Homily For The 7th Sunday of Easter The Year B, May 12, 2024
Disunity is the greatest threat to our collective existence. It destroys the foundation and weakens the bonds that hold us together as one.
Sunday Readings
“If we could but recognize our common humanity, that we do belong together, that our destinies are bound up in one another’s, that we can be free only together, that we can be human only together, then a glorious world would come into being where all of us lived harmoniously together as members of one family, the human family.”–Desmond Tutu
My Dearest Brothers and Sisters,
We thank God for this privilege of gathering us together as one in His Holy Temple on this 7th Sunday of Easter, to remind us that He desires that we all be united as one in His Body the Church, and in our world.
Creation has become more divisive than ever. The world we live in has become a battlefield. The scarcity of resources has exacerbated the fight for survival. The survival of the fittest and elimination of the unfit seem to be the ideological mechanism at work in relationships between nations and within Christendom. It was Kofi Anan, the United Nations Secretary-General, in his speech to the Cleveland Council on Foreign Relations in 1998 who said, ” The greatest threat to global unity is that we fail to see beyond ourselves.” For unity to be achieved we must all open our hearts to consider the perspective of others, welcome diversity amongst us as our greatest source of enrichment, and practice tolerance with people who disagree with us. The time has come when all Christians and all nations of the world must harken to the high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. Disunity is a threat to the common good and peaceful coexistence. The proliferation of churches for material gains, and wars among and within nations have made it a herculean task to achieve unity. Elements of disunity can be seriously felt in all manner of racial discrimination, religious bigotry, and wars. Some examples are Jihadists seeking the mass extermination of Christians, Fulani herdsmen destroying lives and properties in a bid to secure open grazing lands for their cows, proliferation of weapons, and all forms of terrorist activities around the world. Within Christendom, war is raging among churches, pastors, and lay faithful. How can we achieve unity? The readings of today gave us some insights.
In the first reading from Acts 1:15ff, we heard of an unbiased and transparent system of choosing a leader. The Apostles using the traditional lot casting and following faithfully the directions of the Holy Spirit chose Matthias to replace Judas who had betrayed Jesus. The basic criterion for this choice was, “…the person who accompanied us the whole time…” which implies a person who has played an active part in the ministry and not a person whom a few individuals think will serve their interests. The Apostles were very objective and transparent in their decision. This apostolic administrative approach serves as a blueprint for us all especially political and religious leaders in the electioneering process. For any nation and for the Church to achieve unity, we must rise above all forms of self-interest, injustice, parochialism, political or church godfathering, and ethnic and tribal interests. By avoiding these we can achieve collective unity and harmonious existence.
The second reading gives us another hint on how to achieve unity. The first letter of St. John underlies love as the basic ingredient to achieving unity. When we love one another, God remains in us and His love is brought to perfection in us. There is so much hatred, suspicion, and misunderstanding among Christians today because our hearts have become a cinematic stage for dramatizing wickedness and hatred. If the problem does not emanate from doctrinal disagreements or administrative loopholes, then it is from territorial or financial disputes. Our diversity in thoughts and actions should enrich our collective aspirations and the common good and not undermine it. Even though we may not think alike, we can still love alike. Let love reunite us. Let us end all unhealthy competition amongst us and work for what unites us. If we don’t love each other, we divorce God from our affairs, because only where love and charity abide, there God is. We must give love a chance to heal the wounds inflicted by wars, hatred, prejudices, tribal, and racial discrimination, and divisions.
In the Gospel, Jesus offers His high priestly prayer to the Father on behalf of His disciples and their successors. He’s asking for unity in the Church that accurately reflects the unity of the Trinity. Jesus expects His disciples to be united to each other just as the Son is united to the Father and the Father is united to the Son. There are people, like Judas who betrayed Jesus and never wanted unity with the Son or other disciples, but simply wanted money for himself and thus severed the unity with God. In today’s first reading, he was replaced by another. Greed is counted among the major factors that cause disunity. Today there is the proliferation of churches and ministries because every pastor wants to own their church or ministry, not to share the faith, but to control the money that accrues from their ministries. Churches continue to multiply yet evil is on the rise in society. We must eschew religious sentiments and embrace the Truth that liberates and unites.
There must be unity in the Church for the Mission of Christ to continue. Disunity greatly threatens this Mission. Jesus also prayed that His disciples be protected from the evil one because there are many oppositions to the Mission of Christ and many who propagate false messages because they hate the Truth.
As disciples of Christ in these unprecedented times, we are not to imitate the world or live by its standards. The “world” here means anything that contradicts the Gospel of Christ. We are in the world but we are not worldly people. In as much as we are in the world, I admonish you, my brethren, to work hard for Peace and the Glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31) In all that you do may God be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:11) You are being kept by God from the evil one for the Mission.
In our families and communities let us reunite with each other. Let the yoke of divisions that have severed our relationships be broken. Let community leaders avoid any form of ex-communication as a corrective measure for offenders. Let love inspire our actions as we correct those who have done wrong in order not to destroy our unity and love for them. According to Bill Bailey “In Unity there is strength; We can move mountains when we’re united and enjoy life. Without unity we are victims. Stay united. “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity”. Striving for unity in it is our strength. A tree does not make a forest and no man is an island. We need each other.
May we all work daily in our thoughts and actions to achieve this unity for which Christ prayed. May we be protected from the evils of this world to achieve greater Joy, Peace, and Salvation in Christ. Amen
“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one”
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
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