Signposts On The Way

There is one passage in the Gospel of St. John which I find extremely powerful and challenging.  It appears in the section that is described as the last discourse:
 
Jesus says: “I pray…that they may all be one as you Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”- Jn 17:20-21.

How powerful is this message!  It is such an important issue that Jesus prays to His Father in these words three times in this last discourse. I wish to offer a model to consider for your community/family. Steven Preister, in a chapter in a book, describes a perception of the early Christian community that can serve as a model for any present-day community. Preister recounted a story regarding Aristides, a non-Christian Roman senator who attested to the quality of community life among the early Christin community:

Christians love one another.  They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them.  If a man has something, he freely gives to the man who has nothing.  If they see a stranger, they take him home and are happy as though he were a real brother.  If one of them is poor and there isn’t enough food to go around, they fast several days to give him the food he needs…This really is something new – a new kind of person. There is something divine in them.