Peter Espeut | To heal Christ’s broken body

Jesus, the Christ, founded only one Church, and in His farewell to His followers just before He went to agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to His Father for His apostles and disciples. Then He said: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (John 17: 20-23 NIV)

We Christians today are the contemporary “those who will believe in me through their message”, but we are far from being united. The Body of Christ is broken.

The prayer of Jesus on that fateful night, calling for unity among His followers, has not been answered, and it is our fault. We who claim to believe in Jesus, and who wish to closely follow His word, have splintered ourselves into factions to suit our own purposes.

DEFEATING JESUS’ PLAN

By some accounts, there are approximately 41,000 Christian denominations and organisations in the world, but this may be an underestimate, for in little Jamaica alone, there are more than 500 denominations, not including sects like Jehovah’s Witnesses and the three denominations of Rastafari that use the Christian scriptures but do not accept Jesus as God.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for His kingdom to come, and then we set about building our own little kingdoms, defeating Jesus’ plan that there should be one flock under one shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10: 14-16 NIV)

Thankfully, most Christians agree that a large number of splinter churches is not what Jesus intended. There is a widespread movement of dialogue among denominations, the ultimate aim of which is unity. So that Jesus’ wish may become reality, we pray for unity, and we work for unity.

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

Every year since 1908, Catholics and Protestants have observed January 18-25 as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The celebration is promoted by both the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church, which together represent by far the vast majority of Christians.

The dates are significant: January 18 is the old Feast of the Chair of St Peter, and January 25 is the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul (my mother named me because I was born on January 18).

Today marks the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019, which, locally, we celebrated in a most lukewarm manner. I do not believe that most Jamaican Christians pray along with Jesus for Christian unity – never mind work to make it a reality – and to that extent, we have lost our way.

But it is celebrated.

Last Wednesday night, I attended the annual ecumenical service at the (Anglican) St Andrew Parish Church, calling on the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of the Church, to bring her wayward children into one flock under one shepherd.

It was led by (Anglican) Canon Serrano Kitson, rector of the church, and the preacher was (Roman Catholic) Monsignor Michael Palud. The gospel was proclaimed by an Anglican deacon, and the blessing was given by (Roman Catholic) Archbishop Edgerton Clarke.

There is yet hope that Jesus’ prayer may, one day, be answered. Let us recommit to work together for Christian unity. Otherwise, the world will not believe that Jesus was sent and that we are genuine.

The Rev Peter Espeut is a Roman Catholic deacon and is dean of studies at St Michael’s Theological College. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.