WORKING FOR UNITY OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

FRIDAY, TWENTY NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Eph 4:1-6; Ps 24:1-6; Lk 12:54-59

Unity of the Mystical Body of Christ

When St. Paul finished explaining the mysteries of the heavenly blessings we have received in Jesus Christ, he turned to what we are in the communion of the Holy Spirit. We are connected directly to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our participation in the same Holy Spirit establishes a relationship between all the faithful. Our drinking of the same Spirit makes us members of the same Body of Jesus Christ. Hence, we do not live and act only as individuals but as a communion of spirits in the same Holy Spirit. Similarly, we do not believe and live as individuals alone. But our united faith in the same Lord Jesus has collective life and operates as a mystical organism, namely, the mystical Jesus Christ. This mystical reality is what Paul is referring to in the passage today. “There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were called into one and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within all.” So, the principle of the mystical Body is the Holy Spirit, who dwells in each of us. The corporate life of the Body will flourish when each of us lives obedient to the voice or inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Unity requires that each believe the same about the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, the Church has fought through the ages to preserve the purity of the Gospel.

The truth of revelation or Gospel is the wellspring of salvation and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. According to Paul, believing a gospel different from what the Lord revealed will lead nowhere. For the purity of the Gospel, Paul cursed anyone who preaches a different Gospel from what we have received from the Apostles. “Do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together.” The first thing on the list of what we are to do to preserve the unity of the Spirit is to understand the Gospel as revealed by the Lord and handed on to us by the Apostles. The unity that the Holy Spirit gives flows from the truth of revelation, for the first role of the Spirit is to lead us into the complete truth of revelation. The acceptance and working of the truth in the Church produce peace among members of the Body. From this, we understand our vocation to be to the truth of revelation, the totality of which is Jesus Christ. Himself said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We lead a life worthy of our vocation when we live with open minds and hearts to the Gospel. Communal life is impossible when we close our minds to the Gospel and pay lip service to the word of God and to all we have in common. When this is the case in our faith communities, we not only fall short of our profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but we commit sins against God and each other. Whatever is not of faith is sinful.

When there are shortcomings of faith in our lives as individuals and as a community of God’s people, our witnessing loses its convincing power, being out of sync with the Holy Spirit. Our prayers lose their efficacy for without the Holy Spirit, prayer becomes a lifeless ritual or routine. The Psalmist warns us: “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.” When sins accumulate due to our lack of faith in the word of God, our debts to God and neighbour accumulate. The Lord directs us on what to do to win back the favour of God and man. We must repent from our sins and unbelief, confess them, and do penance to escape damnation. “Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.” Repentance, confession, and the doing of penance are part of our Christian heritage. The practice helps us to maintain steady progress in our journey into the mystery of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit as he calls us into greater conformity with your holy will and deeper communion with each other in Jesus Christ, that our lives here on earth may be a continual proclamation of the truth of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ for conversion of souls.