May 25, 2009
Father Tom Ryan, C.S.P.Pope John XXIII’s two-fold intention in calling the Second Vatican Council was to let some fresh air into the church and renew it, and to strive for Christian unity. Most of us would have to admit that the latter has tended to slip far down on our working list of pastoral preoccupations and priorities.
The tendency is to relate to ecumenism – the work for Christian unity – as the asparagus on the parish plate amidst the meat, bread, and potatoes: Okay if you like veggies, but as long as someone’s been appointed to look after it, the rest of us don’t have to be concerned about it. Then you read words like these from Pope John Paul II:
“Today this task of restoring full communion between divided Christians is a priority for all who believe in Christ. It is our duty to Christ, whose seamless robe is rent by division. It is out duty to those who have not yet heard the Gospel, for only with one voice can we effectively proclaim one faith in the good news of salvation. … And it is our duty to each other, for we are brothers and sisters and must express it. No one is dispensed from this effort.”
Convictions such as that from authoritative leadership makes the church’s mission for unity appear less like asparagus and more like the salt and pepper which is to be sprinkled over everything on the plate.
In our Sunday assemblies, for example, do we ever pray by name for the neighboring Christian communities, thereby witnessing to a sense of real albeit imperfect communion in faith with them?
When we play as a parish community, could we extend an invitation to the congregation down the street to join in the picnic so we can get to know one another?
When we respond to the Gospel mandate to care for the elderly, the homeless, the young, the infirm, could we pool our resources with our Christian neighbors and do it together?
In our faith formation programs relating to baptisms, marriages, liturgical seasons, Bible study, could we work together?
The World Council of Churches, meeting in Lund, Sweden, established a principle for the normal operating procedure of each church community: “Do everything together as far as conscience permits.” If you stop to think about it, there are very few things conscience obliges us to do separately.
In the various models of unity being worked with among different denominations of Christians, there is a common understanding that real unity in Christ must mean a unity that is visible and tangible. That’s why it’s important for us to be continually asking ourselves: Could we do this together? Unity interpreted as invisible relationship, leaving the outward forms and programs of separated Christians unchanged, is definitely not the goal. A united, visible witness before our society is itself a powerful program of evangelization. “Father,” Jesus prayed, “may they all be one so that the world may believe.”
Anything that brings members of different churches together will serve the process of mutual discovery and enrichment. Whatever your area of involvement in the life of your parish is, it has its ecumenical dimension. Remember: salt and pepper, sprinkled over everything.
Could we be doing it together?
Father Tom Ryan, C.S.P., directs the Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations.