O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
(Thomas Helmore, "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," verse 4)
><>
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you." (John 17:20-21, NIV)
><>
"Bid Thou our sad divisions cease." Now there's a Christmas gift worth asking for.
Parents not speaking to children; siblings not speaking to each other. Friends avoiding each other at social gatherings. Nuclear-armed nations staring in hate across boundaries at each other. Women and men of every race trapped in distrust and fear of each other. Nonsense about blue and red states, when in reality every state is simply varying shades of purple - blue and red mixed together, side by side.
Jesus prayed "that all of them may be one." That's us...and that's the prayer of the Son of God for each of us - but beyond just the church, to both believer and unbeliever. That Christ's whole body - not just the believers - might be one. In this time of Advent preparation, I need to ask myself today: what can I do - in my home, my extended family, my circle of friends, my work environment...yes, and in my church...wherever I am, to repair the divisions that fear, doubt, and sin have created. Those acts of healing and unity-building, perhaps more than anything, will help assure the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God.
Lord Jesus, you prayed that all of us might be one in you. Help me see, today, where I can make that prayer a reality. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Often I feel so discouraged, at the great amount of broken relationships, the hate, the ill feelings, and I feel helpless. Thank you for this today. The reminder that I needed.
sigh...pause...amen.
I think the dream of unity fails when the reality rests in the hands of men alone. But you've started with a prayer for unity, acknowledging God as the Author of peace.
Copacetic.
"O Come, O Come Emmanuel" is my second favorite hymn.
Reminds me of a sign I saw in a Menonnite Central Committee recycling store in Manitoba. It was on a postcard that was being sold as part of a fundraising effort for an overseas mission, and it read:
Let the Christians in the world stop killing one another.
Hmm... We always sing that line as 'Bid envy, strife and sorrow cease'. How much meaning is packed into those little words: 'our sad divisions'...
Post a Comment