Drawing circles

When I was a young boy, a family lived in the house on the street parallel to ours, such that our backyards shared a common border.  I didn’t really know this family, as my parents said there was a scandal in that house, so we were not to associate with them.  It was a “mixed marriage” between a Catholic and a Protestant!  Heaven forbid!

The line separating Christians was clear and bright in my childhood.  We dared not enter a non-Catholic church building, fearing the inevitable lightning that would strike us down if we did.  We assumed – and to a large part, rightly so – that the feeling was mutual.  All of us were very comfortable wearing John’s shoes in today’s passage, seeking to prevent one from professing Jesus because “he does not follow us.” (Mk 9:38)

Fast forward fifty-some years, the world is a much different place.  Today, thanks be to God, we are more focused on the greatness that joins us rather than that which separates us.  We have learned to work together to further Christian ideals in our society – to feed the poor, shelter the homeless, defend the unborn, and promote human dignity for all.  We have learned to pray together, consoling one another in times of tragedy and celebrating with each other in times of joy.  We have learned that when we unite in God’s love, we can transform the world.

While we are still “separated brethren,” we have made great strides closing the rifts that separate us.  There is still much more to be done.  However, we can see the road to unity – as far off as the end of that road may be.  This is amazing progress from a time when there did not seem to be any hope at all of crossing the chasm that divided us.

A poem by Edwin Markham captures the essence of what Jesus suggests this morning to his disciples:

He drew a circle that shut me out –

Rebel, heretic, thing to flout.

But love and I had the wit to win –

We drew a circle that took him in.

With the help of God and His universal love, may we continue striving to draw the world in.