"Make my joy complete by your unanimity, possessing the one love, united in spirit and ideals. Never act out of rivalry or conceit; rather, let all parties think humbly of others as superior to themselves, each of you looking to others' interests rather than his own....In everything you do, act without grumbling, or arguing; prove yourselves innocent and straightforward, children of God beyond reproach in the midst of a twisted and depraved generation - among whom you shine like the stars in the sky while holding fast to the word of life." (Philippians 2: 2-4, 14-16)In reflecting on this passage from St. Paul, I was reminded of a passage from William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". In this scene the king and queen of the fairies - Oberon and Titania - are quarreling, and Titania says this to her husband:
"And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Far in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set: the spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazed world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which:
And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension;
We are their parents and original." (Midsummer Night's Dream, Act II, scene i)
In effect, she is saying that the storms of nature and the conflict among humans is the result of the quarrels among the gods. This belief was widespread in the ancient world. Recall from antiquity that in Homer's telling of the Trojan War, the cause of that war was not the abduction of Helen by Paris, but rather the war was caused by the conflict among the gods.
What does all of this have to do with the passage from St. Paul? Paul urges us Christians to live united in love and ideals. We should be setting aside our own ideas and preferences and living for others. This manner of living stands in contrast to the ways of the twisted world in which we find ourselves.
However, let us consider for a moment the vitriolic dissension that exists in the Church today. One has only to check out the blogs in any Catholic publication online to see the level of hate that exists among the faithful of Christ. Could it be that our dissensions are the cause of those that exist in the world? How can we point our finger at the world and preach a message of peace and love when we are hurling insults at one another? Is this the manner of living as a Christian?
These questions should give us pause to reflect: is the world growing more and more violent and pagan because we have become less and less Christian? In the early Church the pagans marveled at the manner in which Christians lived: "See the Christians - how they love one another!" was their exclamation. It was this love that conquered the world. Can the world today make the same exclamation as they see us? If the love among Christians is what led the world to Christ, then it is our lack of love among one another that is driving them away from Christ.
May we rediscover the love of Christ that leads us to unity, peace, and love in our souls and in our communal life of the Church.
