Becoming One

John chapter 17 is a different kind of Lord’s Prayer. Instead of teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus prays for them at this, the tail end of what’s known as the farewell discourse. He’s washed the disciples’ feet and been talking to them. And in the very next verse, Jesus and the disciples will go to the garden where Judas will bring soldiers to arrest Jesus. As he is preparing for the long night of betrayal that leads to death on the cross, Jesus for those disciples who have been with him. He then prays for those the disciples would tell: he prays for us- all who would believe. And he prays that we would be one as he and God are one.

Are we one? I’ve said it many times before, but it just seems to be more and more true: there is so much division nowadays. Scroll through various Facebook posts, and all you see is the vitriol: that caustic criticism, that angry hatred and utter disdain. Calling each other stupid, and unfeeling, and too sensitive, and… you get my drift, and have probably witnessed it yourself. Respect of different perspectives seems entirely gone.

Being one doesn’t mean that we always agree, even with our fellow Christians. But it does mean realizing that we are all beloved children of God, all made in God’s image.

When I was in seminary, I spent a year interning at a tiny church in New Jersey. I preached some of my first sermons there, and got to know more about being a pastor. It was a great place to start out and learn about ministry in a small church. They studied books like Take This Bread by Sara Miles. They were mostly more progressive, but had one or two staunch conservatives who were equally heard and important. And during the Ritual of Friendship, or Passing of the Peace as some churches call it, they didn’t say Good Morning or Peace be with You. They said “I love the face of Christ I see in you.”

They fully saw each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what: member and visitor, republican and democrat. It wasn’t just that they were a church family. They were brothers and sisters in Christ; they loved the image of God they saw in each other.

This is being one in Christ. In our lesson from Ephesians, Paul states “I don’t stop giving thanks to God for you [whenever I pray].” And there are great reasons for thanksgiving; despite the stresses we face, the division and hatred that continue to turn up, Christ is the one in control. We have a Lord and King to follow who not only tells us what to do for our good along with the good of the world, but also shows us how and walks with us every step of the way, no matter how many times we mess up. 

And Christ knew all of the faults present as he prayed. He prayed for those who would betray him, abandon him, deny him, and fall asleep as he agonized in prayer. These are the ones who are sitting at the table with him. So if you’ve betrayed, or abandoned, or denied, or grown apathetic…: Jesus is praying for you as well. 

Even though we are different, even though we don’t all think the same, even though we pull different experiences in as we interpret Scripture- we are one in Christ. It is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. Or, as it says in the next chapter of Ephesians: “by grace [we] have been saved through faith, and this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Amen.