'... That They May Be One ...'
Sermon
THE POWER OF DARKNESS
SERMONS FOR LENT AND EASTER (SUNDAYS IN ORDINARY TIME)
This is a great moment in John's gospel. Those of us who have heard "goodbye" speeches before, may not be impressed. But this one is different. It is given between two worlds. We are still in the upper room and in the waning moments of the Last Supper. But Jesus is also only hours away from the Cross. Nor is this a usual farewell pep-talk. In fact it is not a talk at all, but a prayer. But here too it is different, because it is not a "give-me" kind of prayer. Jesus prays to his Father that his disciples may stay together, may have joy in their work, even in the face of a hostile world and that they would stay out of the clutches of the evil one. But it is not only for the eleven followers that he prayed. In our text for today, the climax of Jesus' farewell prayer, Jesus prays for the church of the future. That is, he is praying for you and me. "I do not pray for these only, but also for those that are to believe in me through their word." (v. 20)
This is that unique One, who was with God from the beginning, who was involved in the creation of all things, who lives in unity with the Father. This is One who prays for us. This One who was God's messenger, who came with full authority, who is absolutely reliable, who became "flesh and tented among us" (1:14) - this is the One who prays for us. This One, who is "the lamb of God sent for the sins of the world" (1:29), who breaks the power of sin and proclaims, "If the Son makes you free you are free indeed" (8:32) - this one prays for us. This One who was not interested in his own glory but who said, "My nourishment is to do the will of him who sent me" - yes, this is the One who prays for us!
What does he ask the Father on our behalf? Jesus prays to the Father that we might believe; that we would be one; and, that finally we would be with him.
Jesus says, "I pray ... for those who are to believe in me through his word." (v. 20) Of first and foremost importance is our trust in God. Before we can talk about "oneness" with others we need this personal "oneness" with Christ. So, being found and seized by Christ, which is the heart of our faith-union experience with him, is of the greatest importance. Faith means being a child of God. It is through this trust relationship that I see God and, more important, see what I can become. In Christ this oneness with God is complete and fulfilled. In you and me this oneness is always in the state of becoming.
As this trust deepens and our relationship with God becomes stronger so also our relationships with one another. Maybe one could go so far as to read this section of John's gospel as an equation: The greater distance we are from God, so also our divisions and distance and suspicions of one another. And of course, the reverse would be equally true.
This brings us to the main emphasis of Jesus' great prayer: future believers are to be one. This is his prayer to the Father. "... That they may be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." (v. 21) Possibly to make sure we don't miss the importance of this unity, the prayer for oneness is repeated in verse 23. Here in Jesus' majestic prayer we have the classic statement concerning Christian unity. In chapter seventeen of John's gospel we have the most explicit central Biblical encouragement for all ecumenical dialogue. These are difficult verses to ignore. We tend to reduce some of their directness by pleading the unity that we already have in Christ.
There is truth here. We rejoice in the growing cooperative spirit that is evident in the numerous dialogues, mergers, and unions. One of the treasured moments in my early ministry was an ecumenical service with the Roman Catholics and all of us singing the great hymn, "Faith of our Fathers." From my past experiences I never dreamed such a service could ever happen. But because it did happen and is continuing to happen, I should never again doubt the power of the Holy Spirit! I don't see how there can be any other explanation. But we still live in many different denominations. The scandalous divisions remain. So the perceptive newspaper columnist, Sidney Harris observes.
If Jesus returned today, it is hard to conceive that he would fit into the pulpit of those churches representing themselves as his disciples. Each sect would find him "unorthodox" in some part, as he was unorthodox in his own time.
Disunity is the image we project to the world. Even worse, it seems we thrive on our differences. Cooperation is a "no-no" and competition is the name of the game. Some years ago, this observation prompted Mark Gibbs to say, "Ideas between churches flow with the speed of cold tar." Lyle Schaller, the Methodist consultant, provides this biting judgment on our cooperatives efforts: "Lack of money is the root of all cooperation!" How difficult it is for congregations to work together, even when our survival depends on it. I suspect the most damaging heresy of our time is not in this area of Biblical interpretation, but the privatization of our faith. This is individualism gone wild. The Apostle Paul tells us, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:7) But for too many of us "common good" means my good or "good" for my congregation or for the "good" of my church.
