Sometimes at church, we come across faithful who seem to be more comfortable with their own group, such as a particular ministry, or language group, or some other group which share a common interest or practice. While there is nothing wrong with getting involved in a particular group, we need to be careful not to form cliques, where our particular group is more important or all that matters, and we begin to avoid other faithful, just because of some differences such as interests or language which could alienate us from others. After all, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and one family of God, and there is no room for division and distinction in this one family of God.
This is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus prayed: “Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us as you are in me and I am in you.” Jesus was concerned not only for his disciples, those that the Heavenly Father had given to His care, but also for others, including those who rejected him and even his enemies. This is also why we cannot only be praying for our loved ones and friends and only help people who are close to us. We are also called to pray for ‘others,’ including our enemies, people who hurt us, those speak ill of us, those who think differently, those who are of a different skin colour or language. In the first reading, we are reminded that, filled with the Holy Spirit, Stephen did exactly this, since he prayed that God would forgive his enemies their sins as he was being stoned.
Today, we are challenged to remain as one family of God. We are challenged to set aside our differences and let God be our help and guide. It is certainly not easy to come out of our comfort zones and unite with others who seem so different from us, but that is what being Christian is all about, to be able to see others as our brother or sister, and to accept them as part of God’s family. May we be humble and willing to let God take charge of our lives, and keep us as one.