Christian Unity

Our readings this weekend aren’t much different from other weekends in the sense that our first reading from the Old Testament and the Gospel reading from John really complement each other very well – in our first reading we hear the prophet Isaiah talk about the coming of the Lord’s servant – the Messiah – who will be a light to all nations and in our Gospel reading we hear John the Baptist testify that Jesus is the One – the Son of God – this is all good – all the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus Christ – but it is in our second reading today – from St. Paul to the fledging Church in Corinth – we hear dissention and disunity have already crept into the Church.

Unity – or more accurately – disunity has been a problem our Church has faced and continues to face - The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began Friday – believe it or not, the 100th anniversary since the first such celebration in 1908.

Our first reading is from the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah was just one of the many Old Testament prophets – he lived about 700 years before Jesus was born. His book contains so many prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom that he is often referred to as the “Messianic” prophet – the prophet who was chosen to reveal God’s plan for our salvation – the Messiah.

Isaiah was sent to prophesy to Judah and Jerusalem and he told them many things about the coming Messiah:

1. He told them that the Messiah would be born of a virgin; that he would be a wonderful child; that he would be of the family of David; and that the spirit of the Lord would rest upon Him.

2. He told them that the Messiah would be proceeded by a forerunner – John the Baptist – one sent to prepare His way; he told them that the Messiah would be anointed to preach good tidings, to bring light to those living in darkness and that he would not “advertise” himself in the streets – but suffer on our behalf.

3. He also told them about the new kingdom – that it would precede from Jerusalem; that it would be a kingdom of peace; that it would include the Gentiles; and that it would last forever.The amazing reality is that Isaiah revealed all these things and more centuries before Jesus was born – and they all came to pass in the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus.

John the Baptist – the forerunner that Isaiah prophesied, was given the graces needed to fulfill that unique calling – just like each of us – called to be followers of Christ are given the graces we need to fulfill our purpose our unique role in building up God’s kingdom; we hear in our Gospel passage today John the Baptist reveal what he knows:

First, Jesus is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Secondly, even though Jesus was born after John, He existed before John and ranks ahead of John. Thirdly, John proclaims that he saw the Spirit descend from heaven and remain on Jesus. Fourthly, Jesus is the One Who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And finally, Jesus is the Son of God.

Each of us needs to know who Jesus is if we want to be His disciples. We need to know what His mission is if we want to be good disciples. A good disciple is one that not only follows the Gospel of Jesus but also helps others to hear and follow it.

Who then is this Jesus? We see him in our readings today in two different roles that of our Lord and also as our Servant. Today's Gospel speaks about Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. As Jesus approaches, John announces to some of his own disciples: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Why is Jesus called by this strange title, the Lamb of God? It refers back to the origins of the great Jewish feast of the Passover. God, through Moses, had been urging Pharaoh to let God's people – the Israelites - leave Egypt. God had sent a series of plagues against Egypt to help convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go - but each time Pharaoh reneged on his promise to do so. The final and most terrible plague involved the slaying of every firstborn child in Egypt.In order that the Israelites might not suffer this punishment, they were told to sacrifice a lamb and smear the doorposts of their houses with the blood of the lamb. When God's angel of death struck, he passed over the blood-painted houses of the Israelites and their children were spared. They had, in effect, been saved by the blood of the lamb.

Pharaoh acknowledged defeat and finally said he would let the Israelites go. Once again though Pharaoh went back on his word and sent his army after the Israelites – and his army we know was destroyed in the Red Sea.

On the night before the Israelites left Egypt though, under the leadership of Moses, they had a final meal which included the eating of the sacrificed lamb. The lamb then becomes the sign and symbol of the liberation of God's people from slavery and oppression. This great event of the Exodus, the Going Out, was and is commemorated in the Passover meal which Jesus celebrated with his disciples at the Last Supper and which is still celebrated today by Jews worldwide.

But for us - and this is John the Baptist's meaning – Jesus – who he called the lamb of God – is the new sacrifice that brings freedom and liberation from the oppression of evil and slavery of sin. He sacrifices himself to take away our sins. Through his death he liberates us so we too have the opportunity to share in eternal life.

It is no coincidence that Jesus' sacrificial death took place at the Passover. He is the Lamb who both sacrifices himself and is sacrificed to liberate us. Jesus can do this because he is at the same time our Lord and our Servant. Because he is our Lord, he can take away our sins; because he is a servant, he willingly lays down His life for each of us.

