Article August 11, 1997 Issue

Unity that won't fracture

Geoffrey J. Barratt

BEING unified with others for a common objective is a widely attractive idea. Getting together for mutual benefit, belonging to a society or organization that we can contribute to and that helps support us: such attitudes are natural.

But grasping the spiritual essence of unity brings about a uniquely satisfying and anchoring feeling of truly belonging. Christ Jesus gave us a breakthrough insight into ultimate unity in his declaration "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). He showed us the most fundamental relationship there is. He spoke not of some form of personal togetherness but of his coexistence with God, the origin and Maker of all real existence. Unity starts with God, with His oneness and allness. It's about God; it is a divine concept. It is, in fact, that concept and that reality which make possible a concordant human community.

The unity of God and man is the underlying reality of true being. It's the essence of universal brotherhood. It's the inevitable fact, too, of human experience—to the degree that the union of God and man is glimpsed and appreciated by individuals, and carried out in their life week to week.

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