A young man came to me recently, looking troubled.
He said they were five children โ two boys and three girls. And since childhood, he had always wanted to be a priest. That dream burned in him for years.
But along the way, his elder brother died. He became the only son.
Still, he held on to his desire.
But as fate would have it, his father fell ill. It wasnโt the first time, so no one expected the worst. But one afternoon, his father called him in. His voice had changed โ it was calm, low, and heavy.
Then he said, โIn all that you doโฆ donโt let my lineage end with me.โ That was all.
Not long after, he died.
And now this young man was sitting before me, looking into my eyes and asking:
โI know what I wantโฆ but how do I ignore the last wish of my dying father?โ
I grew cold.
Because truly, in every culture, thereโs a sacredness we attach to a dying personโs last words. Because we believe that people donโt say foolish things when death is close. They speak from deep places. And so, we hold such words like gold.
And that brings me to todayโs readings.
In the Gospel, Jesus โ nearing death โ prayed, not for popularity, but for unity:
โThat they may all be oneโฆโ
And Paul, in the first reading, even though he wasnโt dying yet, knew he was leaving. And his words carried that same weight.
Like a father letting go of his children, Paul poured out his soul to the elders. He told them with tears:
โAfter I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, not sparing the flock. Even from your own group, men will come โ speaking twisted things, to draw away disciples after themโฆโ
That last part โ โeven from your own groupโ โ is where I want to pitch my tent.
Because thatโs where weโre bleeding the most today.
Somewhere along the line, we threw away the words of our ‘dying fathers’ โ Jesus and Paul. And the result?
Schisms.
Doctrinal splits.
Denominations break off like tree branches.
We now have โMountain of Fire Ministriesโ and โMountain of Peace Ministriesโ โ yet still say we serve one Christ.
Let an issue come up about Catholics โ and listen to what others say.
Let a Pentecostal pastor fall โ and hear how he’s mocked.
We watch for each otherโs faultsโjust to claim the upper hand.
We’ve become more divided inside than we are outside.
Just one disagreement, and boom โ another sect breaks out.
We, the flock, fight each otherโฆ while the fierce wolves officiate.
Dear friends, the world doesnโt need more denominations.
The world needs the oneness Jesus prayed for.
That unity where we defend, not destroy each other.
Where we disagree โ but remain united in love.
Where we stop tearing each other down just to feel taller.
And if thereโs any honor left in us, then maybe itโs time we pick up the words of our ‘dying fathers’โฆ
Dust themโฆ and begin to live by them.
Because what more can we do for them, than to let their final wish be fulfilled in our time?
