“Oneness in Christ” A sermon by Lee Ireland
Cathedral City Community Presbyterian Church
May 16, 2010, Seventh Sunday of Easter
Text: John 17: 20-26
Prayer
Last week I mentioned the Gospel reading from Chapter 14 was a part of several chapters
in John called Jesus’ farewell discourses. Today’s reading from Chapter 17 of John is the
end of the farewell discourses. You may remember that these chapters are called
discourses because Jesus provides extensive answers to a few questions from his
disciples. These chapters, actually Chapters 13-17, sum up Jesus’ ministry and point to
the future.
Our Gospel lesson today from John Chapter 17 is actually a prayer, a prayer that ends the
farewell discourses. This prayer of Jesus comes just before Jesus is betrayed by Judas.
It is an interesting prayer that could be considered a summarization of the previous five
chapters. Hey, how do you like that? You only need to read seven verses to get a
summary of five chapters! But, please, read all the chapters as they are full of gems from
Jesus.
I have a cousin that I seem to get along with quite well. He and I have spent two weeks
together while he was a guest at our home over a Christmas holiday. We have vacationed
together several times. We enjoy talking to each other and share similar interests in a few
areas. He is a carpenter and cabinet maker whose opinion I have sought as Linda and I
have done some construction and remodeling projects at the homes we have owned.
That’s the side of my cousin, Bob (made up name), that I experience personally. But
another cousin, Sue (made up name), who is also a friend of Bob’s, experiences another
side of the relationship between Bob and me. a side unknown to me. The side of Bob I
hear about from her is a person who is concerned that he gets equal treatment. For
example, my cousin Sue and her husband came to visit Linda and me in our home. Bob
was upset that Sue and her husband didn’t also visit him and his wife. He said to my
cousin that she and her husband were favoring Linda and me because they came to visit
us and not him.
I’m not quite sure why my cousin Sue tells me this except she wants to keep peace in the
family and wants us all to get along fine – to have unity. Perhaps by telling me Bob’s
concerns I can address them and be extra nice to him when we talk.
Maybe you’ve experienced or heard of similar situations in your family.
In today’s scripture, Jesus is praying for unity or oneness among his followers. Verse 21
says “that they may become one.” Jesus had many issues with the disciples: those that
want to sit at the Jesus’ right hand when he comes into his kingdom, wanting to be better
than the others. Peter deserted him and denied him three times. One of his disciples
turned him over to the authorities for 30 pieces of silver. No wonder Jesus was praying for
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unity among his disciples!! Just those few examples reveal how un-unified the disciples
were.
It seems my experiences with my cousin Bob pale when compared to the things Jesus put
up with from his disciples.
But the point is that someone cares about unity. And when I say unity, I’m not saying
uniformity. Unity is not uniformity. My cousin Sue cares about unity, unity in our family.
Jesus cared about unity, unity among believers. Our family unity is no where near as
important as unity among believers. The unity Jesus is talking about is of great
importance. What if the disciples would have split up after Jesus’ death, resurrection and
ascension? What if three of them started their own church, say a Vineyard, and another
two started another church based on their experiences with Jesus, a Calvary Chapel? And
yet another four started another church – you can name the type of church. The point is
that these various churches would not have benefited from the central authority of the
council of the disciples in Jerusalem that promoted the unity among the early churches and
provided guidance for the early churches. Unity among the disciples was important.
However Jesus was not praying just for unity among the disciples. Jesus says in verse 23,
“that they may be completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me. . .”
There’s a reason that Jesus wants us to be one.
Now, I don’t want to go so far as to say that the church we enjoy today would not have
happened if the disciples failed. I believe God would have used others to carry on Jesus’
message. But Jesus’ prayer for unity actually extends beyond unity of his disciples, as
important as it may have been.
You see, Jesus’ prayer for unity extends to us today. His prayer for unity was for unity of
believers through generation after generation. He prayed for unity for the believers
throughout all the centuries that have passed. His prayer was for unity for us today. And
his prayer was for unity for those generations who come after us.
Why is this unity or oneness so important to Jesus? We already read in verse 23 “that
they may become completely one.” Jesus continues his prayer, giving the reason for the
need for oneness or unity, “so the world may know that you have sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me.” It is through this oneness with Christ that the world
knows about God’s love of humanity.
Have you met someone who doesn’t want anything to do with Jesus because he or she
had been mistreated by some church member? I have a friend who was disowned, kicked
out of the church, because he and his wife divorced. And that person was the pastor of
the church! I have another friend who was asked to leave the church because he had
cheated on his wife. How’s that for forgiveness and oneness? Are these churches
expressing oneness with Christ? I don’t think so! If we are one with Christ and God, we
would love others, sinner or not. We would come close to them in their time of trial and
support them with Christ’s and God’s love.
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These two examples are just a few of the ones that I know. You could probably name
several more. But the point is if we as today’s church are actually at one with Christ and
God, we would express that oneness to others. People would see the church operating as
one, loving the world, setting the example that Christ has given us.
Even churches don’t get along. I have a friend from the Walk to Emmaus, the spiritual
renewal weekend I’m involved with. This friend thought that mainline Christian churches
didn’t know Jesus. His church had taught him that we were heathens. We were not saved
and didn’t love the Lord Jesus. Well, I’m delighted to tell you that this guy is now one of
my best friends and, though, we may have theological differences, our unity, the basis of
our friendship, is our love of Christ. My friend knows I love the Lord and we now express
our oneness in Christ through our friendship and our joint ministry. Believe me, in our
fragmented Christian world, our relationship speaks volumes about the value of oneness in
Christ.
You know I often end sermons with a so what question? I hope I have expressed
throughout this sermon the importance of being one with Christ and God. What I’d like to
close with is an example.
Some of you know that I have been involved with the Walk to Emmaus for about eight
years. Now that I’m ordained, I work the weekends as clergy. What I want to mention
today is that these weekends express a oneness in Christ in a way few of us have ever
experienced. About 46 men form the team for the weekend. We have one goal or
mission, to share the love of Christ with those who are attending the weekend for the first
time. That focus makes us one with Christ and enables us to function as a team. Another
one of my friends who is relatively new to Emmaus says he cannot believe that 46 guys
can get together for 72 hours and not have personality conflicts or arguments. I tell him
that it’s because of our oneness with Christ. We are literally working with Christ to be his
hands and feet, his cooks and bathroom cleaners to share Christ and God’s love for those
who are attending the weekend for the first time. Our oneness with Christ enables us to
share God’s love.
Emmaus is a great example of expressing what oneness with Christ looks like and what
can be accomplished by being one with Christ and God.
My challenge to you today is to think about ways that we, as Community Presbyterian, can
express Christ’s oneness to each other and to the community and to the world. What
would it take for us to have such an overriding mission that we forget about our differences
and share God’s love with others? What would it take for us to be one with Christ and
God? I do not have an answer. Only you can answer that question for yourself. And
through the individual answers, we can come to a mission for Community Presbyterian
Church that will enable us to express to others the oneness that Christ prayed for us
around two thousand years ago.
Think about that.
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