Kept In Unity

John 17

Peter Gomes, the distinguished preacher from Harvard, told a story about his mother to a congregation one Sunday.  It seems his mother was nearing her death, and she was concerned about heaven. She wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t get there.  She was very sure of that. And she wasn’t worried that there might not be a heaven. She was sure of that, too. There was only one little thing that worried her about heaven.  She was concerned that there would be people there she couldn’t get along with; people she didn’t like or love. Peter, being the distinguished Harvard professor that he was, tried to reassure her with theology.  He told her that when we all get in the presence of Jesus, these little things that divide us here on earth would simply dissolve in his light. Peter’s mother would have none of that. She had seen too much division here on earth, and she didn’t want to spend an eternity with folks that she simply couldn’t get along with.

Unity.  It’s a nice concept, but a little unrealistic don’t you think?  Well… not according to Jesus. Jesus prayed for our unity in the gospel of John not one but 4 times before he laid down his life for us.  Jesus kept repeating the refrain in his last prayer on earth; a refrain we will hear again today as we listen in on his prayer…”Holy Father, keep them in my name, that they may be one, even as we are one.”  Listen, with me to that prayer in John 17.

Most sermons don’t begin with a warning, but today I feel we need one.  This is not an easy topic to preach. It is not an easy topic to hear. Jesus asked, and he asked again, that we have unity.  He declared that our unity is necessary so the world may know that Jesus was sent from God, and that Jesus loves the world. That’s how important unity is.

Yet, how scarce it seems to be.  Where there is competition, divisions, exclusiveness, or bitter dissention; the cause of Christianity is harmed, and the prayer of Jesus is frustrated.  The gospel cannot truly be preached in any congregation of Jesus Christ when these things are present. That’s the bad news part of this sermon. So, what is the Good News?

The Good News is that unity is possible.  Despite all our faltering attempts and hateful behavior toward our brothers and sisters, unity is possible.  In fact, unity already exists!  

How can this be?  Jesus declares in his prayer during this final scene of the farewell meal that He and God are one.  That is where our unity begins. It begins with the unity of God with Christ. Jesus talks about how that unity manifests itself: God gave Jesus all those who received his word, God gave Jesus the words of truth, God has been with Jesus since the foundation of the world.  

This unity of God with Jesus is the very basis of our unity.  We are united in Christ, just as God and Jesus are united.

That’s the theology, but I suspect you might be as little convinced by the theology as Peter’s mother was.  Perhaps you, too, wonder how in the world we will ever come together as people of God, much less spend an eternity together.

Perhaps we should begin with something small.  I have found that starting with great big differences leads to frustration and despair.  Usually, it works better if I start with smaller misunderstandings. Is there anyone in our church that you have recently had a misunderstanding with?  It might not be something big or important. Perhaps it was a poorly spoken word, or a missed appointment, or just a difference of opinion. As you quietly bring that picture into your mind, I ask you to imagine someone else in the picture.  I ask you to imagine that Jesus is with you and that person.

As you sense the presence of Jesus with you, form in your mind the words you would like to say.  Ask Jesus to help you. Tell them to Jesus first. Say the prayer that Jesus said, “Let us be one, as you are one with God.”  If you have been able to get this far with me, then I ask you to imagine reaching out to this person. How will you do it? Will you make a phone call?  Write a card? Send an email? Pay a visit? Talk to them in coffee hour?

The business of reconciliation is serious business in our Christian lives.  Jesus tells us that the very gospel message is at stake. Jesus’ first and last prayer for us on the night before he died was that we would be perfectly one in heart and mind and will.  That’s how important these little conversations are.

The other small think I ask you to do today is to imagine that person with whom you have had a misunderstanding as a gift.  Imagine that they have been given to you, just as all the disciples were given to Jesus. You will probably notice in the gospels that the disciples did not always, or perhaps even mostly, act as “God’s gift.”  They quarreled. They misunderstood. They wanted power for themselves. But Jesus saw them as a gift.

The person you struggle with is a gift to God, a gift to Jesus, and a gift to you.  Each one of us is treasured by God. Treasured beyond measure. We each have something the gospel and the body of Christ needs desperately.  As difficult as this idea may seem to you…and to me too on some days…the persons with whom we cannot get along are necessary to God’s kingdom.  They have something we all need. And they are loved so much that Christ died for them.

It has been said that heaven will not quite be heaven to Jesus unless each one of his friends are with him there.  Could this be true for us? Could this be true for our church?

We are a community Jesus has prayed for.  We are a community Jesus is praying for. Each day.  When I heard the story of Peter’s mother, I was reminded of another story I heard not long ago.  A prominent church member and CEO of a large corporation went to heaven. He was delighted by all the beautiful surroundings.  But one thing really bothered him. When everyone was seated around the Lord’s Table, he ended up sitting next to the cleaning lady.  For an eternity!  

We can start getting ready for heaven now.  I believe there are going to be all sorts of folks there.  If we take a few small steps toward each other here on earth, we may find that one day…it doesn’t matter who sits next to us at the Lord’s Table.

For we will be one.