THINKING ANEW:SOME YEARS AGO an elderly Roman Catholic parish priest was arranging an interchurch wedding in his church. He was close to retirement but despite long years of service he had never presided at such an event before. A Church of Ireland colleague was there to assist and at several points in the service the parish priest expressed his delight at the ecumenical character of the occasion.
Later, at the reception, he explained why. As a young boy he had always wanted to be a priest but his family was very poor and his educational opportunities were limited. But a local Church of Ireland rector, knowing this, tutored him so that he could fulfil his vocation. It was a case of decency getting the better of religious intolerance at a time when ecumenism was rarely mentioned and that lovely man wanted people to know about it. It is a reminder of a kind of underground ecumenism that was always there.
In tomorrow's gospel reading relationships between Christians are on the agenda. Jesus knew that soon he would no longer physically walk with his disciples; the ministry that had begun with him would, after the Ascension, depend on the faithfulness of his followers. So he prays for them, specifically asking "that they may be one". Almost 2,000 years later Pope John Paul II would use those very words as the title of his encyclical on ecumenism Ut Unum Sint.
The one-time general secretary of the World Council of Churches Dr Visser ’t Hooft observed that church unity is like peace, we are all for it but we are not willing to pay the price. And the price is often dictated by accident of birth or blind prejudice.
It is clear from the Gospels and other New Testament documents that there were personal, strategic and doctrinal tensions within the church from the start – that’s the human side of the church and it will always be there. Unity is not an optional extra nor is it primarily about structures or even doctrinal opinions, which very often are tentative. It is ultimately about relationships, not just with each other, but with each other and with God. This applies not only between the various denominations but within denominations and even parishes. The critical point in Jesus’ prayer was theological, that they may be one “as we are one”.
Jesus wanted his followers to be one in the way that he and the Father are one, a relationship of profound love. If that was in place everything else would fall into place. Bishop Stephen Neill suggests that this prayer of Jesus brings together a three-fold relationship between The Father, The Son, and the Disciples.
“They are intricately entwined with one another . . . creating a holiness in which the biblical sense of love can be understood: it comes through a personal relationship with God. A relationship not expressed in terms of rules or ethical formulas: rather, a love that is totally self-committed one to another in fulfilling the purpose of God.” There is a legend that when Jesus arrived in heaven that the angel Gabriel asked what plans he had made for his work to continue. He replied that he had left it all in the hands of the disciples. “And if they fail?” asked Gabriel. Jesus replied, “I have no other plans.”
And somehow the plan has worked; not through the efforts of religious power blocks that seek to control and dominate but in the simple and often hidden things such as a country clergyman helping a little boy to learn his lessons so that he could grow up to be a priest. Just think of all the good that came from that simple but generous deed – a life of service to the people of God.
“Our divisions prevent our neighbours from hearing the Gospel as they should.” – Pope John Paul II.
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