When I was in middle school, I played basketball on the
school’s team. As is too often the case with sports teams, there was rivalry
between the players. Better players snubbed the less skilled players. The cool
kids and the not-so-cool kids played in a tense truce.
Our coach tried to beat us into submission with lots of
running – laps and “suicides” – skill drills, and free throws (which often led
to more laps for missed shots). He even gave us the classic lecture about there
being, “no ‘I’ in team.”
Team unity is important for success on the basketball
court. Unity is also important in the Church.
On the night Jesus was betrayed he gathered with his
disciples, and John records the things he said to them in chapters 13-17 of his
gospel. Jesus’ message to his disciples, right before he was betrayed, ended
with today’s reading. Jesus prays for those who will believe through the
preaching of the apostles. Then he prays for unity among those who will believe
in him.
What is the source of the unity of the church? Is it not
Jesus, himself? Is it not his cross and empty tomb? He prays for those who will
believe the disciples’ word. What is that word? It is Christ crucified and
risen, prophesied in Scripture, foretold in history, and meditated upon in the
Psalms.
The source of unity for the church is also love. This gets
a little confused as people often urge us to just love each other. The love
that unifies us is the Father’s love, however, not merely our own. You might
recall that John also recorded a word from Jesus that said, “God so loved the
word that he gave his only begotten Son….” So even here our unity is Jesus.
(Now, did I just say that we don’t need to love each
other? No, I did not, but our love for each other is not the cause of our
unity. The Father’s love (aka Jesus) is the cause of our love for one another
and the source of our true unity. “We love because he first loved us.”)
If we focus our efforts for church unity on how much we
love others it is a lot like my coach trying to beat us into submission. We burden
consciences, cause people to carry guilt, and make them run frantically to do
better or to do more. In truth, we are trying to do what God has already done
for us in Jesus.
Unity is a gift that comes to us through the Father’s
love – through Jesus himself! This is the message that Jesus proclaims and
embodies to us through the proclamation of his word.
When have you experienced unity with your fellow
Christians? How has the Father’s love moved you to love others?
Lord Jesus, you
prayed for us at the Last Supper when you prayed for those who would believe
through your disciples’ word, and you prayed for our unity. Thank you for
revealing and delivering the Father’s love to us. Forgive us for seeking unity
through our own power and for not trusting your power to unify us in your love.
Please continue to love us. Help us to become more and more aware and awed by
your love, so that we will be united in your love and in your word. Amen.
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