Christian Unity Week

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY -- JANUARY 18-25 It is over 100 years since Fr. Paul Watson, founder of the Franciscan Society of the Atonement, proposed these dates in 1908, to cover the days between the feasts of St. Peter and of St. Paul. But I am stumped. Where is Peter? There is no sight of Peter – we will need to look it up. Each year, a scripture verse is selected to set the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The theme for 2010 is: "You are witness of these things" (Luke 24:48). As a Holy Ghost Father said, “Only the Spirit can be the ‘Glue’ that will reassemble a fractured Body.” The Christian Churches in Scotland Today It is even generally held that the 1910 World Mission Conference in Edinburgh marked the beginnings of the modern ecumenical movement. . . . To honour this important stage in the history of the ecumenical movement it was natural for the promoters of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - The Faith and Order Commission and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity - to invite the Scottish churches to prepare the 2010 Week of Prayer at the same time as they were actively involved in preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the 1910 Conference on the theme "Witnessing to Christ today". In response these churches suggested as the theme "You are witnesses of these things". (Luke 24.48) The Biblical Theme: You are Witnesses of These Things In the ecumenical movement we have often meditated on Jesus' final discourse before his death. In this final testament the importance of the unity of Christ's disciples is emphasized: "That all may be one ... so that the world may believe." (John 17.21) This year the churches of Scotland have made the original choice of inviting us to listen to Christ's final discourse before his ascension, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24.46-48). It is on these final words of Christ that we shall reflect each day. During the 2010 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we are invited to follow the whole of chapter 24 of Luke's gospel. Whether it be the terrified women at the tomb, the two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus or the eleven disciples overtaken by doubt and fear, all who together encounter the Risen Christ are sent on mission: "You are witness of these things". This mission of the Church is given by Christ and cannot be appropriated by anyone. It is the community of those who have been reconciled with God and in God, and who can witness to the truth of the power of salvation in Jesus Christ. We sense that Mary Magdalene, Peter or the two Emmaus disciples will not witness in the same way. Yet it will be the victory of Jesus over death that all will place at the heart of their witness. The personal encounter with the risen One has radically changed their lives and in its uniqueness for each one of them one thing becomes imperative: "You are witnesses of these things." Their story will accentuate different things, sometimes dissent may arise between them about what faithfulness to Christ requires, and yet all will work to announce the Good News.