We are divided, fragmented, even shattered. Even our divisions are divided and sub-divided. Our different languages, nationalities, and denominations have cut the human race and even the body of Christ into hundreds of thousands of pieces.
Pride is the cause of our divisions and divisiveness. Like the builders of the tower of Babel, we want to make a name for ourselves and make monuments to ourselves reaching high into the sky (see Gn 11:4). We want to be better, superior to others, to stand apart, that is, be divided (see Lk 18:9ff).
Jesus contradicts human pride. He made a name for Himself by dying on Calvary, and His monument in the sky was a cross. By the blood flowing from His crucified body, Jesus reconciles us and makes the two of us one (Col 1:20; Eph 2:14). As we deny ourselves and take up the cross (Mk 8:34), we possess "the one love, united in spirit and ideals" (Phil 2:2). In Jesus, we "never act out of rivalry or conceit" (Phil 2:3). "Let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others' interests rather than to his own. Your attitude must be that of Christ" (Phil 2:3-5).
| PRAYER: | Father, may I die to self to bring about unity within the Church (see Jn 11:51-52). |
| PROMISE: | "Whoever would preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will preserve it." –Mk 8:35 |
| PRAISE: | Robert now considers losing his job and his pension a blessing since it forced him to seek "higher things." He came to know Jesus as his Provider (Phil 4:19). |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College