That They May Be One, As We Are One

Thrilling stuff today as St. Paul defends himself before the Sanhedrin. Throwing his weight as a Pharisee around, the good man causes a pitched battle between factions, between brothers, which require Roman intervention to ensure his safety.

It kind of makes me sad that even at a sitting of a Supreme Court boys will be boys, loose control over principles of faith (mind you, not life threatening) and so resort to violence to defend these beliefs (mind you, becoming life threatening). Have i no backbone? How can such indignant outrage go unchallenged? Grinding teeth and tearing clothes aside, striking another brother is violence. It creates walls. It excludes rather than includes. It increases separation even down through generations: "Lest we forget the indignity" we cannot then forgive and forget ... because our ego's are tied to events in the past, not even connected to our own person; someone else's baggage becomes our own and influences our own behaviour. To imagine seeing these wise men of God rolling around on the ground with foam in their mouths just makes me sigh.

The Christ has freed us from baggage. All the human, religious baggage accrued like sedimentation over generations has been swept away. God is here now. We start again with a clean slate.


And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one (Jn 17:22-23)

Jesus emphasizes oneness. If we are to love God and our brothers as ourselves how can we create division? Inevitably there is division and separation between churches due to whatever reason (i say 'whatever' not to be disrespectful, but rather to emphasis that the reasons are unimportant to me). Separation demonstrates physically giving up, quitting and walking away. I think of all the marriages that fail due to unworkable situations. I ask myself is it the ego that drives men away from each other or the council of the Holy Ghost. Has God said, 'brother it is better to go your own way because yours is the better path, the truer way'?

The more separation we create between us and our neighbours, the more separation we create between us and God. Perfection is unity, says Jesus. I will go so far to say that our greatest sin is division, because it creates fear, nurtures violence, tolerates doubt and is at the core of Selfishness. Me, me, me. What about my needs?! I come first. You don't understand me. You insult me with your words. Et cetera.

Christ prays directly to God for us to be one, as they, Father and Son, are one. If we cannot choose Love to bring us together, what then is it that keeps us apart?

I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them (Jn17:26)

Me thinks Jesus is trying to tell us something.

Deo gratias.

Abiding in The Spirit of Love

Perish every thing, dismiss we these empty vanities, and betake ourselves to the one search for truth! Life is vain, death uncertain; if it steals upon us on a sudden, in what state shall we depart hence? and where shall we learn what here we have neglected? and shall we not rather suffer the punishment of this negligence? ... Wherefore delay then to abandon worldly hopes, and give ourselves wholly to seek after God and the blessed life?  (Confessions, St. Augustine)

I'm on holiday now, and with the free time I can go to mass more often; an early morning calisthenics of the spirit. Also I get a chance to mass at different churches, cathedral, parish, Anglo and polish. One elder priest told us in his homily that we might do away with our worldly distractions, a life time of work, family, concerns, fears, and try to live in the moment together with the Holy Spirit. To be guided by it. To come closer to it. I had to smile because it remind me so much of Buddhism's mindfulness, however, regardless of the label, his advice rang true, his motivation being wisdom and love. And if we doubt the Self-denial and trust in the Lord showing us the right way? The elder priest reminded us of St. Paul's speech to the Athenians: Neither is he served by the hands of men, as if in need of anything, since it is he who gives to all things life and breath and all else (Acts 17:25).

 'All else'? Does that include evil? Jesus told us that all that is good comes from the Father. We graciously accept, even if our minds cannot rationalize or understand, for 'the Lord works in mysterious ways'. With peace of mind and a clear motivation, events in one's life, either good or bad or neutral, will occur, and the challenge will then be to enter into these events with Love as ones guide. Do not waste time in judgement or trying to think it through, as this is closing ones heart to experience.

Madness? To a Self-ish society wrapped up in Self- preservation, its worldly values and priorities, it will seem like madness. It certainly is not cautious. But if one trusts in the goodness of the Lord, abides in him, he will provide. This Sunday is Pentecost. The Holy Ghost came down as a gift and was accepted by Christ's disciples and He dwelt in us. Am I fully accepting God's gift? We claim we search for truth, as St Augustine states, but having found it, can we embrace it? Can we commit ourselves to following the truth with the help of the Holy Ghost, whatever the cost? Madness? Others may think this, but then they shall never know freedom from the chains of ego's tyranny (doubt, suspicion, fear, Self- interest) and what true freedom is when abiding in Love.

Deo gratias.