Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. (Lk 10:34)

Lord, turn our churches into ‘inns’, welcoming those in need

Additional scripture passages

• Genesis 18:4-5
• Psalm 5:11-12

Commentary

The man who fell into the hands of robbers was cared for by a Samaritan. The Samaritan confronted his own fear and prejudice and moved beyond it. He saw a stranger in need and brought him to an inn. “The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend’” (Lk 10:35)

In any human society, hospitality and solidarity are essential. They require the welcoming of strangers, migrants and all people without a home. Such hospitality can require sacrifice, but it is an important witness to the Gospel, particularly in contexts of religious and cultural pluralism. When faced with insecurity, suspicion and sometimes violence, we tend to mistrust our neighbours and extending and accepting hospitality becomes more difficult.

Welcoming ‘the other’, and being welcomed in turn, is at the heart of ecumenical dialogue and practice. Christians are challenged to turn our churches into inns, open and inviting spaces where our neighbours can find Christ. Such hospitality is a sign of the love that our churches have for one another and for all.

When we, as followers of Christ, move beyond our traditions and choose to practise ecumenical hospitality, we stop being strangers and start being good neighbours.

Reflection

What stops me from action?

What silences our unity?

Clinging to familiarity.

Paralysed by fear of change, rejection and judgement.

Or simply a lack of time.

Justifying a choice to keep on walking.

To discard a treasure.

Where is Christ in the face of the other?

Rescuing, welcoming, accepting me.

Joining me in prayer, worship and witness.

Seeing me as I look into the eyes of those in need.

The unexpected jewel reflecting something of the face of God.

Prayer

God of unity

In Jesus, you showed us the meaning of hospitality,

by caring for our fragile humanity.

Help us to become a community 

that generously welcomes those who feel abandoned and lost,

together building an inn where all are welcomed and loved.

May we become closer to each other as we flaunt your unconditional love in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. (Lk 10:34)

Lord, help us see the wounds and find hope

Additional scripture passages

• Joel 2:23-27
• Psalm 104:14-15, 27-30

Commentary

The Good Samaritan did what he could out of his own resources: he poured oil and wine and bandaged the man’s wounds and put him on his own animal. The Samaritan went further still by promising to pay for the man’s care. When we see the world through the Samaritan’s eyes, every situation can be an opportunity to help those in need. This is where love manifests itself. The example of the Good Samaritan motivates us to ask ourselves how to respond to our neighbour. He gave wine and oil, restoring the man and giving him hope. What can we give, so that we can be a part of God’s work of healing a broken world?

This brokenness shows itself in our world through insecurity, fear, distrust and division. Shamefully, these divisions also exist between Christians. Though we celebrate sacraments or other rituals of healing, reconciliation and consolation (often using oil and wine), we persist in behaviours that cause division, wounding the Body of Christ. The healing of our Christian divisions promotes the healing of the nations.

In this process of healing, we have to recognise our own vulnerability – how will others know how to engage in a journey of healing if we are unwilling to bare our wounds? How do we empower such courageous behaviour, recognising there is a cost?

Reflection

The bread lies broken

crumbs spilled from the table 

trampled underfoot.

Wine stains bled through linen

where cups overflowed.

The lingering taste of stories shared

grows stale in the mouth.

Indelible marks,

evidence of where we sat together for a time,

but what now?

Others need their share – 

wine to gladden soul

oil to anoint and heal

bread to strengthen.

We need to reset our tables

to find an unfamiliar seat,

and when the music stops

what will it have cost?

Prayer

Gracious God,

You who are the source of all love and goodness:

enable us to recognise the needs of our neighbour.

Help us to be honest about our need for healing.

Change us, so that we can love all.

Help us to overcome the obstacles of division,

that we might build a world of peace for the common good.

Thank you for your renewing work in creation

and for leading us to a future which is full of hope:

you who are Lord of all, yesterday, today and forever. Amen.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. (Lk 10:31) 

May we never turn away from those in need

Additional scripture passages

• Isaiah 58:4-8a
• Psalm 34:15-22

Commentary

The priest and Levite who walked by on the other side may have had religious reasons for not helping. The beginning of the text for the Week of Prayer tells us how the teacher of the law wanted to justify himself. The priest and the Levite in the parable would have felt justified in what they had done. Yet on many occasions, Jesus is critical of religious leadership for placing the rules of religion ahead of the obligation always to do good.

The prophet Isaiah gives us this same encouragement in chapter 58; it is better to do good than just to look good. As Christians, how far are we prepared to go beyond good conventions? Sometimes these seemingly trivial conventions can become dominant, distracting us from what really matters. The Covid-19 pandemic interrupted our ecclesial and culturally conditioned short-sightedness, pulling the rug from under our routines. But many of us, if we’re honest, may have returned to those routines.

