Easter 7 C

Posted on Sun 08 May 2016 in misc

Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26

Jesus has one final prayer before he is betrayed and taken into custody. His disciples heard it, and remembered it after the resurrection.

  • entire 17th chapter
  • different from Gethsemane prayers in synoptic Gospel
  • prays for his followers

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word,” (John 17.20 NRSV)

Jesus actually says he is praying for those who will hear about and come to trust him through the words of the disciples.

In other words: Jesus is praying for you and me. Built into this prayer is concern for the future followers of Christ.

And this is his prayer for us:

“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.” (John 17.21 NRSV)

Jesus prays that his followers are one.

There are at least 200 different Christian denominations in the United States alone. I wonder what Jesus would think about that. Are we one?

Interesting, in a time when denominations are decreasing in influence…

  • grouping non-denominational churches together would make them the first or second largest denomination
  • many people less tied to a particular denomination
  • many younger folks find bickering between churches to be not just irrelevant, but a major turn off

On the bright side:

  • Presbyterian Church, Reformed Church in America, United Church of Christ, The Episcopal Church, the Moravian Church, and United Methodist Church are all Full Communion Partners.

Just last year, the Roman Catholic Church and Lutherans released a document with 32 points of agreement suggesting the growing unity between people whose faith separated them 500 years ago.

In general, Christians seem to find find more than unites us than divides us these days.

But still, if you listen closely to the words of Jesus, he’s praying for something more than denominational agreements.

He prays that we are one as he and God are one. That we are loved the way Jesus, the only Son of God, is loved by his father. Real unity.

In fact, I would go so far to say that we can only be one — only find real unity — through the love of God in Christ Jesus. In other words, we cannot do it ourselves. Our old ways of making unity will always be inadequate.

At times, it has seemed to work when humans found unity in their politics, their language, their culture, their skin color, what they like, who they are attracted to…but in the end, we will never be united in those things. Those things break down. As a church, we can never and should never be in full agreement on anything except the One that we follow.

3 inadequate ways of dealing with our differences:

  • being nice and ignoring our differences; passive aggressive
    • Midwestern nice?
    • foolish; dishonest
    • when push comes to shove, you have to…
  • forcing our way upon others; aggressive
    • not just arrogant; tries to take God’s place
    • some of the harshest words of Jesus come against those who put themselves up as a judge of their neighbors
    • usually ignores the faults in our own lives
  • giving up and going along with others; passive
    • dismisses our call from God
    • we are weaker when we try to all be the same

The kind of unity that Jesus prays for cannot be achieved by being aggressive, passive, or passive aggressive.

If we can’t force unity, and we can’t be forced into it, how do we do it? How do we deal with the differences among us?

Jesus prays that we are one just as he and God are one. They are one in love. Their unity comes from a relationship based on love.

Even within the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit there are different persons, yet they are one in love.

  • you be you and I’ll be me; we are different and we have to be OK with that.

Jesus cares deeply and selflessly for the world; but does not give in to it either

  • even when his closest friends abandon and betray him, Jesus does not stray from his mission, or forget who he is
  • when he is tempted to be anyone or anything else, Jesus refuses; he remembers who he is
  • a casual reading of the Gospels will reveal that Jesus never ‘goes along to get along’… he never takes the easy way out.

Jesus brings unity; Jesus deals with difference; Jesus draws us closer together by being neither passive nor aggressive, but instead by loving.

The only way to connect with God, to know ourselves, and to understand others is through love. By recognizing the image of God in others — no matter how different they are. By seeking to affirm and protect the place of others in God’s kingdom without denying our own. This love is not ours to control but has been God’s mission since before the founding of the world.

Love is God’s original mission, it’s the fervent prayer of Jesus, and it’s our hope to find unity with God, with our neighbors and with ourselves.