That They May Be One

That They May Be One

John 17:20-26[1]

A few weeks ago I mentioned some of the ways in which the church is perceived by our culture—not necessarily positively. I think another problem with the perception of the church at large in our society is the idea that there’s supposed to be “one, holy, catholic, apostolic” church. Of course, we could spend a sermon on each one of those marks of the church, but I’m thinking about the first: we say we believe that the church is “one.” But the reality is that, despite our best efforts, if you look at the church today as a whole, you would be hard-pressed to say that we are “one.”^[2]  Even when it comes to individual congregations, it’s hard to find a church where everyone is on the same page. 

There are so many different approaches to living out the Christian faith. Some are traditional, some are not. Some are conservative, some are middle of the road, and some are very liberal. There is so much “difference” out there, it can leave us wondering whether there is anything that unites the church in any meaningful way. Of course, some churches don’t want to be united with those who do things differently. And while most of us may not agree that “difference” means “heresy,” practically speaking we tend to divide ourselves into groups based on our cultural, political, and social views.

This situation is not for lack of efforts at promoting (or enforcing) unity. Many churches use agreement regarding what they believe to achieve unity. Other churches seek unity through organizational uniformity, through a ladder of authority that works from the top down. In our context, we seek unity through what is essentially a policy manual, the Book of Order. I would have to say that these well-intentioned but misguided efforts at promoting (or enforcing) unity have in reality been ventures in missing the point. They really haven’t succeeded at producing the intended result—a church that is one.

I think part of the problem is that we’re looking in the wrong direction for unity. We think somehow that we can find unity through our own efforts. But in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus pointed us toward a very different source for unity. Jesus called his disciples to a unity that is grounded in the unity of love between the Father and the Son. Jesus prays, “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us” (Jn. 17:21). He says it in several different ways, but essentially Jesus prayed for the disciples “that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me” (Jn. 17:22-23). Clearly, what creates a real and lasting unity in the church is the love that unites Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I guess the real question, though, is how we promote the love of God among people like us, who hold very different opinions about what we deem important in life. How do we promote the love that unites Father, Son, and Holy Spirit among people like us who get very attached to our opinions, and who can be stubborn at times about holding onto differing viewpoints? I think what it takes is a unity that is deeper and stronger than anything we can create ourselves. What really makes the church one is the unity that God creates—the church is the one people of the one God. It is the unity that Jesus Christ creates—the church is the one people of the one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is the unity that the Spirit of God creates—the church is the one people of the one Holy Spirit. This is the unity that makes the church live.

I don’t believe this kind of unity is about the absence of difference. As I’ve said before, I believe that one of the signs of the health of any human community is that it has the ability to disagree. The bond created among us by the presence of the love of God in Christ through the Spirit doesn’t eliminate the differences among us. It means that the differences don’t divide us, they make us stronger. And I think that the way that happens is when we respond to our differences by practicing acceptance, gentleness, humility, and patience. These are ties that bind us together and help us to thrive in the love we share with one another, a love that originates in God’s love for us.

I believe that living out the unity we share in God’s love is one of the most important ways that we can bear witness to our new life in Jesus Christ.^[3] In our day and time, the church is divided by race, divided by class, divided by politics, divided by dogma. All of these divisions contradict what Jesus said should be our defining trait: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). Because we come from different perspectives and backgrounds, the kind of love Jesus commanded us to show one another is difficult. It takes all that we have to give. But in a world that seems increasingly lacking in love, I would suggest that demonstrating the love that makes us one may be the most important way that we can show the world that the church is a place to find new life.

---

[1] © 2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 6/2/2019 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, 4.1:677: “The disunity of the Church is a scandal.”

[3] cf. Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.3:235-36, where he argues that the essential revelation in the Gospel of John is the mutual love between the Father and the Son which Jesus demonstrates as a love that draws the world into this fellowship.