Jesus
prayed for his disciples, and then he said: "I ask not only on behalf of
these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their
word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am
in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you
have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them,
so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me,
that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have
sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I
desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to
see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the
foundation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know
you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made
your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which
you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:20-26
This Sunday is the seventh, and last
Sunday of Easter. On the three year cycle of readings, the specifics vary from
one year to the next, but the central theme is always the same: ONENESS. The
section of the Gospel of John that this is taken from is commonly called Christ's
High Priestly Prayer. It's an
extended prayer prayed on behalf of the disciples, but by extension, on behalf
of the Church of all time (vs 21 I ask not only on behalf of these, but also
on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word).
As I've pondered this passage--and
this idea of oneness/unity--for not the first time it's struck me as to how side-tracking
it is to get hung up on the fractured nature of the visible church. If I've
heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times... why are there so many 'isms'
within Christianity? Why can't Protestants and Catholics get along? Why are
there so many denominations within Protestantism? For that matter, why are
there so many different Lutheran groups? Honest curiosity is fine, but often
the point of the question seems to be to use the lack of harmony at the
institutional level as an excuse to withdraw from any and all churches--if for
no other reason, as a 'protest vote' against their stubborn refusal to heed the
Lord's call to unity. Maybe the irony is
lost somewhere along the line, but in our own, personal, local stubbornness we
quite frequently jeopardize the unity of our parish, or of a particular
ministry within the parish, while at the same time saying tisk-tisk about the lack of unity at the Big Church level.
In verse 20 of the text we're
informed of a very important concept... unity begins at home. Jesus says
it in passing, but it's there nonetheless: I ask not only on behalf of
these, but also on behalf of those who will believe... In other words,
Jesus as usual is taking the big picture in terms of the impact the Gospel will
have on the world, but it starts with them. To paraphrase that part of
the text: I ask not only on behalf of these... but I'm sure starting with
them. Unity begins at home. However many different Lutheran groups there
may be, however many different Protestant denominations there may be, however
long the rift between Protestants and Catholics may go on, nothing of substance changes if individual parishes are fractured.
Throughout Easter the emphasis has
been about living the baptized life. What does it look like, or perhaps a
better way to put it is, what is it calling us to? Along the way we have seen
some of the answers to this question. It's a call to practice faith without
having all of the answers, as this year's disciples had to do in the Easter
Sunday reading; it's a call to practice reconciliation, as Jesus did with
Thomas the doubter. It's a call to receive Christ in the meal; it's a call to
lifelong following of the Good Shepherd; it's a call to respond to the Spirit's
activity in our lives. It is also a call to unity... to oneness.
Cheers,
T.M.
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