John 17:20-26 United We Stand

In the early days of World War II, Germany bombed England unmercifully. The British teetered near defeat as German planes dropped tons of bombs on London. The people of London urged the Queen Mother to send her children to safety in Canada. She replied by saying, “The children cannot go unless I go, and I will not go without the King, and the King will not go!” Is it any wonder that England held on? Is it any wonder that they survived? Is it any wonder that they won? That terrible war welded the British together so strongly that it helped them to keep going in spite of the terrors of war.

The prayer Jesus prays in John 17:20-26 is one of inclusion and unity. He prays for three things. First, he prays that he will be restored to the glory he had before incarnation. Second, he prays for the disciples. Third, and most important for my homily this morning, he prays for the people who will be converted by the disciples.

Our Lord wanted his people to come together in unity, and he still does. The church today is sometimes divided along social and theological issues such as same sex marriages, the ordination of homosexual clergy, and even the ordination of women. Christ’s objective or goal was unity. He used military-style tactics:

1.      He set an objective of uniting his followers

2.      He used a strategy of creating a family, a family life, a shared life so that men and women all over the world, by becoming by new life members of that life, are so filled with joy and warmth that other people see it, long for it, and long to join it.

3.      He used the tactic of creating a new commandment-“Love one another as I have loved you”

In this morning’s Gospel reading, Jesus prays for the success of his followers’ work in the world. By stating that he is part of the Father’s oneness, Jesus makes himself equal to God. Jesus and God are united in will, in power, in loving intent for humankind, in commitment to salvation, and in mercy that endures forever.

Are we also united in one? Do we talk about “we” or do we talk in terms of “us and them”? The passive tense used in the Gospel reading shows that it is God who is perfecting us into our oneness with him. It is more appropriate to talk about the church acting or witnessing as one rather than being one. The primary purpose of our existence is for us as one body to be effective in our witness to the world. The fulfillment of this prayer is not up to us. The Holy Spirit continues to bless us with unity. Jesus prays for the success of our witness

A good example of unity is the unity of our local churches-whether it is through the local association of churches, the local ministerial association, or the amalgamation of several churches in various denominations. Unfortunately, there are still some people who have an “us versus them” attitude. It is a sad example of the divisions that exist in Christianity today. The old attitudes will not work in the new reality that exists today. They need to be thrown out like we throw out our household garbage. A change in attitude won’t happen overnight. It will take time.

God loves diversity, yet he calls us to be one. If we have Christ’s love, we can love one another and the world can see how much God loves them. Unity is often missing because although Christians seek to be one with Christ, they refuse to be one with another. Unity in Christ means that we must give up something of ourselves. Every church says it wants to grow, but what that usually means is that the church wants more people to come in and support the church that has been created according to the wants and tastes of its current congregation. We want our church to grow while staying the same. That’s not likely in today’s world where change is the order of the day, nor is it in keeping with what Jesus told us to do-“As the Father sent me, so I send you”.

We are all connected; however, we must not let being connected with God become bogged down in our rituals. If being “one” means conforming to a set of rules, some people soon become uncomfortable. When the rules are broken or when they change, others feel excluded, especially when we are used to having a particular minister or lay reader lead the services and he or she is replaced by another minister or lay reader. Our rituals must be adapted to the changing circumstances of our world. We must not think that the world will adapt to us, or that it should at least acknowledge the heritage of our presence.

Unity does not mean sameness. It means similarity of purpose, of situation, of allegiance, of intention, and of behaviour towards one another. It means accepting. For those who believe, it means gathering under the canopy of creation and being part of a great singleness of purpose. The problem with trying to achieve unity is our ignorant hearts. We do not know Jesus like Jesus knows God. We do not trust him like a child trusts a parent. We are “on the outs” with God and he is “on the outs” with us. By beholding God’s glory on the cross, we also take it as the truth about ourselves and we are embraced in the unity with God and Christ here and now.

Picture, if you will, the cross, especially the horizontal beam. Imagine it growing and extending its arms. Watch how they grow and stretch and bend until they curve in upon themselves and form a huge circle that includes all of us, and our friends across the street, across the province, across this country, and around the world. We are stronger together than apart. We have the responsibility to reach out to others in that love and forgiveness and grace we have come to know and experience in this place.

The Great Commission-“Go forth into the world and make disciples of all the nations”- is an example of the tactics God uses to unite his people in faith, hope and love. We are not here to save the world, because it is doomed to anarchy and chaos. We are called to show the world that God sent Christ to the world. We are to convince the world of three things:

1.      Jesus is the true voice of God.

2.      Christ is the true voice of what God wants to do in the world.

3.      Christ is the key to history and reality, the revelation of the invisible God.

Once we have revealed these things to the world, the world can either reject him and remain lost OR accept him and be saved. If the world does now know God and Jesus and his disciples DO know God, this implies that Jesus and his disciples cannot be part of the world-which means that we as his followers are to be different from the world. What Jesus says about unity cannot and does not apply to those who have not accepted the truth of the Bible and of Jesus. We are not to be united to those who do not hold to Jesus through the apostles’ teachings. In other words, we are not to associate with non-believers who refuse to believe. We must be ready to defend the apostles’ teachings against all attacks, regardless of where they come from.

