Apostle Paul Preaching on the Ruins by Giovanni Paolo Pannini

11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹² singing with full voice,

"Worthy is the Lamb that wasslaughteredto receive power and wealth andwisdom and mightand honour and glory and blessing!"

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing,

"To the one seated on the throne andto the Lambbe blessing and honour and glory andmightforever and ever!"

¹⁴ And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the elders fell down and worshipped.

~ Revelation 5.11-14, NRSV

Power, or not? I think quite power. For those of you familiar with Handel's Messiah, the King James Version of the text was used for the last chorus called, as you guessed, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain".

Anyway, Revelation 5.11-12 is the sevenfold praise of myriads (cf. Dan 7.10) in heaven honouring the sacrificial Lamb; and vv. 13-14 the universal praise to God and to the Lamb as equal in majesty, which, in a way, can be a kind of call to greater efforts in ecumenism.

So often, Catholics and Protestants get distracted in their own quarrel that they forget that they both are Christians. In recent years, steps have been taken to bridge the gap. After all, between each other, a spiritual war is fought; and Jesus said in the gospels that we all share:

9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

~ Matthew 5.9, NRSV

I am sure Jesus wants all His disciples to be united (see John 17.21; cf. Hebrews 7.25). That's why there is dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities (cf. Unitatis redintegratio 4; 9; 11).

My mum says to leave ecumenism to the theologians and community leaders. But have those in positions of authorities not already called us to reach out to each other? Can the effort for unity not be acted upon on the level of the laity? So why not among friends? Among brothers and sisters?

These are the questions that hit me in the last week. I feel strengthened because I am honoured that God can reveal another mission in such a clear manner.

I pray that God makes me a channel of His peace, heal the wounds between societies - bridge the gap. For the unity of all Christians will show the world His glory and yet bring more believers into the kingdom. But may God give me the wisdom to say the right things and perform the right actions to the right people at the right time. And may God keep me righteous through faith, obedient unto His word, and seek first His kingdom.

Lord, God, make me a channel of your peace.
Grant me a servant heart to be Your child.
Amen.