Christian communities are not always the most united of groups. Yet Jesus asks us to go out preaching the need to be one with others as well as ourselves. Can we do this without being hypocritical? We can reassure ourselves by looking at the early disciples. The were often at odds with each other both before and after their experience of the risen Lord and His gift of the Holy Spirit. However, they do appear to have been better at sorting out their differences after Pentecost than before. It is as though they recognized in each other that gift of God’s love and so gave each other the space to explore what that love was saying.
Our ability to be one and to live, believe and work together in harmony is ultimately the gift of God’s own love within us. It will always be a challenge to express this fully. We will try shortcuts, make assumptions, identify God’s will too quickly with our own. We will be afraid. But like the sunflower constantly turning its face to find the sun, so we are asked to turn our faces again and again to God, that it may be God’s love that truly enlightens us and helps us to choose the right path.