(Stained glass at St. John the Baptist's Anglican Church in Ashfield, Sydney Australia; Creative Commons license)
Lectionary Scripture - John 17:20-26 (NRSV)
"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."
"Oneness"
Commentary for the above scripture notes that Jesus has completed his last supper with the disciples. Soon he will face betrayal, arrest, and then be crucified. Before this evil occurs, Jesus offers prayer on behalf of his followers and for the church that will arise from their witness. Commonly referred to as his high priestly prayer, Jesus petitions God that his followers be fruitful in their work and "that they may all be one" even as he and God are one.
All these centuries later, the phrase “that they may all be one” has become in one commentator’s opinion the rallying cry for many ecumenical actions among today’s denominations. As such, the commentator says the phrase has become a cliché for many persons, perhaps even a tired one at that. What the commentator observes is that ecumenical actions or implications were hardly on Jesus mind when Jesus prayed the words contained in the above passage. What the writer states specifically is this:
“It is important that this passage be examined in the context of Jesus' whole prayer, and his hope for the witness that would follow his death. Unless we believe that Jesus foresaw the future denominations of his church and left for us a slogan, it is important to search for Jesus' original meaning.”
The commentator then states that "oneness" is a central symbol in the Gospel of John. Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus desires all who come to faith to be one. There is to be one flock and one shepherd. John even mentions Jesus' seamless robe and the disciples’ un-torn net from a sudden and overwhelming catch of fish, all of which show wholeness and oneness. The work of Jesus has been to gather the people, save them, and unite them into one. When Jesus prays that the disciples will be one, he asks that they may all live in God as Jesus dwells in God. Lastly, "oneness" is to be desired while unbelief and distance from God is described as being lost or scattered.
For the commentator, the unity of believers is to be modeled on the kind of unity that exists between God and Jesus, a unity that is fundamentally a united purpose, expressing itself in a common mission and message. Our task therefore is gathering people from out of the darkness and lostness of their lives into life with God. In so doing, their world and life becomes what this blogger calls the “oneness community”.
I don’t know about you, but I have been looking for the “oneness community” my whole life and where I have had opportunity, I and others have tried to forge it into existence. After 34 years of hard and dedicated work through priestly ministry, it seems a vaporous and elusive dream. Why so? I think it’s because so many of us lack generosity.
We lack generosity for a whole variety reasons. We may lack generosity because we possess authority over other persons and don’t like their way of doing things. Our way is superior and so we inject ourselves into their situation or circumstance and try to re-order or re-do things. After a while, we find we can’t sustain the effort and in time achieve little more than worsening the situation and leave it mired in mediocrity and the heartache of abandonment. Sad thing is that it happens all the time. Probably there’s no better cliché for it than what the American President, Ronald Reagan, once identified as the most frightening statement in the English language, i.e. “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Or put in ecclesiastical terms, “I’m from the denomination and I’m here to help.” One frightening thing in that regard has been the failure to address forthrightly the matter of abuse by clergy members and failing to intervene immediately with any and all forms of abuse by clergy – no matter how subtle. It’s a catastrophe that will prevent “oneness community” for decades to come.
Where then is the spirit of generosity contributing to “oneness”? Well in an adaptation of recent counsel from the president of my denomination, I think it’s any circumstance where we refuse to remain in the shadows of our fears, or in the shadows of our insecurities, or in the shadowy places others try to create because they aim to pit one person’s loyalty against that of another. As our president counseled, “…move forward in the light of your divinely instilled call and vision.” Jesus summoned the courage to do just that throughout the whole of his earthly walk and it inspired person after to person into similar generosity. For some persons, the generosity of Jesus meant a healing or it meant special words of teaching and understanding and enlightenment. For others, their generosity involved leaving everything behind that had ever defined their lives to be an advocate of a message and mission of love that would transform the world bit by bit.
Who knows when or where the need for generosity might surface and whether that need will be large and significant or small and unanticipated. Having enjoyed a nice meal a while back in downtown Portland, Oregon during the middle of winter, my wife and I began the three or four block walk back to our car from the restaurant where generous helpings of food had necessitated take-home boxes. Both of us anticipated that our take-home would probably last another meal or two. Halfway into our walk, some homeless young adults stopped us and asked if they could have our leftovers. Cold and obviously hungry, we did not hesitate in giving them the food. We then stood and watched their eyes as they opened the boxes to see what they were getting. The gratitude was immediate on their faces is something I’ll not forget. “Thank you so much,” were the words that followed. “You’re most welcome,” we replied.
May you and I come to understand the many different forms of generosity that bless the needs and lives of others and how in a myriad of many diverse and simple ways, we can let go of something small -- or even something big -- and allow “oneness” with God to bring “oneness” to others. May Christ’s Peace be with you.
Sources for this post:
- Homiletics Online resource and commentary titled "Voyager Church" for May 27, 2001 (subscription required, see http://www.homileticsonline.com/)
- New Revised Standard Version of the Bible
- Community of Christ worship helps for May 16th, 2010
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