Spiritual Unity

Good morning, happy Wednesday, and blessings.

In John 17, Jesus prays – we call it his “great high priestly prayer”.  Because one job of the priest is to pray, to intercede, to serve as a go-between, representing the people before God.  Jesus, the greatest such advocate, the highest high priest that ever was – prays.  John 17 records this prayer, which Jesus would have prayed on Maundy Thursday as part of his “Farewell Discourse” in John 14-17.  Let's consider exactly what Jesus prays for, when it comes to his prayer for his disciples, and for us.

First, he prays to God, “Keep them in your name”. To be “kept” and guarded in the name of God is no small thing.  God's name itself is a great treasure and privilege to know, but even more so that he places his name upon us.  And though Jesus doesn't say it here, it's also true – that we receive the name of the Father, Son AND Holy Spirit.  That multi-faceted name is placed upon us in baptism.  And it comes with promises.  Forgiveness, life, salvation – all belong to us in his name.

In Jesus' second request he prays that his disciples would be kept, in order that, or with the effect being this:  that they may be one.  Unity.  Oneness.  It is something to be desired for Christians. Our subject is Christian unity: Jesus hits it three times in these four verses (John 17:21, 22, 23), so we can’t miss it. Ironically, there are widespread differences of opinion on the subject of unity among those who profess to follow Christ. This is evident by the fact that there are approximately 40,000 Christian denominations, and the number grows annually.

Are we really “one” with every group that claims to be Christian, even if they claim that we must add our good works to faith in Christ to be saved? That’s the issue that Paul confronts in Galatians. The Judaizers claimed to believe in Jesus as their Savior. But they also insisted that in addition to faith a man must be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses to be saved. Paul didn’t say, “Let’s set aside the areas where we don’t agree and come together where we do agree.” He said, rather, that those teaching this false gospel were accursed (Gal. 1:8-9).

What is Christian unity? Christian unity is not organization or external, but rather is based on shared life in Jesus Christ. Christian unity is based on shared life through faith in Christ through the apostolic witness to Him.

How is Christian unity expressed?  Christian unity is expressed by believers’ common love, common purpose, and common mission. Jesus makes the staggering statement that the Father has loved us even as He loved Jesus! While we will spend eternity trying to fathom the depths of the Father’s love for us, it should be increasingly influencing our daily lives. Perhaps it is nowhere expressed more eloquently than in Paul’s conclusion of Romans 8, where he says that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Christian unity comes with Christian maturity, and it is always something that we strive to attain. This is the reason why Paul instructs us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 1:3). This is the task to answer today: How Spiritually Mature I am?

Blessings

Fr. Luis+