Some thoughts on Unity

"I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree in what you say,
and that there be no divisions among you,
but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.
For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters,
by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you.
I mean that each of you is saying,
“I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”
or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.”
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning."

-1 Cor 1:10-13, 17


Paul asked the divided Corinthians: is Christ divided? This is a powerful question. Clearly the answer is no. But in the rhetorical question Paul implies something profound: We are the body of Christ. Since Christ is not divided, neither are we. We are all members –sure, the members are different from each other – the hand is different from the foot, and they are different from the mouth, but they all belong to one body of Christ. Our Church like the Corinthians is divided. We are different, which means we will have different opinions; and I think this difference is good, because God created each of us in a unique way. But the differences rooted in fear of the other and selfish interest leads to division. Pauline theology goes a step further: because we are one in Christ, unity is not an ideal or goal to be realized, but a reality that needs to be acknowledged, and recognized.

The more we recognize that we are in Christ, the less I hope, that division will be a problem, or better the more we will realize that there is no division, but unity, and all we need to do is live accordingly.

Only in Christ and Through Christ are we one. Christ is one, so we are one.

The question is: How can we recognize that we are already one, when division seems so real?

I do not know. But there are things that I believe can help. One of these things we can learn from a quote I found by Michael Jordan. He said some interesting things about fear that perhaps we can apply to division:

“I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it’s an illusion for me… Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way, but nothing is really there. What is there is an opportunity to do your best and gain some success.”
We learn from Jordan that Fear is an illusion. He does not deny the experience of fear, but he says feel the fear, and act anyway. So perhaps it is the same with division. How can we possibly be one, especially when the experience of division among some groups within the church is so marked? Part of the answer may be: let us start acting as if we are one. This won’t take away differences, because differences will always be there, but the more we draw to Christ in whom we are already one, and the more we do so with people or groups with whom we feel divided, the more our differences (I hope) will be seen as gifts.

Carlos J. Medina, OSA