The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Begins in Few Days
MECC Has Prepared the Prayer Booklet for the 2022 Week
A Message from the East to the World
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“In One, Holy and Apostolic Church” we declare in our Nicene Creed to emphasize the importance of our Christian unity with our Lord Jesus Christ. Heads of churches around the world have always seek to this unity which is today highlighted by Christians through daily prayers and meditations during the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" that is scheduled from 18 to 25 January of each year.
The celebrations of the Week of Prayer are organized by a special booklet including contemplation texts and prayers from different Church families. As for this year, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has entrusted the Middle East Council of Churches with the task of choosing the theme of the 2022 Week of Prayer and preparing draft texts for its booklet. Hence, this year’s theme is centered around the Christmas star and entitled “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage” (Matthew 2:2).
From the East to the World: A Booklet of Unity and Hope
The Week of Prayer booklet has been issued in the midst of an unprecedented international health crisis due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus. Many efforts were made online by an ecumenical committee chosen by the Theological and Ecumenical Department of the Middle East Council of Churches and an international team appointed jointly by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches.
Theologians of different Church families, from Eastern and international countries and organizations worked together with one heart, praying that greater unity among Christians in the Middle East and around the world may contribute to a more dignified, just and peaceful life for all people. So who were in charge of thinking, writing and praying together to launch this year’s awaited booklet?
Participants from the Middle East Council of Churches
Revd Father Dr Boulos Wehbe, Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch (Lebanon)
Revd Dr Rima Nasrallah, Evangelical National Church (Lebanon)
Revd Father Dr Roger Akhrass, Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (Syria)
Dr John Daniel, Evangelical Synod of the Nile (Egypt)
Sr Emily Tannous, Maronite Church (Lebanon)
Revd Father Gabriel Hachem, Greek Melkite Catholic Church of Antioch (Lebanon)
Participants in the International Team
Revd Father Martin Browne, OSB Glenstal Abbey (Ireland)
Ms Anne-Noëlle Clément, Unité Chrétienne (France)
Revd Anthony Currer, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (Vatican)
Dr Ani Ghazaryan Drissi, Programme Executive of the Faith and Order Secretariat at the World Council of Churches (Switzerland)
Revd Dr Jochen Wagner, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Christlicher Kirchen in Deutschland (Germany)
Dr Hanne Lamparter, German Lutheran Church (Germany)
Sr Leticia Candelario Lopez, Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity (Singapore)
Revd Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, Director of Faith and Order - WCC (Switzerland)
Revd Father James Puglisi, SA Friar of the Atonement, Centro Pro Unione (Italy/USA)
Revd Dr Mikie Roberts, Programme Executive for Spiritual Life – WCC (Switzerland)
Dr Clare Watkins, University of Roehampton (England)
The Christmas Star: Our Guide to Unity and Prayer
The theme of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2022, “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage” (Matthew 2:2) revolves around the Christmas star that led the Magi on the path of hope to witness the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, King of Kings.
As the working team of the booklet mentioned, the theme was chosen “more than ever, in these difficult times”, during which “we need a light that shines in the darkness and that light, Christians proclaim, has been manifested in Jesus Christ”. Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and Redeemer of man, grants us hope and determination in the midst of all the crises and problems we are witnessing.
Thus, the theme represents a sign of hope amidst the passing glories pushing us often away from the shore of safety. What are the meanings behind it? What does this star indicate?
According to the introduction to the theme of the year 2022 included in the booklet on page 5 “This star is a gift, an indication of God’s loving presence for all humanity. To the Magi it was a sign that a king was born. With its rays, it leads humanity towards a greater light, Jesus, the new light who enlightens every person and who leads us into the glory of the Father and the splendour of his radiance. Jesus is the light who has come into our darkness when, by the Holy Spirit, he was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became human. Jesus is the light who went even further into the darkness of the world when for our sake and for our salvation, he emptied himself and became obedient unto death.”
The Magi have also a signification. Hence and “traditionally commentators have seen in the figures of the Magi a symbol of the diversity of peoples known at that time, and a sign of the universality of the divine call which appears in the light of the star shining from the east. They also see in the Magi’s eager search for the new-born king, all humanity’s hunger for truth, for goodness and for beauty. Humanity has been longing for God since the beginning of creation in order to give him homage. The star appeared as the divine child was born in the fullness of time.”
The introduction adds “the Magi reveal to us the unity of all nations desired by God. They travel from far-off countries, and represent diverse cultures, yet they are driven by the same hunger to see and know the new-born king, and are gathered into the little house in Bethlehem in the simple act of giving homage and offering gifts. Christians are called to be a sign to the world of God bringing about this unity that he desires. Drawn from different cultures, races and languages, Christians share in a common search for Christ and a common desire to worship him.”
