Our Gospel reading for this weekend continues to draw our focus to the theme of the unity of all believers. We hear Jesus remind us that if a kingdom is divided against itself, it cannot stand. He also tells us that anyone who does the will of God is his sister, brother, and mother. These words of Jesus speak volumes about how we are to live out our lives. They remind us that we are called to work to build up the unity of the Body of Christ: something that we pray for in the Eucharistic Prayer at every Mass.
It can be a challenge for us to understand this emphasis on unity, especially since we live in a day and age where individualism is prized and celebrated. We are told by contemporary society that we don’t need anyone else: we should always try to make it on our own, and we shouldn’t allow others to hold us back. Even our life of faith can be affected by this mentality, when we over-emphasise the call to have a personal relationship with Christ, and make that personal relationship the only thing that matters.
Sacred scripture reminds us from the very beginning of the Bible that God has created us to be in relationship. In Genesis 2, God says after creating Adam that “it is not good for man to be alone.” These words are much more than a reminder of the dignity of the marriage covenant between man and woman. They also remind us that we need others in our life. We are meant to live in a way that moves us outside of our “own little world.” We are meant to show care and concern for the needs of others, and to do what we can to respond to those needs, recognizing that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
Living in this way helps us to fulfill the commandments that Jesus has given us, especially the command to “love your neighbour as yourself.” When we love in this way, it helps us to more fully experience the love of God in our own lives. As we go throughout this week, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer, asking God for the grace to be more attentive to the needs of those around you. May this attentiveness help us to build up the Body of Christ on earth, recognizing that our communion and unity here on earth is a foretaste of the eternal unity we will experience in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB