"Jesus' plea for Unity"

Apophatic prayer is rooted in the doctrine of the divine indwelling (Luke 17:21; John 7:38, 14:3; Romans 8:10-11; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20; Galatians 2:20).

June 2, 2019     Psalm 93,  John 17: 20-26

You may not have known that this passage in John today is referred to Jesus’ high priestly prayer.   My hope was that you took time at home to read it as I suggested.   It is a prayer for unity, one body of believers, unified in the body of Christ.  Now as strange as that may sound to some denominations, that does not mean that all Jesus followers should become Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic, or Anglican,     If we all though the same, worshiped the same, performed all the same religious rituals in the same way, believed one interpretation of scripture and followed the same doctrine, we would be nothing more a carbon copy of that church and its leadership, more like zombies than vibrant, spontaneous, free thinking, spirit filled human beings. That is not the unity that Jesus’ high priestly prayer was about.  In fact denominations of His church did not yet exist in Jesus’ time, the disciples would not have known what we were talking about if we were to try and describe or justify the many churches of today.   The scripture indicates to us that Jesus’ prayer and Gods intention was not about religious lables, but about being united together by the risen Christ, who was connived by the Spirit and united as one with God.   “I in them and you in me” says Jesus then we are one.  The prayer is for unity, not for its own sake, but for the sake of witness to the love of God and the authenticity of Christ as the head of the church both then and now.  One body of believers transformed and united with Christ.    It is a prayer we need to hear today especially in this divided and fragmented world of twenty-first-century Christianity.   One commentator which I have read, recently paraphrased Jesus to say, if his followers and disciples would keep the peace as they had learned it from him, the people around them “would know the teacher, by the way they conducted themselves.”  He went on the point out that the quarrelsome fighting among church labels and their congregrants would cause others to distance themselves from them, not wanting to be affiliated with, even to the point of refusing to join with them.  Sounds much like what the church is experiencing today with people not wanting to come or participate in organized religion.  

In the ancient world as in ours, a prayer for unity with other religions or denominations unfortunately has had the power to further divide us.   So we can see just what Jesus was up against.   Folks are still arguing over the question of free will verses predestination.   Other quarrels have included, debates over, how to dress for church, the meaning of baptism, kneeling, who can partake in communion, who is saved, who can be included or excluded from our denomination, whether Christ was fully divine, human or a combination of both, and there are many others.  The passage from John today ask us to consider this question:  What do you think being united as one in the body of Christ should look like in the life of believers today?    

Despite differing and sometimes sharply conflicting theological perspectives among denominations, there is a true longing for a deeper understanding and unity among the followers of Jesus that keeps surfacing and we cannot keep it down forever.  People are becoming more aware that the dogma, and doctrine of our religious tradition within the Christian Church need to be re-examined with an open mind.  They do not seal the relationship we all seek.  That we can no longer take for granted what has been preached from the pulpits as the truth.  What we need to understand is that in biblical time’s truth was determined in this way and not much has changed today.  Statements were accepted as the truth according to the numbers of people who agreed with the statement.  If a majority of people agreed with the spoken word, or the circumstances surrounding the word, that perception becomes their reality, therefore it must be the true.   What was perceive to be real by that group, was seen as a truth.     This is one of the reasons why it is so difficult for humankind to understand the truths Jesus shared in his teachings, for instance he tells us that “In order to save your life, you must lose it” or you must realize that you are lost in order to be found, the last shall be first.  These perceptions may not agree with our reality, yet deep within us, spiritually speaking, we know there is something for us in His truth.   Many today are finding out, as they deepen their spiritual lives, that the focus of unity and some of the traditions within many denominations today just do not match with the teaching of Jesus.  Jesus knew this would even occur for his twelve, so I’m sure he understood that this dilemma would continue to plague the modern church as we know it today, otherwise why would he have asked it in his prayer. Verse 20 states” I ask not only on behalf of these {meaning the 12} but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through this word, they must 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 sent me. ” This is a prayer that should help us to begin to re-focus our energies to do His work, rather than try and build our faith on a religious doctrine or ritual.  The work He has called us to do, and it lay before us, will be the root out of which our faith will come.   Nothing will unify a group of people more than to be working together in the spirit of Christ using the gifts God has given us.  Not to satisfy our ego, but to share whatever our gift is to help others who are also lost, the less fortunate, the underprivileged, or those who are being oppressed by the power of the Church, their own personal circumstances or the powers of this world.  There is much work to be done and much of it may not be pleasant or without sacrifice.  Want to grow in faith, love peace joy and hope, unity in Christ is the only way, for it is the only way of God.  Let us pray.