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Richard Rohr reminds us that “unity is not the same as uniformity”. He says: “unity is the reconciliation of differences and that those differences must be maintained – and yet also overcome at a deeper level.”
This is the unity that Jesus prayed for and that reaches deep into the heart of Scripture; for example, in John 17, Jesus prays that “they may all be one.”
St. Paul made unity versus uniformity very clear in his Letters. In Ephesians 4: 5-7, he taught: “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God who is Father of all, within all and each of us has been given our own share of grace”. So we must journey together in our own uniqueness and in our own absolute unity.
St. Francis de Sales once wrote: “Consider the variety of gifts and graces with which God adorns the garden of His Church. Some are roses, some are lilies, some violets…each contributing to the whole.
I love that image when applied to human life – no comparisons, no jealousies, no longing to be in control. Each flower contributes to the beauty of the whole, despite differences of role, size, colour, perfume, place in the garden…
Invitation:
Spend time with Claude Monet’s painting The Garden at Giverny.
Or
In a garden near you at this beautiful time of the year.
Or…?
B.O’S