DAILY HOMILIES #Christian unity

Apart from the Gentile converts, a large number of those who embraced Christianity were Jews who believed that Jesus was truly the long-awaited Messiah, but those who didn’t believe felt threatened and sought ways to end the spread of Christianity among Jews. However, in their attempt to stop Jews from converting to Christianity in their numbers, the Jewish authorities suffered many setbacks. One of such setbacks was their lack of unity.

Wherever it occurs, disunity prevents people from facing a common enemy. Think about this, if only the Pharisees were united in thought and doctrine with the Sadducees, perhaps they would have been able to put an end to the missionary enterprise of Paul but they couldn’t stop him. In our Gospel passage, Jesus is praying for unity among his followers. Even in the prayer, Jesus highlights the scandal of disunity when he says “. . . MAY THEY ALL BE ONE . . . SO THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE SENT ME.”

If it were possible to summarize the words of Jesus in last Sunday's Gospel passage, it would be John 15:12 which reads: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus wants us to continue His mission of saving the world by replicating His sacrificial love, especially for our enemies. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus prays for us. In this prayer, Jesus expresses His desires for the Church and also reveals our identity and mission further