But there is more – he is not only our servant, he is our friend. As he told his disciples at the Last Supper, the greatest love a person can show is to sacrifice one's life for one's friends and he insists that his disciples are his friends not his servants. Even more, Jesus said that He is our Brother and dying on the cross He gave each of us His mother.

And yet, we find Jesus standing in the river water, together with many sinners. He is God but he has come to serve us, to love us, to liberate us, to mingle with us, to be one of us. And he asks each of us to work with him in the exact same way – we are called to be in the world but not of the world – we are called to be in the world and to serve the world, to serve all as brothers and sisters – but we are to turn away from all sin and evil. This isn’t easy – it is a radical counter culture lifestyle – and it can be done. Each of us have been given the gifts and graces we need to fulfill our roles in God’s plan for salvation.

The First Reading also speaks of Jesus as servant. "Israel, you are my servant." The Lord "formed me in the womb to be his servant." And what is the work of this servant? His work is to "bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him..."

But that we hear is not enough as Isaiah continues: "It is too small a thing that you should be my servant “JUST” to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel. I will give you as a light to ALL the nations that my salvation may reach to ALL the ends of the earth."

Jesus would be the Light to the whole world. He wants every single person to experience His salvation. He wants every single person to enter the Kingdom of God. He wants every person to experience the truth, the love and the freedom of the Gospel. So many people today are slaves to sin – and it doesn’t have to be that way. The mission of Jesus is to bring all the people of the world back to God, their Creator, their Beginning and their End.

The mission of Jesus is also our mission. We cannot be good disciples of Jesus if we are not also good apostles. To be a good Christian we must become good evangelizers. Our duty is not only to save our own souls and "go to heaven". Our duty is also to share our gifts and our faith with others, to help them to know Jesus and His Gospel, and to experience directly the love of God through each of us.

Where can we do this? First in our homes with our families and friends, in our work places, schools and neighborhoods, in our cities and homeless shelters, outside abortion clinics and in our prisons and hospitals – all of those and more are easily within our reach.

It is however, our second reading today that explains why things are the way they are today. The body of Christ suffers today the same thing the early Church in Corinth did – disunity. And this attack on unity is not so much from outside as it is from inside of the Church.

I don’t know about you, but I can say without hesitation that the world today is not a better place than it was when I was a child.

In our second reading St. Paul appeals to the Church in Corinth that has suffered from disunity – he pleads with them to be one in Christ as Christ is one in us. It is easy to list the many issues facing Catholics today that we, the body of Christ do not agree on:

· Abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia and stem cell research

· Celibacy and the ordination of women to the priesthood

· Contraception, cohabitation, same-sex marriages, and homosexuality

· We disagree on reverence and the true presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and proper dress ….

It is no wonder that in our Church today, that in our society, and in our world where such basic fundamental issues debated – that suffering, injustice, and evil reign – and we the body of Christ called to be lights in this dark world stand by helpless because we can’t agree on the issues – because we either disagree with refuse to follow Church teaching.

Until we come together – and face the truth – the truth that this world nailed to a cross – until we accept the fact that we can’t fix the problems that our Church and our world face today ourselves, until we get down on our knees and surrender our agendas and our lives to Christ – until we say like John the Baptist said “I must decrease as He must increase” – things will not change.

The only thing each of us can do is what John the Baptist said – repent – things don’t have to be this way; they can be better but before the world changes our hearts must change – each of us need to become the change we want to see in the world - we can only win this battle one person at a time – one church at a time – but that takes unity and strong leadership. Now undoubtedly some will say that I am being negative and pessimistic – but I think I am being honest.

There were many great prophets in the bible the greatest of which was Jesus. As Jesus carried His cross a large crowd of people followed Him including many women who mourned and lamented Him. Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed the days are coming when people will say, “Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.”

If I raise my voice, if I speak out – it isn’t for me or my glory but for His glory – it isn’t for me but for our children (His children) – what future are we giving them?

Each of us can make a difference – each of us can help bring unity back into the Church. Search your hearts and then your relationships – where is it that you can make a positive difference – where is it that you can bring unity and true Christian fellowship?

Tuesday – January 22 marks the 35th annual march for life – an opportunity for the body of Christ to come together and let America know that we won’t be silent anymore. Let us pray today that God will help each of us to work together with Jesus to establish his Kingdom in the whole world and especially in that part of the world where we live out our daily lives.

I conclude with Paul’s words to the Corinthians: to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.