Acts 7:55-60 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 John 17:20-26
Recently we as a nation commemorated the tragic loss of 1 million lives to the pandemic. Each of those deaths leaves a hole in the lives of family and friends. Equally tragic is what that loss reveals about our relationships to one another, as friends, family members, coworkers and even fellow congregants were separated one from the other by bias and disinformation easily found on television and social media. 1 million lives lost.
I find it interesting that our first reading records that those who stoned Stephen first "covered their ears. “ Is not listening to one another the first step?
Does staying in our own information silos set the groundwork for doing violence to one another? And does that road ultimately lead to the Tops grocery store in Buffalo?
How far we are from the people Jesus prayed for in the gospel, "that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you. “
Real life is complicated and full of gray areas, competing values and perspectives. For most of us adults the simple black and white world of our childhood is long ago and far away.
Pope Francis, in his hope for a synodal church, seems to believe that when people with different experiences come together with humility and generosity the Holy Spirit will guide them toward truth. But that kind of common cause, that unity, does not come in the world or in the Church without the hard work that is loving the each other.
Hard, but not impossible. Because the holiest petitioner of all has prayed for us: “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them. “
Thought experiment:
What do you think? Could a seat belt law be passed today? Why or why not? What does your answer tell you about your own thinking? About our society?
by: Pat Schnee