How should Christians act toward one another? Isn't that the practical question which "unity" presses upon us? Again, the Apostle Paul can give us some helpful insights. To the Christians in Rome he writes, "For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the meaasure of faith which God has assigned him." (12:3) To the Corinthian Christians he says something similiar, in these words: "That none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against the other." (4:6)
Unity does not mean uniformity. The Son has unity with the Father but that doesn't mean sameness. We don't have uniformity in the Bible. John's gospel is not the same as Matthew, Mark or Luke. We have a diversity of gifts as well as identities. Unity in Christ is not a homogenization process which makes us act, think, look and smell the same. Rather, our differences glorify God our Creator. They are intended by God for the building up of the Body of Christ. Differences should be celebrated, not condemned. The power of the Gospel does not come by forcing a "lock-step" mentality, nor through a phony sameness. The power of the Gospel is in its witness to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, and in the Bible that witness finds a variety of responses.
In this future community for which Jesus is praying, oneness does not mean sameness, but it does mean "love" among the different members. This commandment to love one another is based on the love between the Father and the Son. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love." (15:10; 14:21) This unity for which Jesus is praying is a union of love. It is clear that this unity comes from God and flows through us. This unity expresses both vertical and horizontal dimensions - namely, the relation of believers to the Father and Son and the relation of believers among themselves.
This unity of love, the power of which comes from God, must be visible enough to attract and challenge the world to believe in God. For Jesus does not only pray for unity, he also prays for mission. "I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou has loved me." (v. 23) Unity and mission - the two belong together. Mission is enhanced where one sees the visible unity of God's people. But we are also told that church unity not only enhances its mission, but is essential to it. While we continue to debate our differences, our culture continues to convert those who are no longer interested in our debates.
Elsewhere John writes, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (13:55) We are told that our unity is to be visible, which probably means some kind of organizational unity among the various churches "so that the world may believe."
We would wish that Jesus' prayer would have included some specific instructions on how this unity might be achieved. Individual Christians as well as various denominations are discovering that the path to unity is an arduous one. There is much discouragement because of the time and energy that is needed to work through all of the complications. Maybe we all need to catch the vision of Jesus' prayer for unity so that this process is not just the task for an elected few. Is not Christian unity the responsibility of all Christians?
Because of our pride and sinfulness this search for unity may be a never-ending task. But in recent years we have seen the Holy Spirit change organizational structures and create new channels for cooperation and unity. Jesus concludes his great prayer that our unity with the Father and the Son and with one another will be perfected beyond death and this world, where we are free from sin and suspicion and are fulfilled in his glory. "Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world." In that great hope we need not become weary in well doing.
Amen
1. Useful to me in developing the unity theme were These Things We Hold In Common, edited by Roy Harrisville. In particular the article, "Unity: Our Common Quest," Gerhard Krodel, (The American Lutheran Church, 1980), pp. 45-61.
Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According To John XIII-XXI, (Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Company, 1970), pp. 768-782.
This is that unique One, who was with God from the beginning, who was involved in the creation of all things, who lives in unity with the Father. This is One who prays for us. This One who was God's messenger, who came with full authority, who is absolutely reliable, who became "flesh and tented among us" (1:14) - this is the One who prays for us. This One, who is "the lamb of God sent for the sins of the world" (1:29), who breaks the power of sin and proclaims, "If the Son makes you free you are free indeed" (8:32) - this one prays for us. This One who was not interested in his own glory but who said, "My nourishment is to do the will of him who sent me" - yes, this is the One who prays for us!
What does he ask the Father on our behalf? Jesus prays to the Father that we might believe; that we would be one; and, that finally we would be with him.
Jesus says, "I pray ... for those who are to believe in me through his word." (v. 20) Of first and foremost importance is our trust in God. Before we can talk about "oneness" with others we need this personal "oneness" with Christ. So, being found and seized by Christ, which is the heart of our faith-union experience with him, is of the greatest importance. Faith means being a child of God. It is through this trust relationship that I see God and, more important, see what I can become. In Christ this oneness with God is complete and fulfilled. In you and me this oneness is always in the state of becoming.
As this trust deepens and our relationship with God becomes stronger so also our relationships with one another. Maybe one could go so far as to read this section of John's gospel as an equation: The greater distance we are from God, so also our divisions and distance and suspicions of one another. And of course, the reverse would be equally true.
This brings us to the main emphasis of Jesus' great prayer: future believers are to be one. This is his prayer to the Father. "... That they may be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." (v. 21) Possibly to make sure we don't miss the importance of this unity, the prayer for oneness is repeated in verse 23. Here in Jesus' majestic prayer we have the classic statement concerning Christian unity. In chapter seventeen of John's gospel we have the most explicit central Biblical encouragement for all ecumenical dialogue. These are difficult verses to ignore. We tend to reduce some of their directness by pleading the unity that we already have in Christ.
