:: Father Make us one...
By Yohannes Iwan



Do you agree to everyone about everything? The following questions maybe easier to answer: Do you agree about everything with your girlfriend? Or, do you agree about everything with your boyfriend?

Well, keep your answer in mind as we’re going to reflect together in this issue called, Ecumenism.

What is Ecumenism?

Ecumenism in simple words means unity among Christians, regardless of our churches, denominations or traditions.

You might think, ‘why on earth do we need to even talk about this, it won’t happen!’.

I was one of skeptics about Ecumenism. With at least 33,000 Christian denominations existing today (and counting!), Christian unity seems just impossible; I used to say to myself.

Until I found out that Christian unity is at the very heart of Jesus. In the gospel of John, He prayed for His disciples and for those who will believe in Him. His prayer is for all of us, Christians, those who follow Christ.

His prayer goes like this,

‘I pray not only for these but also for those who through their word will believe in me. May they all be one as you Father are in me and I am in you. May they be one in us; so the world may believe that you have sent me’
(John 17:20-23)

Spend sometime to reflect this prayer of Jesus, it is such a powerful prayer; asking the Father to make all Christians to be one.

Would Jesus pray for something that He does not desire? Absolutely not.

And would Jesus pray for something that is not possible? Certainly not. Because ‘nothing is impossible for God’ (Luke 1:37)

Christian unity is something desirable by Jesus and He will make it possible!

Ecumenism and Catholic Church

One of the most important documents about Christian unity for the Catholic Church is Ut Unum Sint by our beloved Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Let’s reflect on several parts of this encyclical.

At the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church committed herself irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical venture (art.3)

This unity, which the Lord has bestowed on his Church and in which he wishes to embrace all people, is not something added on, but stands at the very heart of Christ's mission. (art. 9)

‘Irrevocably’ means it is final, something that we can not change anymore.

Indeed, this mission for Christian unity stands at the heart of Christ and thus, the same mission stands at the heart of His Church.

How then, should we work towards unity?

What should we do? In the same encyclical, Pope John Paul II encourages two things; prayer and dialogue, as mean for Christian unity.

If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united in common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little divides them in comparison to what unites them. (art.22)

If prayer is the "soul" of ecumenical renewal and of the yearning for unity, it is the basis and support for everything the Council (Vativan II council) defines as "dialogue" (art. 28)

The Holy Father exhorts us not just to pray for Christian unity, but more than that, to pray together with our brothers and sisters from other parts of the body of Christ so as to have a fruitful dialogue towards Ecumenical unity.

Where are we now?

It is always a good thing to evaluate where we are now in our path to unity. And we should always move further on to the next steps.

Let’s pause for a moment to reflect; how is our relationship with our brothers and sisters from other denominations?

The following 4 stages of our relationship may be helpful for your reflection.

1.

Are you in conflict with them? It simply means we are not working together, and we also do not recognize each other as a family in Christ. Prejudice, pride, skepticism and jealousy are the keywords for ‘conflict’ stage.

2.

Or rather, are you in coexistence with them? ‘Coexistence’ means we just live together and do things on our own, independent from each other. It is like saying, “I am doing fine, and I hope you are also doing well, so let’s continue with our own life!”

3.

Next, are you in cooperation with them? In simple words, we may describe ‘cooperation’ like this: we exist, share to each other and work together in few things, but NOT everything. We are walking with them with our hands joined together.

4.

Lastly, you may have arrived in commitment with them. It means that we share everything! We pray together, we witness together and we love one another as brothers and sisters. Our hands are not just joined together, but now our arms are around each other’s shoulders.

Where are we now? Where am I now as a Catholic? Is it a conflict, coexistence, cooperation or maybe commitment?

Special vocation of CCR

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal, by its nature, has a special vocation for Christian unity.

It is undeniable that the origin of the Charismatic Renewal, in very genuine way, was ecumenical.

The leaders of the Duquene university weekend, which marked the beginning of the Renewal, received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when attending prayer meeting in house of a Pentecostal pastor.

If we try to look deeper into ourselves, we can find many unique things in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal that could, and should, bridge us for Christian unity.

Firstly, we share the same experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, especially with our Pentecostal sisters and brothers. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit has often been described as an ecumenical grace for the church.

Those renewed charismatically have experienced a remarkable deepening love to the Scripture, the same love that is also shared with our sisters and brothers, in particular from Evangelical churches.

Furthermore, the richness of the Catholic Church in liturgy is also somehow similar with what our Orthodox brothers and sisters have.

Last but not least, we have been made brothers and sisters in Christ by our baptism. Well, the latter is not a choice, it is a fact!

Conclusion

Currently, there are many efforts being done by the Vatican to make Christian unity a reality.

The Holy See, through the Pontifical Council for Christian unity, has been engaging other churches leaders for dialogues or joint declaration. The same efforts, in general, have also being made by Catholic Church in diocesan or local level. We thank the Lord for these.

But at the same time, I believe all dialogues or joint declarations will be meaningless unless every single Catholic shares this mission. Yes, each one of us, you and me!

The keyword is relationships.

It must start from each on of us, to build and grow relationships with our sisters and brothers from other denominations.

We nurture this relationship through communal and, most importantly, personal interaction with them; through formal meeting and, most importantly, informal sharing.

Sisters and brothers, let us embrace this mission for Christian unity!

Yes, there are differences among Christians, but let’s always remember that all of us have been united by Christ. Through our baptism, we have been made brothers and sisters for each other, including those from other denominations.

At the end, let me say this: you don’t have to agree about everything to love your boyfriend/girlfriend, don’t you?

Yohannes Iwan.

Special thanks to Charles Whitehead, for his tireless work for Ecumenical unity.



If you have any responses, please contact me at one_hardjasaputra@yahoo.com.sg

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