You don’t have to look far to see division — families, neighborhoods, nations, ethnic groups, economic strata, age and sexual cohorts. St. Paul wants us to look again and find that there is an underlying unity of the spirit which is more fundamental than the apparent differences: one Body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all. Of course, striving for the “unity of the spirit” has been a constant challenge even within the Church — witness the number of Christian denominations. Since there is only “one hope” we have confidence that our efforts at unity will bear fruit in God’s time.
