John 17.20-end
‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’
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At our Ascension day service on Thursday just gone we remembered the time when Jesus left the Earth and ascended into heaven where he sits at his Father’s side. But before he went, he promised his friends, his disciples that though he was leaving them physically, he would not leave then spiritually. He promised that he would be with them, that he would be with them in the power of his Holy Spirit. He tells them to wait, and in the ten days between ascension and Pentecost the disciples waited. We too are in that period of waiting, during which we have been called to pray with Christian’s around the world for the annual Thy Kingdom Come event, those famous words from the Lord’s Prayer which the Archbishop of Canterbury encourages Christian’s worldwide
to pray for five of our family and friends, that they would come to know what it means to know Jesus Christ, to know and see God at work in their life, to come to faith in the Lord, and have life, and have it to the full.
On Thursday we gathered together as seven different congregations as a part of our mission community all of us at Saint Mary’s ellenbrook to worship together and to hear from God’s word and to be sent out into the world. We prayed together in unity for God’s kingdom to come to earth. Not only did we unite physically as seven different congregations from different areas, but we were also United spiritually, we were in unity together. It felt really special, to be able to come together like that; and coming together, in unity seems to me to be such an important thing. It’s actually a key thing about being a Christian, I’m fact it’s part of what it means to be a Christian. Our reading from John’s gospel this morning tells us why, verse twenty and following:
“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
Jesus prays “That they may all be one.” He prays for the unity of his people, his church. And not only this, these verses seem to suggest they the unity that Christians share with one another, somehow reflects the unity of God the Father, and God the Son.
The unity of christians is such an important thing. I’ve spoken before that what we do here in this building today is not done in isolation, but rather we are United with Christian’s, not physically’ but spiritually all around the world.
This is why when you go to most Anglican churches around the world there is a familiarity in the way that they worship, the liturgy used, and just the feel of the buildings. I remember when I have the privilege of travelling to Israel, upon entering into Saint George’s Cathedral in the city, it felt like ‘coming home.’ It felt like I was a part of a family that wasn’t just located here, but was actually located all over the world.
And perhaps that is the best way to describe it. Church, more than anything else, is a family.
Now this doesn’t mean that we agree with each other all the time. But rather, I think it’s that we are, or at least meant to be united by a bond that is greater than anything else else. And ultimately, that we love each other. That’s what it is about. We don’t let our opinion on this matter or that matter override that responsibility to love. I remember a friend of mine who said that, no matter how fierce the argument you may have had with another family member during the day, you all come around the same table to eat in the evening.
I think that we have forgotten that at this day and age. I feel like we are speaking, across each other. Where we’re almost shouting at each other and not seeking to understand. There is no effort made to ‘meet’ each other in our differences, so say, ‘ok, we don’t agree on this,’ but how can we still move forward together.
I have always been struck by something a friend told me about the very famous writers, G K (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw. Chesterton was a Christian (an Anglican who eventually became Roman Catholic) and Bernard Shaw believed that God did not exist. Chesterton even wrote an essay about Bernard Shaw where he disagrees with his entire worldview. They were ideological opponents, but they were also good Friends. When Chesterton died, Bernard Shaw went to his widow Frances and said that if Chesterton had left any debts then he would cover them as he knew that Gilbert was not very good with money.
In today’s climate, I just can’t really imagine that happening.
Since the earliest times of Christianity, there has been the understanding of the need to unity. Notice again what’s happening in our reading. Jesus is praying, he is praying to his Father in heaven. He is praying that the church should be united, as he and his Father are united.
This is why unity is so important, because the unity of the church reflects the unity of the Father and the son. Their unity, their unbounded love for each other is the way that we need to be. The church is a Spiritual Unity as well, we are united by God’s Spirit and through God’s Spirit, and without the Spirit, we can do nothing.
I spoke last week about how, when I lived in community with other Christian’s There were lots of different ideas and theologies thrown around, from very conservative to very liberal. But we still prayed together daily. We used the same prayers to our Heavenly Father. We lived together daily, we shared life together. And of course, this is what societies do, or at least, societies that are working well, whoever is in government at the time. Where there is respect and understanding of other’s views. There can still be that unity. And this is hard, after all even in the early church there were many disagreements. If you have a look at some of the rest of the New Testament, many of them are occasional letters from Saint Paul and others to different churches which show deep divisions have already emerged. And it’s quite probably that John had this in mind when he wrote his gospel, hence Jesus’ prayer.
This season then, between Ascension day and Pentecost, we as a church family pray with millions of Christians around the world. We pray for an outpouring of his Spirit into our world. We pray continually for unity in the Spirit.. And we pray for each other as well. We have Thy Kingdom Come Prayer cards, where we name five people over this period who we have committed to pray for, that God would be at work in their lives, and they would know what it means to know the love of God for themselves. We want our family to be united, but we also want our family to grow. So commit to do that at this special time of year, and let us dwell together in unity. Amen.