MAY102023

Because there arose no little dissension and debate it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters about this question. There is something consoling about the fact that from the very beginning of the church there was “dissension and debate.” We should not be surprised, therefore, that we experience disagreements in the Church today. The solution of the early Church was the one we should adopt today: take counsel with one another. Counsel works when there is a genuine openness to the prompting ot the Holy Spirit, an acceptance of the fact that those we disagree with have the same devotion to God and the truth that I do, a willingness to hear what the other say putting the best possible interpretation to that opinion, a serenity that comes in dropping an argumentative stance and instead trusting that the Holy Spirit continues to work to deepen our understanding of the presence and action of God in our lives.