Reflection: "Prayer for Unity"Did you know that you’re mentioned in today’s Gospel reading? You are – and so am I.
In this week’s reading from John, we find Jesus praying to the Father. It’s the night of the last supper, where Jesus shared a meal with his disciples, washed their feet, gave them a new commandment to love as he loves, told them of his leaving – and now he prays to God. So, we are overhearing a portion of his prayer to his Father – who is also our Father – and Jesus prays for us. Three times he beseeches the Father that we would all become one, just as he and the Father are one. In the first part of John 17, Jesus has been praying for his disciples, the ones he’ll soon be sending out as his apostles. You would know them as Peter, James, John, Andrew, Matthew, etc. But then, at verse 20, Jesus shifts his prayer to also include others, when he says: “I don’t only ask for those closest to me, but also for those who’ll believe in me through their word.” That’s us - all of us, because we’re among those people who have believed in Jesus through the apostles’ word - the inspired witness of the apostles, that we find in the New Testament scriptures. Through the gospel that’s been preached, through the apostles’ teaching and through the sacraments, the apostles were commissioned to pass on the gospel message to the church from generation to generation. Through the ministry of Word and Sacrament, you and I have come to believe and trust in our Lord and Saviour - Jesus, the Christ. The first thing Jesus asks for us in his prayer is: “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:21-23) Jesus is praying for the unity of the church – not just based on warm fuzzies, holding hands and singing Kumbaya. No, it’s more than that - it’s a unity created by God’s own work of binding us to himself, giving us the gift of faith. His work of uniting us in the life of the triune God – triune meaning “three in one”. Notice how Jesus describes this unity: “just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us,” and again, “that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one.” In theology, this is what they call the “mystical union,” that all believers in Christ are one, incorporated into the life of the one true God, in the one true church. Oneness isn’t about eliminating differences, but it is about love – which is the only thing that can overcome division. Over and over Jesus tells us that we should love God, love our neighbours, love ourselves and love our enemies. To love our God, neighbour, self, and enemy, reveals our oneness, and the measure of our oneness is our love. In love there may be differences, but there is no division. God’s love knows no boundaries, because God loves all his creatures, male and female, rich and poor, etc. All are loved fully, completely, and uniquely, as each one needs. We should thank God that he has brought us into his one church. The Holy Spirit has given us faith to believe in Christ our Saviour and now we all know the Father’s love. We believe in one true God, and many have been baptised in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a God-established unity that cannot fail. It exists now, in spite of all the divisions and fractures and errors we see in Christendom. And this unity will last forever, when by God’s grace, and in the love of Christ, all those warts and flaws in the church (and that also means within us), will no longer be visible. They’ll be healed and Christ will present the church as a bride, radiant and beautiful, holy and without blemish. Now, of course, we should want to do everything we can to walk in the oneness that God’s given his church. We should want to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. By speaking the truth in love, the church will be built up and grow strong – not be blown around by every wind of doctrine, instead holding to the faith that was once delivered to the saints. We should work towards agreement within the church, seeking consensus in its pure doctrine and striving for a God-pleasing uniformity in church practice. This is a fitting follow-up to what Jesus is praying for us. And there’s an outcome that will surely follow, as we dwell in God, and he in us, and we’re built up in the one apostolic faith. Our oneness in God will result in mission, as Jesus says: “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” People will come to faith in Christ as the church lives in, manifests, and testifies to, the love of God. You’ll probably remember those well-known words from John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This is the love of God that we have received and experienced, and it is a love that will then shine through us, out into a sin-darkened world, drawing more and more people from every nation into the one holy church. It’s happening all around us in the world today. What Jesus is praying for in this prayer, is coming to pass as the church grows and the gospel expands into every corner of the world. In Africa, Asia, South America and many other countries, the church is growing by leaps and bounds. In places like Ethiopia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, Argentina, Korea, China and Peru, we see the church expanding and establishing new beachheads for the kingdom on every shore. This is the same gospel that saved you and me and it speaks of God’s own Son coming to earth to pay for our sins. It’s the good news of Jesus Christ, wholly God, yet wholly man, bearing the sins of the world in his body on the cross. He’s the one and only Saviour that God has given for all men, everywhere and he’s the only one you’ll ever need. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Christ won this for us on the cross, purchasing our salvation with his precious blood. And then he rose, victorious in the strife, defeating all our foes - death, the devil, the grave, the condemnation that you and I deserve because of our sins. These all are overcome by the death and resurrection of God’s Son, Christ our Saviour. Now in heaven, he sits at God’s right hand, making intercessions for us, just like our own High Priest. And he’ll come again at the last day, to take us home to be with him forever. And that then is the other thing Jesus prays for us in this prayer. Jesus prays to his Father in these words: “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24) Jesus prays this as he’s about to go to the cross, to complete the saving mission for which he was sent. What follows is his resurrection and, forty days later, his ascension to be with the Father. So when Jesus prays that we may be with him where he is, to see his glory, he’s talking about our eternal life in heaven in the age to come. There, with him, we’ll see his glory, undimmed and undiminished. We’ll be with him and will see him face to face. What a glorious day that will be! An endless, joyful eternity with our Lord and with all his people, in a paradise restored and made even better! Friends, this is paradise restored - creation restored, and made even better. No more sin, or sorrow, or death - only life and abundance and joy. This is what we have to look forward to and this is our hope - our lively hope that animates all our days. We look forward to that day with great expectation. “Come, Lord Jesus!” is the church’s fervent cry and friends, this will be the ultimate fulfilment of Jesus’ own prayer, the prayer he prays for us, that we may be with him where he is. Pastor Rick
1 Comment
Lena Beryl Blok
27/5/2022 06:12:50 pm
Rick, Thank you.
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