Being one in Christ Jesus is the supernatural consequence of being a child of God: being born again in water and the Holy Spirit we form one body, the Body of Christ. This reality, which is gifted to us as participation in the Love of the Trinity, is permanent. We are called to always keep growing more and more in this expression of divine Love.
Just as with Jesus, the Word of God, the Son of the Father, born from Mary’s womb to assume our human nature and to become forever Jesus Christ, the new man, the Holy Spirit comes to us so that we become one with our brothers and sisters. This spiritual union constitutes the community of Jesus, our community, and being ‘one’ in human history means walking together: hand in hand towards the one, unique communal finishing line – Heaven.
Our hands must always be united like one great human rope, meaning that we need to maintain our unity with the Lord Jesus. In Him, we are united with each other. This means that we don’t deviate according to our own interests or resolve but that we remain firm and orientated to the will of the Father which Jesus has completely fulfilled once and forever! Walking together is the normal and essential way to be and live as disciples of Jesus. Persevering in this manner, the Lord’s project of salvation will be fulfilled according to His good and marvellous designs. Let’s learn to be united as one in the Love of Jesus and to advance as Koinonia for the glory of the Father and salvation of the world.
In our personal and community story, we live the reality of those who have broken away from the cord while others have remained united. For those who are no longer with us, God has the power to re-create a new unity, but for those who remain united it is necessary to know how to overcome every temptation of separation, with the help of the Lord. We need to learn more ‘to be’ than ‘to do’: to be humble, weak and poor, grateful, servants, faithful, welcoming and accepting, understanding, ready to forgive and be forgiven. The main road, the way of the Master, is what Paul describes in his Hymn of Love in 1.Cor 13. All of this is in the full awareness of God’s grace, which is the source of every call, and obliges us to show respect, welcome and acceptance, forgiveness. encouragement, appreciation, and love of one another.
The journey together is the expression of unity, that unity which is given by the Lord, and which alone allows the Kingdom of God to grow, making itself evident as light in the darkness. By walking together we allow others to unite themselves with us, allowing us all to grow even more. The Holy Spirit will always be working in us if we are a member of Christ, united among us and walking together.
Fr. Sandro Bocchin
