THE SAVOR AND LUMINOSITY OF CHRISTIAN UNITY

Where charity and love are, God is there. Christ's love has gathered us into one.
~Ubi Caritas, Antiphon for Maundy Thursday

Many of the analogies Christ uses in his parable may seem distant to us in 21st Century America. Not many of us have worked as shepherds or fishermen, and there aren’t many vineyards in this frigid state! However, the concepts of Salt and Light, discussed in today’s Gospel, will resonate with any of us that have the senses of sight or taste.

As Christians, Catholics, and—even more specifically—as members of our parish, we are summoned to be the “Salt and Light” in a city and world that so desperately needs the warmth, luminosity, and savor of Christ’s goodness. In defining our parish’s Mission Statement and Vision statement—which can found at www.ourholycross.org/mission-vision —we identified four “pillars” or areas of focus. The first of these pillars was Grow in Unity as Lifelong Disciples.

The primary word that I would like to emphasize in this pillar is unity. We live in a very divided society right now, and it is crucial that we as a parish embody unity. However, let me be clear about a few things that unity is not. Unity is not uniformity. Followers of Christ come from different lands and cultures, they have different interests, temperaments, ways of thinking, and yes, even attend different campuses of a multi-campus parish! These differences are not an impediment, but a benefit to the mission. Our diversity and multiplicity makes us stronger. St. Paul states in I Corinthians 12:12 that “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” The Church, like the human body, depends on various parts working together, each performing their own innate function for the benefit of the whole.

Similarly, unity is not simply peaceful, coexistence, setting aside differences, or a lack of overt animosity. Instead, unity is a mutual embrace of a higher purpose that transcends our divisions. Our baptism into the mystical body of Christ, the Church, transcends any other ideological or demographic differences we may have within the Church. This is not to say, however, that we will not have differences to discuss or conflicts to resolve. Rather, because of the lofty ideal of unity required by our Christian vocation, we have a heightened duty not to ignore or downplay, but resolve our conflicts and make amends for any injuries that we may have caused through our words, actions, or omissions. In the case of families, both functional and dysfunctional families have misunderstandings, differences and hurts. What differentiates the functional from the dysfunctional families is the manner in which they handle these hardships.

The quest for unity isn’t just a task for some people and not others. Most especially, it is not a matter of “other side” correcting the error of their ways—it requires each of us to take personal responsibility. Lest this sound like a “scold,” please know that I am addressing each of these words first and foremost to myself. There have been times where maybe I’ve taken some good strides toward fostering unity, but if I’m being honest with myself, there are a lot of times when I’ve failed. At times, I’ve chosen to dismiss another person’s viewpoint, cower in the insular safety of my own narrative and prejudices. Other times, I failed to make the necessary time to listen to those whose opinions differ from my own. Despite the many times I’ve failed, my greatest moments of peace and happiness came when I swallowed my pride and put myself forward.

Let us “strive to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)

~Samuel Backman, Director of Sacred Music