Ecumenism - Our Neglected Mandate

ECUMENISM – OUR NEGLECTED MANDATE

Jesus’ reply is far-reaching: In each case, he responds with a question: “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters?” And he answers his own question by saying: “Those who hear and keep the word of God are mother, and brother, and sister to me.”

In a society where blood relationship meant everything, this statement is a stunning one. Blood may be thicker than water but, Jesus asserts, faith is thicker than blood. Faith is the real basis for family.

Who is your real brother or sister as a Christian? Your fellow Roman Catholic? Your fellow Presbyterian? Your fellow Lutheran? Your fellow Baptist? Your fellow Evangelical? Your fellow Methodist? Your fellow Anglican or Episcopalian?

Clearly, for Jesus, it is the person who most deeply hears the word of God and keeps it, irrespective of denomination. Christian discipleship is defined more by the heart than by a particular church membership card.

This makes for a non-negotiable mandate within our Christian discipleship: We need to radiate Jesus’ hunger for intimacy with all people of sincere faith and, to that end, our actions towards those outside our own religious circle must always be marked by respect, graciousness, and charity – and a genuine signal that we hunger for unity with them.

Our real ecumenical task, no matter our denomination, is not that of trying to win over converts or convince others that we are righter than they are. Our primary task is inner conversion within our own denomination. Our primary task is to try, as individuals and as churches, to be more faithful to the gospel. If we do that we will eventually come together, as one church, under Christ because as we all go deeper into the mystery of Christ and grow more deeply in our own intimacy with Jesus, we will (in the beautiful phrase of Avery Dulles) “progressively converge”, eventually meet around one center and one person, Jesus Christ.

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