How Will They Believe?
John 17:20-26[1]
I think it’s hard for
those of us who grew up in church to witness its diminishing influence in our
society. To some extent, it’s the result of cultural changes that have been in
the works since long before any of us were born! The history of American
Christianity bears witness to the way the influence of the church has waxed and
waned from the very beginning until now. Many of us grew up in the wake of the
most recent of several “great awakenings” that renewed the importance of the
church in people’s lives. But that renewal has been fading for decades now.
The declining interest
in church participation is not only due to these broader changes, however. I
would say that there is a very real sense in which the cause of this decline
lies at our feet. People have lost interest in church in many cases not in
spite of what we’ve done, but because of what we’ve done. There are churches in
our circle of influence that still publicly “shun” those they deem to be
“sinful.” And there are a lot of churches who practice something similar to
shunning by denying the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to those who aren’t
“deserving.” But perhaps the worst black eye of all is the way in which we who
call ourselves members of the Body of Christ treat one another, sometimes over
the most insignificant differences of opinion.
In our Gospel lesson
for today, I think Jesus calls us to a different way. Jesus called his
disciples to a unity that is grounded in the unity he shared with the Father based
on the love between them. 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). I would say Jesus
understood that his disciples would experience this unity as they were
connected to him, and therefore as they were connected to the Father. What
creates true unity in the church is the fact that we have been enfolded into
the relationship of love that unites Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus says that the
purpose of this unity among his disciples is “so that the world may believe
that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21). The idea of “believing that you have sent
me” may seem like a strange way to describe faith. We’re familiar with
“believing in” Jesus, but it’s not so common to hear about “believe that” Jesus
was sent by God. In John’s Gospel, however, this is one of the questions
associated with Jesus, his mission, and the faith he calls people to have in
him. The Jewish leaders continually debated his identity based on the question
where Jesus came from. He tried to tell them in many different ways that he had
come from the Father, and he called them to believe this. This is one of the
important ways that John’s Gospel frames faith.
In fact, this is so
important in John’s Gospel that Jesus repeats here it a little differently. It is
his desire “that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them
even as you have loved me” (Jn 17:23). Here the idea of “believing” is replaced
with “knowing,” which is not unusual in John’s Gospel. Not only does Jesus ask
that his disciples share the relationship of love that he had with the Father,
but he also wants the world to know that his disciples shared that
relationship. I think at least one way in which the world would know this is by
the way in which his disciples live out their unity with one another.
I guess the real
question, though, is how we promote this kind of unity among people like us,
who hold very different ideas about what we consider important in life. We can
get very attached to our opinions, and we can be stubborn at times about
holding onto our viewpoints. I think it takes 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’s the unity that Jesus Christ creates—the church is the one people of the
one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s the unity that the Spirit of God
creates—the church is the one people of the one Holy Spirit. This is the unity
that enables the world to believe in Jesus through our witness.
I don’t believe this
kind of unity is about the absence of difference. I believe that one of the
signs of a healthy community is their ability to disagree. The bond created
among us by the presence 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. That happens when we deal with differences by focusing on our
agreements without engaging in “mud-slinging” or “name-calling” or in any other
way tearing down brothers and sisters in Christ who hold different views about
crucial issues. The ties that bind us together are stronger than our differences
of opinion!
When I was serving in
Houston, the PCUSA was dealing with some divisive issues. A friend of mine who
was the pastor of a nearby church led an education session during a Presbytery
meeting. In that meeting he shared that their church was not “of one mind, but
we are not divided.” That has stuck with me for many years. Bearing witness to
our unity in Christ doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything, but I think it
does mean that our disagreements don’t divide us. When we can show our world
this kind of unity, especially now, I think our witness can be a way for them
to believe.
[1] ©
2022 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm Ph.D. on 5/29/2022 for Hickman
Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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