I really like the way Steve Harper presents this.. and like Steve, I tend to ‘gaze’ as well. Good, hopeful, challenging, read.

Oboedire

As you may know, Pope John Paul II spoke of the Western and Eastern churches as the two lungs of the Body of Christ, reminding us that the Body needs both lungs to be healthy.

Last week, while processing Pope Benedict XVI’s surprising resignation, I read an article about the ways he has kept that view alive during his papacy.  The article was accompanied with a photo of Benedict and the Metropolitan of Istanbul holding raised hands and smiling happily as they obviously faced a crowd who had gathered to see them.

As I read the article and gazed (yes, that’s the word–gazed) on the photo, I was reminded of John Wesley’s words, “If your heart is as my heart, give me your hand.”

I pray that the affinity between Western and Eastern Christianity will increase under the next Pope.  I think it is in the spirit of Jesus’ prayer…

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