Sixth Sunday after Pentecost. Commemoration of the First Six Ecumenical Councils. The Holy Great-Martyr Marina; Passing into Eternal Life (1944) of Blessed Tarsykia (Matskiv) of the Sister Servants of Mary Immaculate, Martyr
Hebrews 13:7-16; John 17:1-13
Read Hebrews 13:7-16
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Humans are directional creatures. We direct our course toward the fulfilment of needs and desires. Our resolve remains even when we are dormant or unfulfilled. If you are human and you have a pulse you are moving in a direction even if you are sitting still for a moment, even if you don’t seem to be getting anywhere, even if you have forgotten what direction you are really moving in.
That is why compartmentalization never works out well for us. We may attempt to keep conflicting thoughts, feelings, and actions separated from each other but, because they are always connected to us, they always move in the same direction whether we want them to or not. We may think that relationships and activities precious to us are not touched by divergent actions in other parts of our lives, but they always are eventually.
That is the essential understanding behind today’s reading. These various things are connected, and we can notice a discrepancy in any one of them as a warning that danger to the other things will not be far behind: we are called to maintain unity with ecclesial leadership, to apply ourselves to discern Christ’s representation through them (v. 7); this involves rigor in not being led astray by other teachings (v. 9), and commitment to unity of worship (v. 10) consistent with our faith in the unchanging Christ (v. 8).
If you notice yourself moving away from any one of these, begin attending to whatever is underlying that as soon as you become aware of it. You may even find that your divergence originated in dissatisfaction or hurt in one of the other areas. Jesus suffered to sanctify us – go to Him and, in turn, share the good that that He gives you.