Do We Still Care About Christian Unity?

 R1: When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Movement into the main body of the worship space begins 

R2: When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 

R 3: Martha said to Jesus: Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him. 

A: Jesus said to her: Your brother will rise again.

 R1: Martha said to him: I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.

 A: Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. 

R2: Do you believe this? Pause 

R3: Do you believe this? Pause 

R1: Do you believe this? (John 11:17-26) Longer Pause

This is the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an annual event from the 18th to the 25th of January, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. This week of prayer began in 1908 and is sponsored by the World Council of Churches and includes an impressively wide range of involved denominations. At least it would if congregations participate. I can say from experience in ministerials that it is a hard sell with evangelical churches, although some poking and nudging brought folk on board in different communities. This year the gospel text is about the Raising of Lazarus and focusses on the question, Do you believe this? 

I must confess that I'm as disillusioned and cynical about Christian unity this year as at any time over the past few decades. The rise of Christian Nationalism south of the border and the support for Putin and the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Orthodox Church has poisoned my convictions about ecumenism. It's hard not to feel that these are people of another false religion, one based on power and hatred rather than the humble love of Jesus the Christ.What do we have in common? 

I see from the material provided for the week that there is an acknowledgment of the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, created during the first Christian Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea, near Constantinople is 325 CE. That gathering was fraught with division yet an enduring affirmation of faith was created. We took a quick look at the Nicene Creed during our Mapping Our Faith creed study group a couple of months ago. Here is a paragraph from the Week of Prayer background material: 

Disagreements had arisen among Christians in the previous decades, which sometimes degenerated into serious conflicts. These disputes were on matters as diverse as: the nature of Christ in relation to the Father; the question of a single date to celebrate Easter and its relationship with the Jewish Passover; opposition to theological opinions considered heretical; and how to re-integrate believers who had abandoned the faith during the persecutions in earlier years.

Hmm. I may have to reluctantly check my cynicism about what sure seems like heresy these days and just keep on praying. Do we believe this?