THE WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

Day 1 - Together... we are called to be saints

                                         

Exodus 19: 3-8

You shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation

Psalm 95: 1-7                

We are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand

1 Peter 2: 9-10               

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people

Matthew 12: 46-50        

Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother

Three Points for Reflection

Together, we who call upon the name of the Lord are called to be saints "sanctified in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor 1:2). In Exodus, this gathering together of God’s people is described as a treasured possession, a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.

In 1 Peter, our membership in this communion of saints is understood to come as a result of God calling us together as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, God’s own people. With this calling comes a shared mandate to proclaim the mighty acts of God that drew us out of darkness and into God’s light.

Furthermore, we discover in Matthew that as a communion of saints, our oneness in Jesus is to extend beyond our family, clan, or class as together we pray for unity and seek to do the will of God.

Questions

What does the term "communion of saints" mean for you or for your church tradition?

In what ways does our calling to be a "holy nation" compel us to go beyond our local Christian setting?

Prayer

Merciful God, together with all those who call on the name of the Lord, in our brokenness we hear your call to be saints. Yet you have made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. By the power of your Holy Spirit, draw us together in the communion of saints and strengthen us to do your will and to proclaim the mighty acts of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.