The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem states, "The problem of unity poses this question: Are we dealing with God or with men?"
Exactly!
(It indicts what I think of as the "Christianity as Spiderweb", rather than "Christianity as Wheel" paradigm. The cart will never do a good job pulling the horse. Too many somehow think they can successfully connect to God through other people, instead of understanding that it is through Him that we can best relate to the rest of mankind. We end up with a tangle of threads however pretty in its geometry, rather than a structure with Christ as the hub; neglecting the Transcendent reality that is God in favor of His immanent reflections.)
http://zenit.org/article-21555?l=english
JAN. 20, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The biggest obstacle to Christian unity is mankind's distance from God, according to the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Michel Sabbah.
"The perennial problem... is this: If we walk with God, we walk straight, and we live the true joy and the true hope of life," ... he told the youth during a Mass for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. ...
[He affirmed] that the problem of disunity "certainly has to do with theology and dogmas," but it is principally linked to "men and women who take the place of God." [And I would include in this condemnation Catholic Christians who are practically "papalatrous," just to let you know I see the plank in my eye.]
... "It is always necessary to come back to this principle: The Christian always deals with God, and if he deals with men, he does this because he sees the image of God in them."If [our vision of God] is lacking, and we act as human beings with our sympathies and antipathies, then it is inevitable that there will be divisions among Christians.... Deal with God, and with men as images of God. When Jesus commands us to love everyone, those who are far away and those who are near, friends and enemies, he invites us to love God himself in that person."
Universalis, your very own breviary in pixels...
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2 comments:
That's the problem with Theology. You can never get two Christian leaders in one room to agree on much. But when we get to the topic of Spirituality, suddenly not only Christians, but Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, and all the rest, begin seeing eye to eye. Thomas Merton's influence may not have been much in Rome, but in the area of Spirituality and inter-faith relations, I think he was (in his later years)a giant.
What an interesting post! Today is my patron saint's day (my name day), and I ask good St. Vincent of Saragossa to intercede for you and those you love in a most special way today!
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