"Us and Them"

In heaven, the angels worship in unison. They cry out in one voice, “Holy, holy, holy!”

The saints join the angels in their worship of the living God—all the saints, even though they are so diverse. Some were intelligent, others not; some well-spoken, while others rarely uttered a word. The communion of saints includes men, women, young, old, black, white, rich, poor, introvert, extrovert, jovial, serious, and more—and they are one.

Unity will be a great grace in heaven. But in our world today, unity is sorely lacking, and I believe disunity breaks the heart of God.

I’ve been thinking and praying a lot about this recently. How is it that we, as a country, have become so divided? The tragic death of George Floyd made this apparent once again. It’s “us and them.” When we make it “us and them,” it allows “us” to dismiss “them” as unimportant, as less than, and once we have done this, we can justify almost anything. As Mother Teresa said, we have forgotten that we belong to each other. I believe I would love differently if I truly understood “they” belong to me and I belong to “them.”

Sadly, it is not only our country that is divided. Our Church also has become scandalously divided. There ought not be “us and them” in the Body of Christ, but all too often, this is the case.

As our parishes were reopening after the shutdown, for example, what should have been met with unmitigated jubilation was soiled with division. I read a statement in social media from a bishop requesting, not mandating, that for a period of time, we refrain from receiving holy Communion on the tongue. Then, I made the monumental mistake of reading the comments about “those” overly pious, rigid, hypocritical traditionalists and “those” irreverent, sacrilegious, misguided Catholics who represent everything wrong with the Church and “those” priests and bishops who lack the courage to do the right thing.

And the evil one, the divider, laughs as the Body of Christ destroys itself.

Franciscan University can be a prophetic witness of unity in charity in the Body of Christ and in our country. We don’t look the same or speak the same, and we have different spiritualities and devotional practices. But God wants us to be one; actually, he prays that we would be one (see John 17:21).

Several months ago, I was speaking about my desire for unity during a media interview, and I said we have so many different people at Franciscan. Which is as it should be. Jesus draws all people to himself, and if Jesus is preached, we ought to see all different kinds of people gathering. The journalist asked me, “Is it possible that Franciscan could be a place where people pray in tongues and in Latin and actually get along?”

Yes, I believe that it is possible. Further, I believe that it is what God is asking of us.

So many things divide humanity. Color of skin, language, culture, religion, male, female, money, education, power—so many differences that must be overcome so that we may be one. But we who are in Christ are already a part of Jesus’ one Body, and we must live in that reality.

St. Paul urges us “to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:1-6).

In heaven, there will be perfect unity. But let’s start practicing it today. “Those people” are our brothers and sisters, and we have the same Father. Let’s get used to loving them because it’s possible we will be spending eternity with them.

Peace,

Father Dave Pivonka, TOR
President, Franciscan University of Steubenville