Therefore, the diverse gifts of the Magi provide us “with an image of the particular insights that different Christian traditions have into the person and work of Jesus. When Christians gather together and open their treasures and their hearts in homage to Christ, all are enriched as the gifts of these insights are shared.”
The East in the Week of Prayer
What about the East? The introduction explains that “the history of the Middle East was, and still is, characterized by conflict and strife, tainted with blood and darkened by injustice and oppression… The story of the Magi also contains many dark elements, most particularly Herod’s despotic orders to massacre all the children around Bethlehem who were less than two years old (Mt 2:16-18). The cruelty of these narratives resonates with the long history and difficult present of the Middle East.
It was in the Middle East that the Word of God took root and bore fruit: thirty and sixty and one hundredfold. And from this east that the apostles set out to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). The Middle East gave thousands of Christian witnesses and thousands of Christian martyrs. And yet now, the very existence of the small Christian community is threatened as many are driven to seek a more secure and serene life elsewhere.”
This is also the case of Jerusalem which was “the city of kings, indeed the city that Jesus will enter triumphantly, acclaimed as king (Lk 19:28-44). Naturally the Magi expected to find the new born king revealed by the star in this royal city. However, the narrative tells us that, rather than being blessed by the birth of the Saviour king, the whole of Jerusalem was in tumult, much as it is today.”
With hope, the introduction continues “today, more than ever, the Middle East needs a heavenly light to accompany its people. The star of Bethlehem is a sign that God walks with his people, feels their pain, hears their cries, and shows them compassion. It reassures us that though circumstances change and terrible disasters may happen, God’s faithfulness is unfailing. The Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps. He walks beside his people and brings them back when they are lost or in danger.”
The Path to Jesus Christ, Light of the World
Why was the theme of the star that rose in the east chosen for this year’s Week of Prayer? The introduction stresses on a number of reasons. “While many Western Christians celebrate Christmas, the more ancient feast, and still the principal feast of many Eastern Christians, is the epiphany when God’s salvation is revealed to the nations in Bethlehem and at the Jordan. This focus on the theophany (the manifestation) is, in a sense, a treasure which Christians of the Middle East can offer to their brothers and sisters around the world.”
So where is the star that leads the way to the newborn King? “It is the mission of the Church to be the star that lights the way to Christ who is the light of the world. By being such a star the Church becomes a sign of hope in a world of troubles and a sign of God’s presence with his people, accompanying them through the difficulties of life. By word and through action Christians are called to light the way so that Christ might be revealed, once again, to the nations. But the divisions between us dim the light of Christian witness and obscure the way, preventing others from finding their way to Christ. Conversely, Christians united in their worship of Christ, and opening their treasures in an exchange of gifts, become a sign of the unity that God desires for all of his creation.
Hence, “the Christians of the Middle East offer these resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity conscious that the world shares many of the travails and difficulties that they experience, and yearns for a light to lead the way to the Saviour who can overcome darkness. The COVID-19 global pandemic, the ensuing economic crisis, and the failure of political, economic and social structures to protect the weakest and most vulnerable, have underlined the global need for a light to shine in the darkness.”
As stated by the introduction “the communion we share in our prayer together must inspire us to return to our lives, our churches and our world by new ways. Travelling by new ways is an invitation to repentance and renewal in our personal lives, in our churches and in our societies. Following Christ is our new path, and in a volatile and changing world Christians must remain as fixed and determined as the constellations and the shining planets. But what does this mean in practice? Serving the Gospel today requires a commitment to defending human dignity, especially in the poorest, the weakest and those marginalized.”
At the end, the introduction to the Week of Prayer’s theme 2022 concluded with “a call for churches to work together so that young people can build a future that accords to God’s heart, a future in which all human beings can experience life, peace, justice, and love. The new way between the churches is the way of visible unity that we sacrificially seek with courage and audacity so that, day after day, “God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).”
Let us pray together so we may walk on the path of unity, far from all divisions and crises that might prevent us from building bridges between us. Starting from the Week of Prayer, this historical Christian occasion, let us pray for unity and brotherhood during all the days of the year. Through Prayer and union, we can witness the love of Christ and travel together towards the Kingdom.
.Theme of the Prayer Week 2022 and the team who prepared the booklet
.Daily Prayers and meditations for the Week of Unity 2022
.Prayer for Christian Unity in Arabic
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