May 29 – John

Having someone pray for you is very powerful.  I remember when I lived in Virginia and had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  The day before my surgery was a Sunday, and after the church service the Pastors and several other people stayed to pray for me.  Each of them laid there hand on me, and as they prayed, I could feel the energy of God surrounding me.  Those prayers gave me the peace that I needed as I went into the long process of fighting the cancer, and her I am today to tell the story.

Then there are prayers that you rather not have heard, especially when they are aimed at you.  “Little Johnny’s family is sitting at the dinner table.  Father asks little Johnny if he would say the prayer before they begin their meal.  Little Johnny bowed his head, and folded his hands and prayed, ‘Dear God, Please, please send clothes for all those poor ladies in Dad’s computer.  Amen!”

Now, however, it is time to get down to thinking seriously about today’s Gospel lesson.  Jesus has been with His disciples at the “Last Supper,” He has washed their feet, and Judas has left to go to the authorities to betray Him. Now Jesus has gone to be alone and pray to the Father.  He prays for His disciples, and also for each of us.  Notice in verse 20 Jesus says, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.”  We can be assured that Jesus knows exactly who is His, and He knows exactly who the Father has given Him.  It is incomprehensible to us as humans, but Jesus can remember each of our names and everything about us.  And yes, Jesus continues to pray for each of us!

Jesus goes on to pray that those who belong to Him will be unified and protected from the temptations of worldly desires, that they be sanctified by God’s word, and be sent out into the world as disciples.  Let’s listen to Jesus’ words again.  “I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. “

Jesus not only wants us, His Disciples, to go into the world, but He wants us to do so in unity, but just what does Jesus mean by this?  For one, Jesus does not mean that we always need to agree with each other, but He does pray for us to get along with each other.  He doesn’t pray that our differences should be eliminated, but instead He prays for our oneness as a group.  The same oneness that He has showed us over and over as He and the Father are one so that our oneness would be the revelation of God’s presence in the world.

Jesus does not mean that we each have to give up who we are and all act the same way, dress the same way, and think the same way or anything like that.  What He wants us to do is to be unified in how we present ourselves to the world as His disciples.  We need to show the love of God to all, be kind, generous, and in short “walk the talk!”

Unfortunately, churches do not always “walk the talk.”  There is disunity and hostility in some churches.  Unity does not exist and the congregation breaks into little groups, each openly protecting their own views and nowhere do the groups meet in the middle.  They never gain consensus, and this is often the view that unbelievers see.  Perhaps this is why some people refuse to trust in Jesus by faith.  In a sense, this disunity pushes away people from the Christian faith.

It is easy to get entrenched in an idea, and our egos keep us from accepting and considering others points of view.  Thus, we refuse to compromise on anything other than what we think.  Yet, the Church is God’s instrument for bringing in His lost sheep, His instrument for spreading His love and grace to all.  But at times this type of grace is not extended by us to those around us and their ideas.

As we leave here this morning, let us remember that oneness is not about eliminating our differences.  It is about love.  God’s love is the one thing that we can all show to those around us.  Let us strive to listen to and consider the ideas of others.  To work toward compromise, where it is warranted, and be unified in what we espouse and do.  May the Love of God and the great Grace He has for each of us be extended to all outside the world’s Church’s doors!  For it is possible to disagree and work together in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in pursuit of Christian unity.  And most of all let us pray for one another as Jesus prays for us!

Amen