I've just read an extraordinary post by Abbot Joseph of Mt. Tabor Monastery, Redwood Valley, California, all about the Johannine vision of Christ - as befits the Superior of a Byzantine Catholic community...
He says (better to read the whole post, but here are the bits that struck me so forcibly):
Jesus says that when He is lifted up He will draw all men to Himself (John 12:32), and here He is referring simultaneously to his crucifixion and resurrection/ascension. "Lifted up" is a euphemism for crucifixion, but it also means "exalted." This is one way that the evangelist unites the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection in his Gospel. It is the glorified Christ, that is, Christ both crucified and risen, who calls us all to eternal life in Him.
It should be clear that if we are all being drawn closer to Christ, then we are also being drawn closer to each other. We all "meet" in Him. God is love, and Jesus came to reveal that divine truth, to love us to the full, and to give us the new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35). Christians are supposed to be recognized by their love for one another.
St Paul makes a similar point when he writes that Christ has "broken down the dividing wall of hostility," since He unites us in His peace (Ephesians 2:14). We all like to sing "Christ is risen" at Easter, but do we fully understand what His resurrection requires of us? The One who draws all to Himself in love, expects us to love not only Him, but also those whom He loves. If Jesus has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, why do we insist on rebuilding it? Such walls are built not only between different churches, but even within the same church...
Now, it is clear from St Paul's writings (see 1 Corinthians 5:13) that unrepentant evildoers must be cast out of the Christian community. But most of the problems that Christians encounter with one another are simply differences of opinion or agenda, or worse, prejudices and arrogance. These are things that build up dividing walls, but Christ wants them to be torn down. Are we willing to swallow our pride and live as humble followers of our crucified and risen Lord? To love others even when it is difficult is to be "crucified," and to experience the love of Jesus in return is to be raised up again...
I think that sometimes people live in unchristian ways because they haven't yet experienced the grace and freedom given to the children of God. They don't realize what God has given them through the resurrection of his Son. So they live as if they were never redeemed, as if they hadn't heard the Gospel of love, as if they had no hope for eternal life - that is, they live according to their own will and hold others in contempt...
Jesus is risen from the dead, and He calls us to rise, too. But before we can rise in heavenly glory, we have to learn how to rise above animosity and pettiness and all that keeps us from loving one another as Jesus has loved us. If only we could look at this life through the eyes of eternity, we would see that the bottom line of life in this world is the Great Commandment: love God and love others. Without this we will not be able to enter eternal life when we cross the threshold of death...
Oh, this speaks to my heart! Readers of the early posts on this blog will have deduced already that I came to my present church out of much grief and division in another fellowship, and in another denomination. Walking from there into the open arms of Christ's love incarnate in his people was like walking from death to life, truly.
"I think that sometimes people live in unchristian ways because they haven't yet experienced the grace and freedom given to the children of God. They don't realize what God has given them through the resurrection of his Son. So they live as if they were never redeemed..." I think these are some of the saddest words I have read for a long time.
I pray for Christ's illimitable mercy on us all, and especially when we don't, effectively, know that we are redeemed. Please, please, let us all throw off all that hinders us, and walk into the glorious freedom of the children of God! (Hebrews 12.1; Romans 8.21 NIV)
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