Dear St. Rita Parishioners,

            This week (Jan 18) begins the Octave of Christian Unity, during which we as a Church are praying for the unity of all Christian denominations, including the Orthodox Churches. It is a fascinating phenomenon that so many Orthodox Churches and Protestant denominations are interested in this unity, and the temptation would be to forge a man-made unity (even in the name of seeking fuller unity) that would become the status quo and a replacement for the unity that we had in the beginning. Unity in diversity only works if the diversity doesn’t undermine the unity. The diversity must be in service of the unity and not damaging to it. 

            This is true, of course, in God and in marriage. Christ’s Sonship is totally given over to the Father and would and could never be at odds with Him. The same is true of the Spirit who is the Love between the Father and the Son. When Jesus says, “I only do what I see my Father doing” (cf. Jn 5:19), and when Paul says, “If we are unfaithful, He [Jesus] will still remain faithful” (2 Tim 2:13), we get the distinct impression (correctly) that the unity between the Father and the Son is so complete that nothing could ever come between them. In marriage, too, a man and wife and their kids are called to have this type of union under the headship of the husband and father, one that originates not in the husband’s demands or whims, but rather in his love for his spouse and children. Their unity with him is a recognition and response to that love.

            Therefore, when it comes to Christian unity, there is not a question of “you do you, and I’ll do the same, and we’ll live and let live.” That is not how God or family works. When “you do you” becomes the standard of unity, we are really agreeing to disagree. “You do you” is thus a standard of disunity, not of unity. It also says tacitly, “I don’t care what you do.” Not caring, whatever it may be, is not the same as love. And if the Holy Spirit is both the Love and the Union between the Father and the Son, we cannot discount love, nor can we relegate it to the sidelines. It does, anyways, seem to be the answer to all things.

            So, what about the diversity of Churches and denominations? The point of disagreement and thus disunity is always two-fold: belief and praxis. These two, of course, are very related: praxis flows from belief. If I believe X, I do Y. If I believe A, I do B. Well, Love is a type of praxis, because it is more than good feelings; it means doing. Therefore, if I am to get Love right, I have to get Belief right, too. An easy example is the modern fight over marriage. Your belief about the human person and what marriage is (and therefore who God is) determines who and how you try to love. If you get your belief wrong, you’re going to get love wrong, too.

            How, then, do we get belief right? Belief has to do with propositions – ideas, concepts – to which we either assent or dissent. The propositions that God wants us to hold are fundamentally a Proposition. Or, if you will, a single Word. Who became Flesh. And dwelt among us. This is why Jesus can say, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Jn 14:6). He is the Truth! And the Truth is the Way to the Father. If I don’t have the Truth, then I don’t have the Way, nor do I have…Life. In other words, the Truth is extremely important! What we believe is extremely important! We cannot settle for “you do you” when it comes to belief. We cannot “not care.” 

            At this point, the undiscerning mind will say, “I believe in Jesus, so I have the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” This is how we got thousands of Christian denominations who don’t agree on who Jesus is or what He taught. Jesus has been reduced to someone to whom we can generally assent, without actually knowing Him. Can you imagine trying to have a life-long marriage that way? What sort of union could there be? “I love you, John!”, says the wife to her husband of 50 years. And the husband replies, “Thanks, but my name is Jim!” OK, I shouldn’t be so harsh. We all know Jesus’ Name. But do we know Him? Do we know what He loves? Do we know what moves His heart? Do we know what He desires of us? Do we love what He loves?

            All of Christian doctrine flows from the Person of Christ. If we get doctrine wrong, we get God wrong. If we get God wrong – if we think He is someone who He is not – we get love wrong, both love of God and love of my neighbor. Remember that love forms us as persons. If I love what I think is God, but what is not actually God, my formation in love (and godliness!) has become twisted. In addition, I will try to form my neighbor in that way, by loving him in that way, and the twistedness spreads. John the Baptist called us to make paths straight, not to make them crooked. Right belief is the first step!

            What God wants is for us to be like Him. Therefore, it is imperative that I know who He is. For this reason, He revealed Himself to us in Jesus Christ. For this reason, too, He promised that the Holy Spirit would guide His Church into all Truth (cf. Jn 16:13). And yet again for this reason, questions of belief have been hotly debated in the Church since the beginning, and those who disagreed with the Church left Her. She is, after all, the Bride of Christ. And, if anyone should have the prerogative of knowing who Christ is, it is His Bride. And if Christ should reveal Himself to anyone in particular, it should be His Bride. And if we, who are given new life by Christ through His Bride, should pay attention to anyone in particular when it comes to belief about the Bridegroom, it should certainly be the Bridegroom, but also His Bride, to whom He has communicated and entrusted all things.

            Christian Unity, therefore, begins in belief, but the first belief, and the one from which everything else flows, is belief in Christ’s Bride, the Church. Once we know who She is, all other obstacles fall away, even if we don’t understand certain teachings or praxes. Pray, then, that you and I would be faithful sons and daughters of Holy Mother Church both in belief and in praxis, and thus witness to Her identity as Christ’s Bride. In this way, we pave the way for unity. We make the paths straight. 

In Christ,

Fr. Christensen