Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward". Mark 9:38-41.
I suppose it is in our human nature to say that someone does not belong to us because he does not believe what we believe.
What Jesus is teaching us here is that if we truly believe in Him, the Son of God, then we can’t possibly be against Him.
Yet, two thousand years later we still differentiate between our denomination and that of others. We say that we believe in this, and they believe in that. We know we are right, and they must be wrong because …
Instead of rejoicing in what unites us, we waste time arguing and debating on what divides us.
Jesus also said: “In my Father’s house are many rooms …” John 14:2.
I’ve just realized why. It is to put each denomination in a separate room so He can have some peace and quiet without our incessant arguing.
HA! I just burst out laughing at that one. But despite the humor, you are so right about your point. Many of us are on the same "team". Its time the world started acting like it!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you
Victor,
ReplyDeleteI can't stop laughing either because this is so true. God must get so tired of our bickering over our differences instead of just getting along and living in Him. So yes I think He will "send us to our rooms" and continue to pray: "May they all be one..."
Have a blessed Holy Week.
Hi Michael and Karinann,
ReplyDeleteAnd what's worse ... even the Catholics can't stop arguing amongst themselves. Which Mass is better? The New Order or the one in Latin? And what about Communion? In the hand or on the tongue? And so on ... and so forth ...
I hear that God is building an extension in Heaven with even more rooms so He can separate the Catholics from each other. And He'll have smoke alarms in each room in case they light any incense there!
God bless.
As you know already Victor, the question of the lack of unity amongst Catholics(whilst claiming to be the 'one' true faith) never ceases to amaze me.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am trying to address this in my self first, from now on, as shouting the odds at everyone, via my blog, has not appeared to have worked?????????????????
God bless!
Funny!
ReplyDeleteYou have made a VERY good point here. The endless arguments drive me crazy, especially the in-house bickering among Catholics. If I'm being honest, I'm actually afraid to leave comments on some sites in fear of being attacked (which has happened because I didn't know any better). I never realized the amount of disunity among Catholics until I started blogging. What happened to loving one's neighbor as oneself? All Christians believe in Jesus and He would be a source of unity for us if we would only look at Him instead of each other.
I think the best thing to do is to pray for unity between ALL christians. How it must grieve the Holy Spirit to see us caught up in pettiness instead!
Hello Shadowlands and Mary,
ReplyDeleteYou're right in that Catholics argue amongst each other - especially on the Internet and on Blogs. What chance have we to accomplish unity with other denominations if we can't agree amongst ourselves?
For years now we've been praying in church for church unity and we've attended umpteen Ecumenical Meetings and set up hundreds of Ecumenical Committees. And to what end?
As Shadowlands knows, there's a move in the UK to set up a Guild of British Catholic Bloggers.
I bet you they start arguing about "what is a Catholic" before they even set up the first meeting.
God bless.
Victor, I don't know why, but I never thought to connect this passage with the disunity between and within denominations. I think you are right on target with this interpretation. I agree with Mary that it must grieve the Holy Spirit to see us bickering.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad your blog is a place of welcome for all believers.
Thank you so much for your kind words Sarah.
ReplyDeleteMay you and yours have a Happy and Peaceful Easter.
God bless.