Loving God, your love and concern is not only for us, but also for those who do not yet know you. Make us faithful witnesses, finding both our unity and our love in you, that others might see Christ through us. We ask it through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

There are a lot of songs floating around these days, and probably sermons and personal testimonies too, that are all about me and Jesus. My Jesus - My Saviour - I want to worship you. It is language that the Lutheran tradition has usually shied away from, and the majority of hymns that have a Lutheran origin have God as the subject and we or us as the responders. Such wording reminds us that as Christians, we are always part of a church community. At the same time, the Lutheran emphasis on God's grace reminds us that God is always the one who acts first, and we are invited to respond. Certain other traditions tend to put more emphasis on what I need to do in order to ensure my personal salvation.

Now, as a Lutheran, I appreciate the emphasis on God's grace, and I also believe that the kind of language that keeps God as the subject and talks about us as the Christian community reflects most accurately what we find in the Scriptures. In fact, today's gospel is a very good example of a Scripture passage where God is the main actor who is in charge of the future of the church. Jesus' prayer is not that individual followers would be one with him but that the whole community of believers would be one in Christ.

We'll look a little bit more at what this means in a moment, but first I wanted to share with you some of the words from a rather ironic song by Avery & Marsh. It's called I Can Be a Christian By Myself. The first verse goes:

I can be a Christian by myself.

Leave my dusty Bible on the shelf.

I'll sing a hymn and pray a bit.

God can do the rest of it.

My heart's the church, my head's the steeple.

Shut the door and I'm the people.

I can be a Christian by myself.

Some of the other verses include these lines:

I'll break some bread and drink some wine.

Have myself a holy time.

I'll take the off'ring then I'll know

Where that money's gonna go.

So please remember, Lord, when I die,

Give me my own cloud in the sky.

After this life with its labors

Don't bug me with needy neighbors.

Haven't you heard people who actually talk like that?!

Yet, today's gospel reminds us: It's not all about "me and God," but "we and God." We are to be "in" God just as the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. What we're talking about here is an extremely close relationship. At least one commentator uses the relationship between a husband and wife as an illustration of what it means to "be one" [Stoffregen - http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/john17x20.htm]. Of course, the Scriptures talk about the two becoming one flesh in marriage (Mt. 19:6). After marriage, there are still two distinct people. However, there is a unique unity and knowledge in that relationship that is not shared with other people. In the same way, when Jesus talks about being one with the Father, the Son and the Father are two distinct persons in the Trinity, yet there is a unique unity and knowledge there that is not shared by anybody else (other than the Holy Spirit, of course!).

And so, what does it mean when Jesus prays that we may be one? Would it not also be that those of us who believe in Jesus Christ and follow him have a closeness in our relationships that is not shared with those who do not believe? And won't it also be the relationships between Christians that serve as either a positive or negative witness to the world around us?

After all, isn't that really Jesus' concern in the prayer that we hear in today's gospel? The reason he wants his followers to be one is so that the world will believe that Jesus has been sent by God (Jn. 17:21). After all, what turns people off faster than Christians who can't work together or get along with each other? Even if we might do things or view things a little bit differently, can't we at least work together and witness together because of our relationship with Jesus Christ?

It does untold damage to our mission and our witness as Christians when we fail to see Christ in one another. This is true both in our relationships with other individuals and in our relationships with other groups within the church. How often does even our language betray a sense of "us" and "them" within the church? How often do we say things like, "Well, they want to do this now" - meaning other people within our own church? How often do we speak about other Lutherans as "them," let alone other denominations within the Christian faith?

I've often heard comments that make it sound like we are in competition with other Christian churches: Things like - well they seem to be growing! When are we going to start being thankful for the people who are hearing the gospel through all Christian churches? This isn't a competition that we're engaged in, but a mission! And no matter what form the church takes in different times and places, our mission is the same. We are here so that other people might see Jesus through us.

Now, human beings being as they are, it seems unlikely that we will manage to get everybody into only one church body world-wide. As far as the structure and organization of the church goes, there will probably continue to be different denominations within the church as a whole. However, this doesn't mean that we can't at least recognize one another as belonging to Christ and work together wherever possible! After all, the "us" and "them" in today's gospel is not us and other Christians, but us as Christians and the rest of the world.

I keep thinking of some of the organizations that already exist in order for Christians to work together both in Canada and around the world. For example, Canadian Lutheran World Relief is a member of an organization called ACT, which stands for Action of Churches Together. This is an international network that allows Christians to respond quickly to human need around the globe. Another example right here in Canada is an organization called KAIROS which pools the resources of Canadian churches in order to work on social justice issues and needs within Canada. Both of these organizations are examples of ways in which Christians can work together in order to serve others.

Our mission continues to be to make Christ known. We are here so that other people might see Jesus through us. However, Jesus knew that this could not happen unless we are one in him. As Christians, we share a unique unity and knowledge in Jesus that is not shared by those who do not believe. Today we are reminded to see Christ in one another and in other Christians. We are reminded of the love of God, which Jesus prays would be in our hearts (Jn. 17:26). We are reminded that we are the community for whom Jesus prays. "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" (Jn. 17:21). Amen.

Easter 7(C) John 17:20-26

May 20, 2007

St. Luke's Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison Moore

? 2007 Lynne Hutchison Moore All Rights Reserved