The Heart of St. Paul
The number one enemy of St. Paul is disunity. The separation of believers from St. Paul, the Church and one another was a source of anguish for him. He knows that unity is a difficult challenge as he tells the Church at Ephesus:
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to live a life worthy of your calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forebearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph 4:1-3)
Paul knows that the most annoying thing Christians have to deal with are the foibles and attitudes of other Christians. All are sinners, all are redeemed, but there are differences among them. It is clear for St. Paul that the only way to live the Christian faith is in community, whether it is a family, a parish church or simply a group of believers. We are purified by one another in seeking to live honestly, purely, prayerfully and realistically with each other. Some are more advanced than others. Some have different gifts than others. But they all serve the same Lord and the same Church. They have the same faith and the same hope. We are like pebbles placed in a mixer. We smooth each other out by learning to serve each other, be patient with things about the others among us and generally come to love one another more, inspite of our weaknesses. That is when, as St. Paul says, we live a life worthy of our calling, which is to be Christ for one another.
