Many people are convinced that our Country is “divided”...and in many ways it is. There are certainly divisions along party lines and even divisions about core values. That’s simply going to be the way it is in these “United” States, since with human beings there will always be divisions. That truth is why it’s so critical for the Church, and more to the point, for followers of Jesus, to live lives of unity and solidarity. Jesus prayed in John 17 that we as Christian people would be “one” even as He and the Father were one...now that’s unity! And that is in fact God’s will for us...unity, not division. So today we’re reminded that following Jesus, living our Christian faith, is one of “Taking Up Unity”.