Something incredibly beautiful is occuring in Germantown, Maryland. No, I'm not talking about the fact that no lives have been lost to abortion this week, though that is a huge cause for celebration. Nor am I talking about the number of women who have learned about abortion alternatives. I'm not even talking about the many answers to prayers we've experienced or the amount of people in the community who are opening their eyes to this abortion issue. No. What I am talking is about is something Jesus prayed for in John 17; what I am talking about is the beautiful unity of brothers and sisters in Christ.
When I first read and even memorized a portion of John 17, I used to think that Jesus was prayng that the churches would be unified in doctrine, and often would grieve at the fact that there are so many factions of the church today. There are so many different churches and denominations today, we almost have a salad bar of options; pick and choose what you want in a church. A little speaking in tongues here, some cutsie kids ministries there, a little liturgy there, and viola! Your personalized church! But I'm not sure that doctrine was what Jesus was soley speaking of when he prayed, "I pray that they would be one..."
John 17:23b says, speaking of the future believers: "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." Jesus' focus, here, is not on doctrine but on the love of the Father, and further, that the world would know through Christian witness the Father's love. If we extrapolate this, we might say that, though denominations may differ, the significant issue is that the churches unitedly reveal God's love to others, and that is what is happening at Summer of Mercy 2.0.
Last night was a great example of this! We had a Catholic praise leader and a Catholic priest who led worship and spoke against abortion. Then, we had a charimatic episcopal pastor preach! Many local parishes and churches have banded together--Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and non-denominational--to celebrate our Lord in prayer and praise and pray to our Lord to end abortion. We've laughed together at the humorous comments the ProChoice people have yelled ("Stop following what someone else tells you to do!"), prayed in earnest together for Carhart's heart to change, praised God together, and been so blown away at God's incredible answers to prayer that all we can do is smile (ask me about it!). I've had the privalege to work alongside an amazing, godly, dedicated Catholic woman who has the same incredible faith in God that I only aspire to have. Together, we've seen incredible answers to specific prayers. And while saying the rosary and praying and singing to Mary make me uncomfortable, we've been able to overlook those differences in order to focus on saving lives. We've been loving on our ProChoice friends, sharing kind words and water, and we've been turning the other cheek when they've hated us.
We're not going to get into the "Is a Catholic really a Christian?" debate. I will add, thought, that the local Catholic churches, priests, and people have been the most faithful attenders of Summer of Mercy 2.0. But picture it for a moment, will you? An episcopal charismatic preacher and his wife sing and stand next to a Presbyterian minister, a Catholic priest, and a preacher from a non-denokinational church. People from many congregations and parishes in the area come together and sing one song together. I wish the press saw this. This abortion issue is doing so much more than drawing out the prolife people; it's drawing out all of the churches and unifying the local church. Something big is going on in Germantown, and it all started thanks to Carhart.
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