Homily

It often seems that it is very easy to imagine that life in the early years of the Church was some kind of golden age, a time when Christians led ideal lives of holiness in total harmony with each other and with God. I'm not exactly sure how we get to thinking about those early years in such rosy terms. It's true there are many descriptions of glorious faith that the believers lived in, and there are descriptions of miracles and might deeds, and references to people who went to great lengths to preach the Gospel. But we also find the sins and failings of people in the early Church, and there is a significant amount of complaints, corrections and even outright condemnation of the actions of some of the faithful as we can find in the letters of St. Paul. There always seemed to be weedy seeds that would fall in with the seeds of faith, threatening to choke the growth of faith. One type of weed in particular always seems to be present among the faithful, and that is the weed of division.

In today's epistle, St. Paul talks about how he was called by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. He who was the most zealous defender and promoter of the Law of Moses is now told that this law has been laid aside, and not only that, but also from now on the world is not to be divided into Jew and Gentile. Instead all peoples are to be united in the one Church of Jesus Christ, in the one faith that Paul is being called to learn and to preach. This called for a complete change of mind and outlook on the part of St. Paul, but he knew that he could not go against the will of God, nor refuse the vocation that had been given to him.

As we read through the letters he wrote to the various churches he served in Ephesus, Corinth, Galatia, Thessalonica and the rest, we find many places where he encourages and praises the faith of the people. But we also find many places where he criticizes and condemns the actions of those people who cause division within the community. There are those who still cling to kosher laws and circumcision and insist everyone else must do the same. There are those who make a point of emphasizing their non-Jewish ways in the face of their fellow Jewish-Christians. There are those who bring in foreign teachings, those who are looking for power and position, those who are disobedient, those who refuse to abandon certain sins, those who disrupt worship, those who promote their favorite apostle over the rest of them, and those who will only associate with "their kind of people."

So we find St. Paul often addressing these people and the divisions they bring into the Church, because, as he states, the Body of Christ is one, not many. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God the Father of all. Paul is aware of the ever present tendency that springs from sin, to divide and separate people one from another. When God created woman so that man would not be alone, and the first parents were called to be two-in-one-flesh, a couple in perfect harmony, that unity was damaged after they ate the forbidden fruit and Adam blames Eve for tempting him. Family unity is next up for destruction as Cain murders Abel. Unity of neighbors also comes to an end when the pride and arrogance of the people is built into the Tower of Babel.

The New Testament, even in the Gospels, shows the ever present temptation to divide and separate even among the apostles. James and John try to lock Jesus into a decision to make them the #1 and #2 apostles over all the rest. The disciples try to stop other people who are casting out demons in Jesus' name because they weren't disciples. And there are plenty of other examples to choose from in the Gospels that show a lack of unity so many times even among the closest of Jesus' followers. It is not surprising then that we find Jesus praying more than once in John's Gospel that His followers will be one, even as He and the Father are one. And it is no surprise, or it should not be a surprise, that there are those who seek to bring division and disunity into the Church even today. And it should be no surprise that our own weak and sinful natures can bring friction into parish life. And it should be no surprise that our own lack of virtue can bring disunity and damage harmony in our married and family lives as well.

First off, let me say that unity is not the highest value we hold. Truth, faith, love—these things are much greater and much more important and without them no genuine unity can be created or sustained. I cannot accept a lie in order to keep peace with someone. I cannot deny my faith in order to remain friends with another. Unity can never come about through sin and deception, or by indifference to truth. False unity will always fail in the end.

And yet we should always be aware that we may be the ones who create and bring division and discord into our marriages and our family lives. We should always stand up for what is right, but just because we are standing up doesn't mean that we are right. Isn't it amazing that sometimes we will hold fast and not even consider wavering from our position on a matter of small importance, and, on the other hand we will give in and go along with something false or harmful, in order to, as we say "keep the peace." Am I a source of discord, trouble and selfishness in my marriage and/or my family because of my human weakness or because of my sin? Do I see the value of genuine harmony in my life and am I willing to work for it and even to sacrifice for it, if it brings greater peace and stronger ties between myself and those closest to me? And, even though I may have little trouble naming those who bring friction and trouble into my life, how sensitive am I, how aware am I of the friction and trouble that I bring to other people without need, or just cause? It's not easy to live in peace, but it is even more difficult not to live in peace. So it's good for us to keep in mind that our lives will never be richer than when we can stand closest, together with those who we live with, work with, and pray with, united in love in Christ our Lord. As we will sing in a very short time, "Let us love one another so that with one mind we may profess: The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, one in substance and undivided."