The leaders of ten Christian churches gathered at St Stephen’s Catholic Cathedral in Brisbane for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service hosted by Catholic Archbishop Shane Mackinlay.
The ecumenical service also brought together staff and students from All Hallows’ School, Bethania Lutheran School, Cannon Hill Anglican College, Lords Lutheran School, Prince of Peace Lutheran College, Redeemer Lutheran College, St James’ College, St Joseph’s College, St Laurence’s College and St Rita’s College.
The homily by Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Jeremy Greaves stressed the simple act of praying together across traditions. He said that it was not about many bodies competing for Christ, nor many spirits pulling in opposite directions, but one body, one spirit, one truth.
The materials for the service were from the churches of Armenia, marked by suffering and displacement.
It was also a reminder of the extraordinary richness of the Christian tradition across centuries and continents, Archbishop Greaves said.
“So many of us feel surrounded by darkness, divisive politics, rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and hatred, the darkness of loneliness and anxiety, the darkness of ecological life, of mistrust, including the mistrust of the Church itself,” he said.
“Into all that darkness, Jesus says ‘believe in the light, so you may become children of the light’. He says, ‘walk in the light’.”
Archbishop Greaves said it was important to walk towards Jesus Christ with humility, gentleness and patience.
Public life today had a culture of firing outrage and choosing victory over reconciliation, he said.
“And even churches can become trapped in those patterns, defending territory, protecting identity, speaking past one another rather than listening deeply to one another,” he said.
A Christian community could only be built through a “deep intentional unity that Christ offers”, he said. “And that’s perhaps the heart of Christian unity, not just agreement, but a deep love, a love that begins as it always has with Christ himself, the one lifted on the cross, the one who draws all people to Himself, the one who breaks down the walls that we build, and who calls us out of darkness into light.
Source: The Catholic Leader.