According to the theologian Paul Tillich, the human condition is one of estrangement -estrangement from God, and estrangement from one another. Since we grow into this condition, this condition seems normal, even natural. Yet, the Gospel is that Jesus came to set us free, to destroy the estrangement.
Before the resurrection, the apostles quarreled with each other as to whom was the greatest, (Luke 22; Mt 18). Perhaps Tillich would say the disciples were estranged from each other, even though Jesus, the source of all unity was in their midst. After the resurrection, after receiving the Holy Spirit, "The whole group of believers was of one mind and one heart. No one claimed any of his possessions as his own, but everything was held in common (Acts 4, 32)." As Jesus went to the father, he left them his Spirit which enabled them to grow into a life of harmony.
St. Augustine founded a rule for community life based on this verse. He writes, “before all else, live together in harmony being of one mind and one heart on the way to God.” For along time, I thought that for a group to be of one mind and heart all was needed was that the group had unity , and yet recognized the individuality of each member. Through the grace of God, this happens at the Augustinians houses I have been a part of and visited. Talking to an Augustinian sister, I realized that the meaning of “ being of one mind and one heart on the way to God” has more layers than I had realized. Perhaps this visible fellowship of different personalities is just one level, one layer of meaning, but there are deeper layers of meaning which I am just beginning to see. Perhaps seeing the full meaning of being one mind and heart on the way to God is something we discover as life as a religious, or a child of the Church goes on.
Augustine explains in a sermon that becoming one is not a complete good in itself. He explains that our source of unity could be something that brings disunity for the larger world community. In a concrete example, if a group of robbers are united by their greed, then their unity does not serve Christ. It is not Christian unity. Christian unity must be the unity Jesus prayed for. He prayed, "that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (Jn 17, 22-23).
According to our Holy Father, "In this priestly prayer, the Lord asks at least four times that his disciples may be "one", in accordance with the image of the unity between the Father and the Son. This is a unity that can only grow by following the example of the Son's gift of himself to the Father, that is, by coming out of oneself and uniting oneself with Christ. Moreover in this prayer Jesus twice adds as the purpose of this unity: so that the world may believe. Thus, full unity concerns the Church's life and mission in the world. She must live a unity that can only derive from her unity with Christ, with his transcendence, as a sign that Christ is the truth. This is our responsibility: that the gift of unity by virtue of which our faith is made credible may be visible in the world. For this reason it is important that every Christian community become aware of the urgent need to work in every possible way to achieve this great objective. However, knowing that unity is first and foremost a "gift" of the Lord, it is necessary at the same time to implore it with tireless and trusting prayer. Only by coming out of ourselves and going towards Christ, only in our relationship with him, can we become truly united with one another. (Pope Benedict XVI - January 21, 2009)
I think that anyone whose father is God, and whose mother is the Church, is a brother in the fullest sense. And yet, as the Holy father explains, this unity is possible only in Christ. Only in Him all estrangement may be overcome, and only in Him does unity reach its complete value. I think the whole Church is called to this unity, and I think that the Augustinian family, and all who consider themselves Augustinian have a special call to participate in the work for unity, a work that starts with prayer.
Carlos J. Medina
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