Finding a unifying force
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everal people have shown a great deal of support regarding the proposed project for more addictions recovery space in Prince George, and I would encourage them to reach out to Sonrise New Directions Society for further information. But the ecumenical undertone of my column also sparked discussion. I was even asked point blank if I truly believed the reunification of Christianity was possible; I not only believe it is possible – I believe it is absolutely necessary.
To be clear, I’m not a theologian – I have no expertise. However, a layman’s close reading of scripture will clearly indicate that God does not wish Israel to be divided, and that Christ and his apostles state the unity of the faith several times. Therefore the inference that Christianity ought to be a single communion of believers is a fair one; and the importance of this unity was so clear to the first believers in the faith, that they codified it in our Creeds.
There are dozens of hazards between our present state of disunity and the single body of believers that Christ clearly willed for us in his final prayers before his Passion. From historic injustices between denominations to the subtle language involved in our definitions of grace, salvation, etc., there is no small amount of healing that must be done before the faith is whole again. But such reconciliation is at the very heart of the Christian message in each tradition.
I could go on ad nauseum about the bad history that fills dozens of textbooks, or even the great ecumenical projects we can see today like Evangelicals and Catholics Together.
But the fundamental question is this: what will bring us together starting right now, in our churches, in our city?
One is tempted to make a litany of projects, from pro-life marches to petitions to poverty reduction and more. But these are the effects of an earlier cause: communal prayer.
If you belong to a group of uninitiated or unbelieving fellows, this last point might sound rather self-evident: don’t Christians pray already, let alone together? And if you happen to be standing next to a believer who read that last sentence, an audible groan may have escaped their lips which confuses you.
Put simply, the issue at hand is the truism of Christianity that more prayer is always needed, just as the answer to every lame Sunday School question is “Jesus.”
Prayer is always a struggle – Christ himself said so. And prayer in groups is a difficult business: it makes one feel vulnerable, and there’s no telling the direction such an exercise might go. But just as there’s no getting around personal prayer if you want a closer relationship with God, so there must be an intentional participation in communal prayer to grow closer to fellow believers – especially when they go to a church of a different tradition across the street.
I want to be clear that I am not ignoring the great amount of this that is already going on, both organized and spontaneous. But I am also sure that more of it can and must be done, just as I am certain such an undertaking will not be easy: I’m a convert, and I’ve seen enough of our many Christian sects to know that praying together varies from invoking saints to falling in the Spirit to group responses to speaking in tongues to singing songs to absolute silence.
But with grace and humility, it can be the first cause of all others in our community. We are shown throughout the New Testament that no amount of good works can supplant the love grown out of prayer with each other to God. Trying to build a world in His name without prayer as a community is a recipe for that most terrifying answer: “depart from me, I never knew you.”
The divisions of our Christian faith is a scandal going back a millennium. Again and again scripture calls us to reconcile with our brother; but it will require us to turn to God as one body, and honestly pray with the words that Jesus taught us: “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.”
We are shown throughout the New Testament that no amount of good works can supplant the love grown out of prayer with each other to God.