That mysterious word unity – as we know – appears in John’s Gospel in the prayer (of Jesus) that is his Testament: “Father… that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). Christ prays for the unity of each man and woman with God and with one another.
Unity, however, is, in fact, mysterious, in the way Jesus intends it, and certainly not easy to achieve. We need to know how to bring it about and to recompose it when it is broken.
So, this is why the Holy Spirit revealed to us the secret, the key. It is Jesus crucified who cries out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46)… He suffered this tremendous sense of division, of abandonment, of separation from the Father, precisely in order to reunite all people in God, separated as they were by sin, and to reunite human beings with one another.
As you know, dear brother and sisters, Jesus forsaken therefore has a lot to do with unity. And he has been defined as the “high road” to reach unity.
In life, each of us has sufferings that are at least a little similar to his. Who does not feel in some way, separated from God when a sense of darkness invades the soul? Who has not experienced doubts, perplexity, worries like Jesus who, when on the cross, doubted himself, felt perplexed, asked “why?”
Well then, when we feel anxiety, when we suffer, we should think of him, because these sufferings remind us of him, they are almost a presence of his, a countenance of his.
We should believe the way Jesus did, who was not petrified, blocked by the suffering, but completed that cry with acylme.files.wordpres.com the words: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46), thus reabandoning himself to the Father.
Like him we too must go beyond our suffering….
Also the small communities in which we live, the family, groups, the office, our centers, schools, etc. can experience small or significant divisions and make us suffer.
There, too, we need to recognize Jesus Forsaken and personally overcome that suffering in ourselves, doing all we can to recompose unity with others. We should do likewise with regard to larger realities, like those within our churches.
We should work to recompose unity in them—among the various individuals, associations, everywhere.
But love for Jesus Forsaken also helps us to work towards the full unity among various Christian churches. Similarly, it is helpful in opening a dialogue with people of other religions, and also with those from other cultures which do not have any particular religious belief. In short, Jesus forsaken can really be defined as the door that opens up unity.
Chiara Lubich
Excerpts from a talk given in Munich, Germany, on December 8, 2001.
