DAY SEVEN - Growing in unity “I am the vine, you are the branches”
Scripture
Jn 15:5a
1
Cor 1:10-13; 3:21-23 Is Christ divided?
Jn
17:20-23 As you and I are one
Meditation
On the eve of his death, Jesus prayed for the unity of those
the Father gave him: “that they may all be one … so that the world may
believe”. Joined to him, as a branch is to the vine, we share the same sap that
circulates among us and vitalizes us.
Each tradition seeks to lead us to the heart of our faith:
communion with God, through Christ, in the Spirit. The more we live this
communion, the more we are connected to other Christians and to all of
humanity. Paul warns us against an attitude that had already threatened the
unity of the first Christians: absolutizing one’s own tradition to the
detriment of the unity of the body of Christ. Differences then become divisive
instead of mutually enriching. Paul had a very broad vision: “All are yours,
and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God” (1 Cor 3:22-23).
Christ’s will commits us to a path of unity and
reconciliation. It also commits us to unite our prayer to his: “that they may
all be one. . .so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).
Never resign yourself to the scandal of the separation of
Christians who so readily profess love for their neighbour, and yet remain
divided. Make the unity of the body of Christ your passionate concern.
The Rule of Taizé in French and English (2012) p.
13
Prayer
Holy Spirit, vivifying fire and gentle breath, come and abide
in us. Renew in us the passion for unity so that we may live in awareness of
the bond that unites us in you. May all who have put on Christ at their Baptism
unite and bear witness together to the hope that sustains them.
The "sap" is a powerful image for me. It speaks so strongly of a flowing life within us, not just an external tying on.
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