This parable of Jesus not only challenges us to do good, but also to widen our vision. We do not learn what is good and holy only from those who share our confessional or religious worldview, but often from those who are different from us. Light and love are embodied in our enemy too. The Good Samaritan is often the one we do not expect. When we open our eyes to see how God’s love is revealed by our fellow Christians, we are drawn closer to them and so are drawn into deeper union with them.

Reflection

Down that road

on the other side

you'll find sacred dirt

holy ditches

where light is incarnate

embodied in our enemies

like a gift presented

blinded to what's inside

unwrapped, we find our neighbour.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,

may our eyes not look away,

but be wide open to the world around us.

As we travel through life,

may we stop and reach out, bind up the wounded

and in so doing experience your presence in them.

Give us a renewed commitment to journey with you towards unity. Amen.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

“Who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29)

Lord, open our hearts to those we do not see

Additional scripture passages

• Romans 13:8-10
• Psalm 119:57-63

Commentary

The teacher of the law wanted to justify himself, hoping that the neighbour he is called to love is one of his own faith and people. This is a natural human instinct. When we invite people to our homes, they are quite often people who share our social status, our outlook on life and our values. There is a human instinct to prefer places of familiarity. This is also true of our Church communities. But Jesus takes the lawyer, and his wider audience, deeper into their own tradition by reminding them of the obligation to welcome and to love all, regardless of religion, culture or social status.

The Gospel teaches that loving those who are like ourselves is nothing special. Jesus steers us towards a much more radical version of what it means to be human. The parable illustrates in a very visible way what Christ expects from us – to open wide our hearts and walk in his way, loving others as he loves us. In fact, Jesus answers the lawyer with another question: it is not “who is my neighbour?”, but “who was a neighbour to the man in need?”

Our times of insecurity and fear confront us with a reality where distrust and uncertainty come to the forefront of relationships. This is the challenge of the parable today: to whom am I a neighbour?

Reflection

The Lawyer’s Tale

I love God’s Law.

I dearly, dearly want to keep the Law.

It’s the foundation of my life

and my eternity.

But I want to know how,

I want to do it right.

That’s why I asked

who it is that I should love as myself.

And he answered

with a tale about a strange encounter,

an encounter of strangers.

And I will reflect

about the one who showed mercy.

And I bear the challenge

to be like that one,

to walk

in the outlaw’s shadow.

Prayer

God of love,

who writes love in our hearts,

instil in us the courage to look beyond ourselves

and see the neighbour in those different from ourselves

and to be the unexpected neighbour,

that we may truly follow Jesus Christ – 

our brother and our friend,

who is Lord, for ever and ever. Amen.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” (Lk 10:27)

Help me, Lord, to receive your love, that I may make you manifest in loving well, both myself and my neighbour.

Additional scripture passages

• Deuteronomy 10:12-13
• Psalm 133

Commentary

The answer Jesus draws out of the lawyer, from the well-known commandments of God, appears simple. However, the command to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind will be a constant challenge, requiring a lifelong determination to learn, reflect and seek radical change in ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The instruction to love our neighbours “as ourselves” demands equal consideration. To love and value ourselves as God would wish demands intimate relationship. Is God saying that we cannot love our neighbour fully unless we love ourselves? It seems so, which is an immense challenge for so many of us. Do we recognise that we live in the glory of the love of God, whose compassionate gaze is always upon us. We are God’s beloved creation, made in God’s image, and adored.

God’s commandment to love, calls for deep commitment and means abandoning ourselves entirely, offering our hearts and minds to serve God’s will. God’s grace to us is never ending. Ask, says God, and we will receive such grace to follow Christ’s example, the one who offered himself up completely and said, “Not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42) demonstrating great love to all humanity, including his enemies.

We do not get to choose our neighbours. Sometimes we must cross difficult barriers to serve them, rather than walking by. Loving means being attentive to their needs, accepting who they are, with humility, encouraging their hopes and aspirations. Christian unity demands the same humility – in Christ, we are one. Let’s learn to celebrate difference and glory in Christ’s unifying life, death and resurrection – inaugurating a new way of living available to all.

Reflection

Beloved, my heart is for you.

I created you, I know you.

Your name fills me with delight.

My every action, reaction, thought, emotion

and prayer for you is founded

on love at its highest.

Receive my compassion,

bask in my gentleness,

delight in my joyful kindness.

Let me cherish you –

let me die for you –

may my heart become your heart.

A renewed heartbeat,

flowering within you, 

unfolding its gentle,

love-soaked vision;

a courageous, unswerving hope

bursting with grace.

Dear one,

allow heaven to manifest

in every human encounter,

tenderising it

with love’s dignity

and promise.

Prayer

Lord, give us the grace to know you deeply, in order to love you entirely. May the gift of your Holy Spirit enable our eyes, ears and minds to receive the unconditional love with which you love us. Purify our hearts that we may always be ready to love our neighbour, however different, as ourselves. Through the self-giving life of Christ our Lord. Amen.