An essay on Ecumenism
It’s the wedding feast of the Lamb and everybody gets an invitation! Everyone who says “yes” is called to hand out invitations. It’s very important because the feast is happening very soon!
So we have to go to the other people who have RSVP’d to attend the wedding feast as well, not just the ones in our party. We have to go even to the ones who we haven’t talked to in a long time, even the ones we fought with in the past and stopped talking to over our disagreements, even the ones we disagree with on several, even important, things. We have to start mingling again so we can work together to send out more invitations.
We have to focus on the people who’ve said “no” or only “maybe” to the wedding feast, and also the ones who don’t even know there is a wedding at all. They can figure out which party they want to sit with later, the most important thing is that they get the invitation.
But listen, even among us is the spirit of distraction. It is an unclean spirit. It does not want us to work together. It wants to stop the wedding. We cannot listen to the ones, even the ones among us, who want to sow discord among the wedding guests. They think they do well, they er.
It is okay that we are a little different and that we stay a little different. Some of those differences are important, and that’s okay. We don’t have to agree on everything to work together. We can deal with our differences another day once when the wedding feast begins. And by then they won’t matter. It will be for the wedding Lamb, not us, to sort out.
Today we have to spend more time giving out invitations and less time critiquing the other guests who thought it proper to show up to the wedding wearing funny hats and polka dot ties (even though they are, yes, wrong for thinking so).
The other guests can be a little weird, that’s true. But actually I think they sometimes do some things better than we do them. I think they sometimes have better ways of giving out the invitations. I think they sometimes have better envelopes. I think they sometimes explain the wedding better than we do. And I think we do some things better too, maybe they’d see that if we talked with one another once in a while.
So why aren’t we talking with one another? Why this wall of silence? The enemy is united, so why are we divided? Did we not all say “yes” to the invitation?
Now some will say they are going to the wedding feast but have a different address altogether written on the envelope. Well, it won’t help others make it to the wedding if we ask them to help make us envelopes, or to help us send out invitations. Some people think they can show up without wearing any clothes at all and still meet the dress code, or that they can only say yes and not actually show up and still be counted among the wedding guests. I do not say that we should solicit their help. If they fundamentally disagree with what all wedding guests everywhere have held in common since the wedding was first announced, well, that’s a problem. They might actually not be among us.
But some will make such declarations even of lesser points. Some of the wedding guests will look at us and say, “You’re wearing leather dress shoes without laces, how can you be a wedding guest? I don’t believe you’re one of us. I think you’re one of the ones from outside who want to stop the wedding!” And it hurts to hear these words, but we cannot make them see what is right in front of them. They are free to go their own way. We are just glad they said “yes” to the invitation. We cannot waste our time. We wish them well and seek others who see clearly that the same spirit that dwells in them so also dwells in us.
And so we have to build bridges, and get to work. We have to choose Charity. It’s very important, there isn’t a lot of time!
So all you Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians, all you who believe in the Trinity and the historic creeds, all you Christians who say that God is One and Christ is Lord:
It’s time to start talking to one another again. Satan wants us divided against the world if we are divided, or united in error if we are united. Let us do neither.
Let us be ourselves and work together for the Kingdom even as we are. Even spreading the message of the Christian faith together as we are. You fear ecumenism because you rightfully understand the consequences of its excesses; loss of identity amongst other Christians, loss of Christ amongst the world. I share those fears. I fear its opposite as well. Yet I am not here promoting excesses, nor dismissing them.
Does this worry you? Do not even enter into our so-called “errors” of my position which I defend as sound doctrine. Work together with the rest of the still breathing, consciously Christian body of Christ regardless; so stay Orthodox, stay Catholic, stay Protestant. Do not compromise your tradition even a little bit. I am far less concerned here with “converting” you to my tradition or I “converting” to yours. Just do whatever Christ tells you, and keep saying “yes” to God.
But let us talk to one another again, let us at least do that.
And if we do that, well, I believe the current trend will not continue; I believe we’ll see a real revival of the church in the 21st century. Because there will be charity among Christians towards other Christians. And wherever charity is, there God is. Ubi cáritas et amor, Deus ibi est. I pray it may be so. Amen.
P.S. Oh, and I am not making stuff up here. When you open yourself up to the real diversity and richness of the Christian faith, you see we really are much more similar than we are different. Ah, if I could only show you what spiritual fruits this practice has wrought in my own life! If you could come with me on a typical weekend to all the churches I attend, and do that for sometime… It really is something.
I feel very strongly that the theologically strong/ informed members of every Church I go to, but especially its clergy and leadership, would benefit greatly from attending the services of other traditions or denominations– of meeting other leaders and clergy from other traditions and denominations, even ones quite different form their own. If they did that with a spirit of genuine charity, ah! But these are things for other writings. This is my first post on this new blog, so welcome.
Ave Christus Rex!
Crossing The Jordan 