Sunday May 22nd Reflection

Jesus; The way, The Truth and The Light

A Plea for Christian Unity
By Rev. Bob Johnnene OFD of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus/Franciscans of Divine Mercy
http://www.franciscansdivinemercy.org/                    http://www.missionstsergius.org/


This reflection is on The Gospel of John chapter 14 for the fifth Sunday of Easter which is often entitled Jesus is the Way to the Father. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled…There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When Thomas said, “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Then Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father… You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. “ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” What a comforting feeling this promise is to me. These words have sustained me and given me comfort in some of the most difficult times of my life. This passage certainly lets us know in no uncertain terms that the way to God is by living and trusting in the teachings of Jesus the Christ.
In Verse 15, Jesus Promises that the Holy Spirit will be sent to guide and enlighten us and He promises never to abandon those who believe.
Christ also promises that the Holy Spirit will lead those who believe to the Truth.
What truth? You might ask. God’s Truth! Not what some humans have decided to focus on for their own self interests.
Christ, when asked what the great Commandments were, replied; “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' "The second is THIS; YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these.” So when Christ tells us in John 14; “If you love me, obey my commandments” Why is it that some have made this simple to understand teaching so convoluted and difficult by establishing so many rules, regulations and conditions that often exclude some of God’s children from following Christ’s teaching?
The Nicene Creed, which was approved at the first Universal Council of all the Patriarchs of the church founded by Christ and the Apostles, is recognized not only by the The Roman Catholic Church but all the Independent, Reformed, Old Catholic, Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Assyrian, Anglican, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist churches and many other Religious denominations that follow the teachings of Christ.
In the Nicene Creed we find the Latin Deum de Deo, Lumen de Lumine which means God of God, Light of Light, Reaffirming what Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
My Question is this; “Why is it that all the religious denominations, that accept the Nicene creed and claim to be followers of Christ and his teachings, stay separated and often denounce one another over rules and regulations that have nothing to do with believing in and trusting god and living according to how Jesus taught?” Issues like married priests, woman priests, same sex Holy Unions, are all man made and all of them were once a part of and accepted by the early church.
Prior to 352 AD woman were ordained and even in the 1970’s woman were ordained priests by the Roman Church in Czechoslovakia, among them Ludmilla Javorova.
St. Peter and six other popes were married. 11 popes were sons of Popes up to 996 AD. After 1139, 6 popes had illegitimate children.
In the 14th century, Bishop Pelagio complained that women were still being ordained and hearing confessions. In the 15th Century, more than 50% of priests were married.
Same Sex Holy Unions were not only common but blessed by the early church, among those we know of are the patron Saints of Mission Sts. Sergius & Bacchus, as well as Saints Polyeuctus & Nearchus. St. Gregory the Great even wrote about how people came from all over to the Basilica dedicated to Sergius & Bacchus to exchange commitment vows.
Matthew 5:12 says; “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” which clearly teaches us that it is not those who profess to be the LEADERS of the church and their rules we need to follow but the True teachings of Christ which are very clear. Christ spoke about how the leaders of the Jewish faith made up rules to prevent people from entering the temple and the House of the Lord when He said “How terrible it will be for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. (Matthew 23:13-14)
In Matthew 23:16 we read: “You are in for trouble! You are supposed to lead others, but you are blind. You teach that it doesn't matter if a person swears by the temple. But you say that it does matter if someone swears by the gold in the temple.” This meant that they places riches to be more important than love and worship of God.
The time has come for all the Religious denominations that claim to follow the teachings of Christ to set aside the differences that have divided THE ONE HOLY CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH and focus on living according to the teachings found in the Beatitudes and the 2 Great Commandments of Christ; “LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' and The second is this, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these.
Let us stop erecting barriers that separate and turn people away from worshiping the God they love. God loves all people of the world without exception. God created diversity in this world for reasons known to Him alone and we should never question why but rejoice in it.
If all people came together and lived their lives according to Christ’s teachings the world would become a better place to live. Genocide, wars, poverty, discrimination, murder and all the things wrong with our world could be ended or at least greatly reduced.
Religious tolerance and respect of other religions could also be achieved.
The eternal battle to overcome the Evil One would be easier to achieve.
I call upon all to not only offer prayers for this to take place but do their part to make it happen, especially those that claim to be followers of Christ. I offer this prayer of Unity I was inspired to write.

A Prayer To The Holy Spirit For Unity
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFD

Almighty and merciful Father, send Your Holy Spirit down upon the leaders of all Christian churches opening their minds to the way, the truth and the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ.
Guide them toward restoring and rebuilding the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church founded when the Holy Spirit descending the Apostles that first Pentecost.
By the Holy Spirit gather all who believe Christ’s teachings together to bring about respect and dignity for all God’s children throughout the entire world. Inspire our world leaders to find a way to bring about a time of brotherhood in the name of God.
Through the Holy Spirit, inspire all people to become more mindful of the needs of others and more generous toward the poor, aged, and sick. Open the minds of all to be more tolerant of the differences and diversity created by Almighty God and to rejoice in His creation. Instill deep in our hearts your truth and through the Spirit guide us in our service to you. We ask this in the name of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our redeemer and savior. AMEN