Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17:20-26
It's the evening of Jesus' arrest, and he's speaking from his heart to the disciples, knowing that this will probably be his last chance he'll have to speak with them for a while. He concludes the evening with a prayer to God; a prayer for his disciples and all the people of his Church, now and in the future.
The essence of his prayer is that all men and women, as children in the family of God, be united as one in love. "May they be as one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one...so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
This unified love is the greatest commonality we can have with each other. It makes us all part of the same thing; not something that divides and separates, but something that unites.
This unity in Christ's body, the Church, leads us to a different approach in living with other people. Typically, when we try to relate with other people, we follow the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together." This means that only people with some commonality with each other will like each other, trust each other, and want to be with one another. Common characteristics are the basis for forming groups, whether around politics, sports teams, social causes, or hobbies. We want to be with other people of like mind. Those who do not share some similar characteristics are not valued as much, and usually draw little concern from the group.
Christ, on the other hand, is asking us to look at all this from a slightly different (but all-important) perspective. All people already have a singular commonality – we are all children of God, all brothers and sisters, and we all share the same Father, the same Son, and the same Holy Spirit. It is by this virtue that we are already all one, and really need look no further for common characteristics. Because of this, we share a common concern for everyone.
Once we really believe this, and start to treat people as though they really are our brothers and sisters, we will be living in a universal commonality, and there will be no need to seek out other commonalities just for the purpose of "flocking." Perhaps what might happen at this point, is that we would have time and patience to discover the uniqueness of each person, or the variety and diversity each cultural group has to offer, and celebrate that, too. How much we could learn from each other!
Knowing that we are all part of one family, the family of God, removes some of the fear we usually have of the unknown. Certainly, there are still those who don't or won't recognize their spiritual attachments to each other, and may choose ill will. Love is given freely, but trust must be earned. Some people, because of what they have done, or will still do, to harm others, may have to be perpetually contained. That's part of the price we all pay for having free will. But without free will there can be no love, for love is a choice.
Christ's prayer is that we all recognize this commonality of family that is inherently built into us. There is a piece of God in each of our souls, or they could not exist. Our challenge is to first awaken to this truth and then learn to live it in service to God in our own unique way, using the special gifts, interests, and opportunities each of us has been given.
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