Gospel: John 17: 20-26
The journals of Christian polemic are filled with essays on the cause of unbelief in the world today, and a great many candidates are brought forth to blame: secularism, communism, the devil, Freemasonry, the Illuminati - the list is endless. What is omitted from that list is the one and only cause of unbelief, the one Jesus mentions in today's Gospel.
Jesus prayed that his followers would be united in love so that they might reflect the unity of love that is the Trinity itself. By our unity of love the world would come to believe in God, i.e. to live in love as well. That the world has failed to do so is the result of the fact that Christians have failed to live in the unity of love for which the Lord Jesus prayed. It is the only cause of unbelief in the world.
An authentic Christian person - and an authentic Christian community - is conscious of their own sin and their own responsibility before God and others. They take responsibility for sin and repent humbly before God. It is a false Christian person and false Christian community that would seek to lay blame at the feet of anyone else. As we look forward to the coming of the Spirit among us, we pray this prayer of Jesus in today's Gospel and resolve to live this unity of love with one another.
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