Pastor Ronald Wesemann John 17:20-26, 5-16-10
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ
Jesus prayed to God, the Lord God, his Father that his
followers may be one, even as he and the Father were one.
What would it mean for Jesus’ closest followers to be one? Please
note, Jesus does not ask that they be, as one or like one, but asks simply
that they be one.
The Disciples and Jesus’ other close followers of the time were,
not exactly, carbon copies of each other. Three or four were fishermen, but
personality wise they were very different. Included in their group were some
Zealots (revolutionaries), a former tax collector, some women and at least one
who was thought to have been a student. The rest could have come from any
number of backgrounds, maybe farmers or craftsmen, or shepherds or shop
keepers.
Most of his, core group of, followers were from Galilee, but
there was at least one follower who came from outside of Galilee and among his
other followers there could have been any number of different backgrounds.
Most were probably young, but Peter had been married and
owned his own fishing business and Matthew was already established as a tax
collector and hated by the community, and some of the women were mothers of the
men who were following Jesus; all this suggests that there was a wide variety
of ages to Jesus’ followers.
Their unity (to steal a term from basketball) was not a slam
dunk; their unity would have to come from God; it would not come from anywhere
else. Their unity would come from God and then grow from their allegiance to
Jesus; it would grow from their faith in Jesus as the Messiah of God, and it
would grow from their shared experiences as Jesus’ Disciples and close followers.
But it was not going to come easily; two of the disciples were already jockeying
for places of authority and glory; one disciple would eventually betray Jesus
and the other Disciples; one Disciples would deny Jesus; as a group they just did
not represent an image of unity.
For these followers to be one, they really needed God’s
help; but with God’s help they would develop a unity of mission; they would
develop a loyalty and love for each other; they would put aside their personal
ambitions and they would set the will of God above their own wants and needs
and even their own well being. With God’s help the early followers of Jesus
would become one.
OK, you might say, but they were Jesus’ Disciples and close
associates, they had the benefit of knowing Jesus in the flesh and meeting with
Jesus after the resurrection; they should have developed such unity. What about
us? Jesus’ prayer was not only that his immediate followers would become one,
but that all those who believe or come to believe in him (Jesus) by the word of
his followers may be one. That means even the likes of you and me; that means,
St. Peter’s as a congregation.
What would it mean for us as a congregation to be one and
then be one with all those Christians that lived before us? Is it even possible?
Can we, just within our small congregation, put aside our differences, personal
ambitions, likes and dislikes to form together as one? Can we forgive each
other’s long past indiscretions? As Jesus’ earliest followers needed God’s help
to be one, so too do we. We can’t become one on our own; becoming one is a gift
given us by God; the challenge for us is to live that gift.
What a special ministry St. Peter’s has when we live out the
unity that God provides for us. Our outreach is generous, our Christian
Education is enlightening and enjoyable, our worship is spirited, our church is
kept in good repair, our finances are good and our
That is what it is like when we are one at St. Peter’s. But,
Jesus’ prayer was that we are to be one, not just with those of our own congregation
and not just with Christians of the past. We are to be one with all the other
Lutheran congregations of Southeastern PA and we are to be one with all
Christians around the world.
How can this be, when we don’t even know each other, when we
speak different languages, look different, have different customs, set
different priorities, disagree on issues of human sexuality and Biblical
interpretation; how can this be when we are just so different from one another?
The answer is very simple; it has to do with God’s gift and with Jesus; we are
one in Jesus! We are all of us together the Body of Christ! And so, we are one
not only with the other Lutheran churches in Southeastern PA, but also with all
those of the ELCA, and more, with all Christians throughout the world.
What then does it mean for all Christians to be one?
Obviously it has nothing to do with human institutions or
organizations. Human institutions and organizations tend only to highlight our
separateness. We are St. Peter’s Lutheran Church of the ELCA, and so not St.
Paul’s Lutheran Church; we are ELCA Lutheran and so not Missouri Synod
Lutheran; we are Lutheran and so not Presbyterian or Roman Catholic.
The oneness that God has made us, works within us to find
unity, within and beyond the institutions that bind us into separate groups of
Christians.
Were we to embrace fully our oneness in Christ we would find
a way to pull together all of these differing institutions into one body, the
Body of Christ.
The churches are moving in that direction; the ELCA now has
agreements with Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists, Moravians, and the
United Church of Christ for “Full Communion”, meaning that we agree enough on
issues of theology, doctrine and practice that we can share Communion with each
other and permit our pastors to serve each other’s congregations. We continue
to work toward such agreements with the Roman Catholic Church, Baptists and
other Christian groups; we continue to work toward making visible the oneness
that God has already given us as a gift.
As good as it would be for Christians, if we were able to overcome
our differences, that is not the only reason why Jesus asked God the Father to
make us one. Jesus wanted us to be one so that the world may believe that Jesus
was sent from God and that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior; Jesus wanted us to
be one so that all people may be saved.
Our divisiveness is what continues to keep salvation from
untold numbers of unbelievers. Let us embrace the oneness in Christ that God
has given us for the sake of the world. Let us embrace the oneness that God has
given us so that all may believe and be saved.
