Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2011 • 4th Day

Today is the fourth day of this year's week of prayer for Christian Unity. The Church Unity Octave, a forerunner of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, was developed by Father Paul Wattson, SA, at Graymoor in Garrison, New York, and was first observed at Graymoor from January 18-25, 1908. Today, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites the whole Christian community throughout the world to pray in communion with the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).


In 1966, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican Secretariat (now Council) for Promoting Christian Unity began collaborating as a common international text for worldwide usage. Since 1968 these international texts, which are based on themes proposed by ecumenical groups around the world, have been developed, adapted and published for use in the United States by the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute.


The chosen theme for the 2011 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity  is One in the Apostles’ Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayer (Acts 2:42). In Taylorsville, our sister parish, All Saints, is in covenant with Taylorsville United Methodist Church and Christian Church of Taylorsville. On the Sunday of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity the covenant churches have a pulpit exchange. I will be preaching at Taylorsville United Methodist Church at their 11 AM service on Sunday, January 23.


The World Council of Churches publishes materials for Biblical reflections and prayers for the 8 days of the Week of Prayer. Even though, we have no covenant or formal celebration  of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at Saint Francis Xavier, I encourage everyone to participate with our Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world with the daily reflections and prayers posted here.


Deacon Gerry

Day 4 - Sharing, an Expression of Our Unit

Reading:

Isaiah 58:6-10 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

Psalm 37:1-11 Trust in the Lord and do good

Acts 4:32-37 Everything they owned was held in common

Matthew 6:25-34 Strive first for the kingdom of God

                                                                                                                                Commentary:                                                                                                                      The sign of continuity with the apostolic Church of Jerusalem                                                 is “devotion to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the  breaking of the bread and the prayers.” The Church of                    Jerusalem today, however, recalls to us the practical                   consequences of such devotion - sharing. The Acts of the               Apostles states simply that “All who believed were together                     and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute to all, as any had need” (Acts 2.44-45).

                                                                                                                                 Today’s reading from the Book of Acts links such radical sharing with the powerful apostolic “testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,  and great grace was upon them all.” The later             Imperial Roman persecutors of the Church would note with                 certain accuracy: “see how they love one another.”                                         Such a sharing of resources characterizes the life of Christian people in Jerusalem today. It is a sign of their continuity with the  first  Cristians; it is a sign and a challenge to all the churches.                     It links proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the                   Eucharist and the fellowship (or communion) of the Christian    community with radical equality and justice for all. In so far as such sharing is a testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and a sign of continuity with the apostolic Church of Jerusalem,                            it is equally a sign of our unity with one another. There are many ways of sharing. There is the radical sharing of the apostolic             church where nobody was left in need. There is the sharing of one another’s burdens, struggles, pain and suffering. There is the sharing in one another’s joys and achievements, blessings and healing.  There is also the sharing of gifts and insights from one church tradition to another even in our separation from another,      an “ecumenical exchange of gifts.” Such generous sharing is                             a practical consequence of our devotion to the apostles’                                   teaching and fellowship; it is a consequence of our prayer for                             Christian unity.

                                                                                                                                 Prayer:
God of Justice, your giving is without bounds. We thank you that                     you have given what we need, so that all may be fed, clothed and                       housed. Guard us from the selfish sin of hoarding, and inspire us                       to be instruments of love, sharing all that you give us, as a witness                  to your generosity and justice. As followers of Christ, lead us to                          act together in places of want: where families are driven from                            their homes, where the vulnerable suffer at the hands of the                              powerful, where poverty and unemployment destroy lives.                               We pray in the name of Jesus, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.                Amen.