Acts 22: 30, 23: 6-11; Psalm 16; John 17: 20-26
How it must have grated the Sanhedrin to have a Roman soldier convene them. Roman law guaranteed that the accused have a chance to meet the accusers face to face. Paul is “wise as a serpent,” and sets the two major parties, the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection of the dead and the Pharisees who did, against each other. Paul is reassured in the night that he will testify for Jesus in Rome. In the gospel, Jesus continues to pray, to ask that all his friends may be one so that the world may believe. As he is the sign lifted up, drawing all to himself, now we are to be the attractive sign of God’s coming and continuing presence in the flesh.
The Jews of Paul’s times were divided, the Christians had their divisions between the law-abiding and the free spirits and still Jesus prays that we may all be one. How much do you long for unity, especially among believers, even among Catholics? Not uniformity, not even in doctrine, because it is our diversity of experience and reflection on it that produces theological development. Respect, willingness to learn and to try to understand, dialogue—the process is so much more important than the product
Come, Holy Spirit, and help us experience that we are one, even differing in our doctrines and priorities. Focus our theological differences on loving well: God, one another and the poor.