable.
Simply stated in a “divided world” the Church must be seen united, so that the world may know the Christ. This was and remains the great prayer of Christ as he faced the cross. We can no longer be satisfied with invisible fellowship or mere coexistence.
The unity of the Church is a given in Christ. I am very aware that we cannot produce it through our own efforts. However, it is our task to contribute to the atmosphere where this visible unity could become a reality.
The visible nature of the Church cannot be identified with merely its structural dimensions. However, the Holy Spirit never works in thin air, but through visible means. Unity must and will take place in a given space through a visible people.
Unity does not mean conformity. Blaise Pascual said, “diversity without unity leads to confusion, while unity without diversity is tyranny.” Our goal is not for a conformity or acceptance of accommodating pluralism, but the goal must be real unity, based on the foundations of our faith.
Unfortunately the western church has been overrun by a radically privatized Christian spiritually. People have abandoned historical, classical, creedal systems, choosing instead to invent their own religion. Spiritualities of these kinds have become major players in todays consumer culture, having a great impact on the church of the modern west.
This alteration of “the faith” that was “handed down” (Jude) in many ways has totally altered the genuine Christian faith. One could even argue that these marketed spiritualities have more in common with the kind of gnostic spirituality that was opposed by the early church. This has left a real deficit for real authentic spirituality.
The call and the desire to live a life in the Holy Spirit are at the very center of Christian spirituality. Paul reminded us of the call to the “unity of the Spirit.” I will state again the Holy Spirit does not work in “thin air.” The Holy Spirit works through word and sacrament in a particular space. This space is not limited to “the Church” in the terms that some would think (building or institution); the Spirit is the Spirit of creation and re-creation.
We are called into the “communion of the Spirit” (2 Corn. 13:14), this keeps the parts, the members of the Body of Christ together (1 Corn. 12) and joining all in a living fellowship (Eph. 4). If we reduce the work of the Holy Spirit to the level of individual experience or merely structural institutions we radically devaluate the Spirit’s role in the Church.
Unity requires that the Church must be “renewed” in the works of the Holy Spirit not only on an individual level or institution level, but organically and visibly.
I was confronted this morning by a Christian who made it very clear that they thought our efforts of unity are misguide and down right wrong. I was stunned by the reality that many Christians are so isolated within their own individualism or institutionalism that they view the goal of unity with fear. Fear…., that is what stands in the way of the fulfillment of the dying Messiah’s prayer.
As I walked away I heard the Spirit speak, “Perfect love cast out fear….the world will know you are my disciples because you have love for one another.” “Unity of the Spirit” is the only unity that will lead to the manifestation of the Body of Christ in a visible and tangible way. A way that will open the eyes of all who see her.
I sincerely believe the prayer of Jesus in John 17. I truly believe that we must be co-labors with the Holy Spirit to realize the unity of the Church.
So again, I am honored and humbled to be a small part of that effort. I am more encouraged than ever that the Church must collaborate with the Holy Spirit to see the Love of God shed abroad in our hearts and that love will be revealed in the goal of visible unity.
