UNITY---the common purpose
"If two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all -
it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven.
For where two or three meet in my name,
I shall be there with them."
Matthew 18:19 - 20
Two or three: does that mean we "add up", the more people pray,
the more likely it is that God will grant us?
Like a big demonstration, "a million mens' march" in the streets?
No, quite different.
Another story of wisdom, from the rabbinic tradition:
Question: When will the Messiah come again?
Answer: When on a sabbath all people for once keep the commandments.
Then, the Messiah will come again.
Two or three people, having a common purpose, praying for the same thing:
that is already: the Church.
We gather ourselves, we come together, we assemble.
We sing together, we pray together, "let us pray",
we listen together, we share the same holy meal,
we sit together with Jesus at the table (called "altar"),
we break bread together, we receive together,
we are sent out as his witnesses, together,
in his Holy Spirit!
We live from the close unity we have with the Lord,
but also we live from the unity we have with one another.
It is our Father, we pray to
and we stand before him
not so much as individuals,
but as God's people, the holy community, the Church.
Even in the ocean,taking the sea as an image for the love of God we are living in,
there are swarms of fish, together.
Not one sole fish,
on its own, getting bored.
Let us make a renewed effort to feel love for the Church, the people of God,
who calls us together to tell us: let us pray!
Sermon held in Torshavn, Faroes, 07-09-2008
Wolf Zanorashe Schmidt S. J.