Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter - 2012
In verse 24 of this chapter of St. John, the Evangelist presents these words to us for our prayer: "...that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me." We have encountered these words several times during these final days of the Easter season readings for our daily liturgy. Let's focus upon this attribute of our God: He is One. Oneness -- that gift, that state of existence that all of us consciously or unconsciously seek. It is a part of the divine nature that has been entrusted to us when God created us: a part of the Creator's reality in his creations. Unity. Families seek it, nations seek it, sects seek it. Unless I am mistaken, all religions seek unity within its membership, within its goals of being like the Creator God.
However, we must strive for a unity that does not allow for "oppressive uniformity." This is a genuine challenge for all societies as well as religions.
When Jesus prayed, there was always the petition that we might always be one. We might wonder at times just what that oneness is that he prayed for in his followers. It is the oneness that is the primary characteristic of the Trinity: the oneness of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
For all of us created by the One God who follow Jesus Christ love is an expression of the unity that is a part of our soul. And for us to love one another means that we strive to achieve a freedom from any selfishness that acts as domination over another person. We need only consider that unity, the love that exists in the Trinity. Love is the very essence of the life of the Trinity. It is this perfect love that brings about perfect unity. The love in this model presented to us calls for diversity or multiplicity.
It is without any doubt this simple: "Love alone unites."