Sometimes when I am eating breakfast on a Sunday morning, I listen to evangelists on the radio. I disagree with 99.9% of what these Bible-thumping preachers say, but I do agree with one thing one of them said recently. He said, “Religion is man’s attempt to reach God. Christianity is God’s attempt to reach man”. Religion often speaks to God in several different voices at the same time. Just like we can’t understand several people when they are all talking to us at the same time, God cannot and will not hear us when several different voices speak to him at the same time. He speaks to us with the one voice of Christianity through the words of Christ and the disciples. Sadly, the church is fragmented today along hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian denominations, and it is also divided along the lines of doctrinal differences. Jesus’ prayer has not been answered. We are not all “one”.

 We are all the same in the eyes of God. Wealth, status, etc. mean nothing to him. We are all equal, especially in death. Death is the great equalizer. If you need proof, just take a walk through any cemetery. The rich and the poor are buried side by side. The famous and not-so-famous are buried side by side. Unity can only be achieved through genuine Christian love and its three essential qualities:

1.      Mutual concern

2.      Mutual contact

3.      Mutual contribution

We are to be the channel of his love. When we are ready to consent to love, he is quite ready to love. We have to reach out to those in need, to those who are in pain. We must respect ALL people and the entire environment. We must let the Holy Spirit guide us in our daily contacts with people. The Holy Spirit helps us reach out when we feel hesitant or embarrassed.

How, then, can we create unity? The process has four steps:

1.      We must celebrate what we have in common.

2.      We must celebrate CREDIBLE differences of opinion. We are not to be carbon copies of each other.

3.      We must speak positively of other members of God’s household.

4.      We must pray for one another.

The world is striving for meaningful, personal relationships such as those we have with God. God wants us to be a force for him in order to reach the world with his message of love and reconciliation. God will deal with those who do not know him and refuse to accept him as their Saviour. Conversely, he will pour out his love on those who know and accept him as their Saviour. Believers’ relationship with God and Christ allow them to share his divine love and be joined with other believers in perfect unity.

Unity is best illustrated in Christ’s metaphor of the vine and branched in John 15. We are all separate branches, yet we are all connected to each other through one vine-Jesus Christ. Each and every one of us has specific gifts, interests, responsibilities, roles, etc. As each of us prayerfully gets into the Bible and as we grow in our own unity with Christ, we grow closer to each other. We are not alone. We are part of creation, created to live in community with one another, with nature and with God.

We depend on each other, and we are all dependent on God, God gives us Jesus AND our unity so that we may be effective witnesses to the world. This unity is the key to understanding what it means to be a Christian. Unity with integrity requires that we state not only what we agree with, but also what we disagree with. We must be united in purpose, love, action and holiness. Unity in sharing God’s love is a broad and inclusive platform upon which we as Christians can stand and tolerate great diversity. There is no place in this unity for hate, prejudice or writing people off. We must do the right thing by following the Golden Rule-“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. If we do, God will be happy with us.

Jesus prays that those who do not believe in him will change their ways and join in the unity. He did not go to the cross hoping people would believe-he went knowing they would believe. This certainty comes from his power-the same power that works in us. Nothing we do or say can save us-only he can. The true meaning of Easter is Christ’s coming to save us. He wanted us to experience unity with him and each other. He came to guarantee our home in heaven. Faith comes only through The Word, specifically the Gospel. It creates the quiet unity that allows the unbelieving world to believe that God sent his son. His purpose in sending Christ was love. Behind is lies the vicarious atonement. He took our place.

John thought it was important to remind people who had never met Jesus in the flesh that Jesus was still present, but in a new way. He is still present today in a real, immediate way-in the constantly forming community of believers reflecting the oneness of Jesus with the Father in their own relationship with Christ. One way we come together in unity is when we gather around the Lord’s Table for the Holy Eucharist. It shows that we are determined to live as Christ’s people in unity with all his other people throughout the world. Sadly, not all Christians in the world can gather freely. In the early history of the church, Christians worshipped secretly in the Roman catacombs and died publicly in the Coliseum. In many parts of the world today such as India, China and the Middle East, Christians are still worshipping in secret and are being persecuted in public, but they are still united as one with Christians throughout the world in their faith in Jesus Christ. They must gather in secret and in fear, much like the disciples did when they gathered behind the locked door of the Upper Room after Jesus’ resurrection.  

Unity of believers is God’s work, not ours. Jesus asked God for unity, and God gave it to him. He gives it to us today, and he will give it to us in the future. Christ stands at the door, knocking, hoping someone will open the door so Christ can invite them out to share his life in mission with the human hopes and hurts of people in the community. Easter calls us to do this. Do we run the church for us and our traditions, or do we run the church community and change whatever is needed to put us in touch with unbelieving people? When Christ’s love is given space to grow, the unity Christ speaks of arises within us, where our witness becomes one of power and light-for it is no longer simply us as individuals or a group that makes witness, but God himself working through us.

All of today’s readings focus on the theme of unity in faith. The story of Paul, Silas and the jailer is an example of what can happen when we unite in faith and fulfill the Great Commission. Unity is the foundation for evangelism. People understand God’s love when they see it in his people. People are turning away from the Gospel today because of the bickering among Christians. We need to become united, just like the Protestants in Northern Ireland, under the leadership of Rev. Ian Paisley, have finally formed a unity government with the Catholic-led Sinn Fein party to bring peace and stability to that troubled area. If Rev. Paisley can put his lifelong hatred of Roman Catholics behind him to come together with Catholics to bring peace, can we do no less by coming together with fellow Christians?