Renewal in Relationship

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Today's readings:
[ Zech 8:9-13; Ps 133; Jn 17:20-25 ]

There is a quiet, earthy hope that runs through today’s readings—a hope you can almost feel in your hands, like soil being turned over for a new season.

In Zechariah, the people are told to “let your hands be strong,” for God is rebuilding what was once desolate. Fields that did not yield will yield again. Vines will bear fruit. The work of restoration is not abstract—it is lived, tangible, and rooted in daily labour. This is a deeply Franciscan note: grace does not float above creation; it seeps into it. God does not discard the world but renews it.

Psalm 133 sings, “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity!” Unity here is not forced uniformity but a shared life that flows like oil and dew—rich, abundant, and life-giving. For St. Francis, this kind of fraternity was essential. To live as brothers and sisters, not in dominance but in humility and mutual care, is itself a sign of God’s kingdom breaking into the present.

Then in John's Gospel, Jesus prays not only for His disciples but “also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” This unity is not merely social harmony; it is participation in the very life of God: “as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.” The Franciscan tradition calls this communio, a deep interconnectedness of all things in God, where love binds creation together without erasing its diversity.

What does this mean for us today?

It means that unity begins in small, concrete ways: in how we speak, how we forgive, how we show up. It means tending the “fields” we’ve been given—our relationships, our work, our communities—with patience and hope, even when they seem barren.

God’s promise is not just that things will get better someday, but that renewal is already taking root. Our task is to trust that promise enough to keep our hands strong and to live as people already being made one in Christ.

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