Rivalries, once a major concern in my life, have become somewhat amusing as I get older and my priorities change. There was a time when I could spend an entire day shouting about why Cubs fans are obnoxious, or better yet, how Steelers fans are the worst (they really are, though I can think of a few
parishioners who are going to have a word with me after seeing this column…) But while I still enjoy watching sports when I have the time, my vocation and the situations it places me in have taken the edge off the seething hatred I once felt for certain sports organizations. I suppose there is something about being invited into the homes and hospital rooms of the dying a hundred times that shifts one’s perspective.

There are few rivalries or clashes in today’s world (and none of them are between baseball teams) that rival the anger, frustration, and sheer hatred that existed between the Samaritans and the Jews in Jesus’ time. Many years before Jesus’ Nativity, the twelve tribes of Israel had split into two groups, and the Samaritans had set up their own temple in their own land and had stopped using Jerusalem as their center of worship. This created a division in God’s Holy People that had once been united in how they approached their God and
offered Him sacrifice, and since both were wholly convinced that they were right, the relationship was fraught with bitterness. This would be akin to about half the Catholics in the world breaking away from Rome, electing an Anti-Pope, and then proclaiming that they, and no one else, are the true followers of Jesus Christ. As you can imagine, there would certainly be tension in parishes and families if this happened.
 
But the reality is that we are already living with this situation, to a degree. In the Gospel of John we hear Jesus pray before He enters into His Passion for His disciples that “they may be one, as the Father and I are one.” That unity which existed for 1,000 years, albeit often in great turbulence, is no longer visibly present. This is one of the reasons why the parable of the Good Samaritan that we hear today, and the parable of the Samaritan Woman that we hear in Lent every year, remain so powerful. Even in the midst of the disunity that we experience in the modern world, we are called to work with, receive help from, and lift up our brothers and sisters in other faith traditions so that our bonds can be strengthened. Jesus still desires that we may be one as He is one with the Father, but as we work towards that there will always be times when we lay aside differences and work towards common goals. When IHN comes to the region, it does not minister solely to Catholics. When our St. Vincent de Paul members visit our brothers and sisters in need, they don’t restrict their help to just Catholics. These ministries and others share in Christ’s work of reaching across lines of division in order to show the ideal unity of the Church, the Body of Christ.
 
As we take in Jesus’ words about helping others in need and receiving help when we are broken, may we resolve to pray for greater unity in the Church and the world, as well as commit ourselves to serving those in need, regardless of the circumstances.
 
In Christ,
Fr. McC