There is truth here. We rejoice in the growing cooperative spirit that is evident in the numerous dialogues, mergers, and unions. One of the treasured moments in my early ministry was an ecumenical service with the Roman Catholics and all of us singing the great hymn, "Faith of our Fathers." From my past experiences I never dreamed such a service could ever happen. But because it did happen and is continuing to happen, I should never again doubt the power of the Holy Spirit! I don't see how there can be any other explanation. But we still live in many different denominations. The scandalous divisions remain. So the perceptive newspaper columnist, Sidney Harris observes.
If Jesus returned today, it is hard to conceive that he would fit into the pulpit of those churches representing themselves as his disciples. Each sect would find him "unorthodox" in some part, as he was unorthodox in his own time.
Disunity is the image we project to the world. Even worse, it seems we thrive on our differences. Cooperation is a "no-no" and competition is the name of the game. Some years ago, this observation prompted Mark Gibbs to say, "Ideas between churches flow with the speed of cold tar." Lyle Schaller, the Methodist consultant, provides this biting judgment on our cooperatives efforts: "Lack of money is the root of all cooperation!" How difficult it is for congregations to work together, even when our survival depends on it. I suspect the most damaging heresy of our time is not in this area of Biblical interpretation, but the privatization of our faith. This is individualism gone wild. The Apostle Paul tells us, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Corinthians 12:7) But for too many of us "common good" means my good or "good" for my congregation or for the "good" of my church.
How should Christians act toward one another? Isn't that the practical question which "unity" presses upon us? Again, the Apostle Paul can give us some helpful insights. To the Christians in Rome he writes, "For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the meaasure of faith which God has assigned him." (12:3) To the Corinthian Christians he says something similiar, in these words: "That none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against the other." (4:6)
Unity does not mean uniformity. The Son has unity with the Father but that doesn't mean sameness. We don't have uniformity in the Bible. John's gospel is not the same as Matthew, Mark or Luke. We have a diversity of gifts as well as identities. Unity in Christ is not a homogenization process which makes us act, think, look and smell the same. Rather, our differences glorify God our Creator. They are intended by God for the building up of the Body of Christ. Differences should be celebrated, not condemned. The power of the Gospel does not come by forcing a "lock-step" mentality, nor through a phony sameness. The power of the Gospel is in its witness to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, and in the Bible that witness finds a variety of responses.
In this future community for which Jesus is praying, oneness does not mean sameness, but it does mean "love" among the different members. This commandment to love one another is based on the love between the Father and the Son. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love." (15:10; 14:21) This unity for which Jesus is praying is a union of love. It is clear that this unity comes from God and flows through us. This unity expresses both vertical and horizontal dimensions - namely, the relation of believers to the Father and Son and the relation of believers among themselves.
This unity of love, the power of which comes from God, must be visible enough to attract and challenge the world to believe in God. For Jesus does not only pray for unity, he also prays for mission. "I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou has loved me." (v. 23) Unity and mission - the two belong together. Mission is enhanced where one sees the visible unity of God's people. But we are also told that church unity not only enhances its mission, but is essential to it. While we continue to debate our differences, our culture continues to convert those who are no longer interested in our debates.
Elsewhere John writes, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (13:55) We are told that our unity is to be visible, which probably means some kind of organizational unity among the various churches "so that the world may believe."
We would wish that Jesus' prayer would have included some specific instructions on how this unity might be achieved. Individual Christians as well as various denominations are discovering that the path to unity is an arduous one. There is much discouragement because of the time and energy that is needed to work through all of the complications. Maybe we all need to catch the vision of Jesus' prayer for unity so that this process is not just the task for an elected few. Is not Christian unity the responsibility of all Christians?
Because of our pride and sinfulness this search for unity may be a never-ending task. But in recent years we have seen the Holy Spirit change organizational structures and create new channels for cooperation and unity. Jesus concludes his great prayer that our unity with the Father and the Son and with one another will be perfected beyond death and this world, where we are free from sin and suspicion and are fulfilled in his glory. "Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world." In that great hope we need not become weary in well doing.
Amen
1. Useful to me in developing the unity theme were These Things We Hold In Common, edited by Roy Harrisville. In particular the article, "Unity: Our Common Quest," Gerhard Krodel, (The American Lutheran Church, 1980), pp. 45-61.
Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel According To John XIII-XXI, (Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Company, 1970), pp. 768-782.
