… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
Jesus is praying to his Father. It is late in the evening. He and his disciples have finished the Passover meal. Judas has left to betray Jesus to the chief priests. The clock is ticking. The moment Jesus dies for the sins of all mankind is quickly approaching.
Urgently he prays for his disciples. In our last verse, he expanded the scope of who he is praying for to include you and me. Now, in today’s verse, he tells us why. He wants us to be one.
So the question for today is what does that mean? What does it mean to “be one?”
When we looked at John 17: 16 (“Worlds Apart”) we examined the concept of what it means to be in the world but not part of the world. Now we look at a similar concept from a different angle: What does it mean to be an individual and at the same time so much a part of a group of people that the entire group is considered one?
Oneness suggests that people share a common goal. After 9/11 America seemed to stop its bickering and infighting for a moment and unite in a common cause. For a brief period of time, there was a feeling of oneness in this country. Unfortunately, it was not an enduring oneness.
Early Christians also experienced a sense of oneness. Luke describes this in the second chapter of Acts, verses 42-47:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved
Sadly, this too would not be an enduring process. Later in Acts, chapter 20, verses 29-31a Paul warns:
I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!
When you find oneness in the Spirit treasure it. When it is taken away by those who distort the truth it is one of the saddest things imaginable.
Food for Thought: What should we give up to have the oneness that Jesus wants for us?
I think what we need to give up is our bitterness, anger, jealousy and will. There has always been problems with unity in the world and in the church. There were even problems of unity among Jesus’ own disciples. James and John wanted a better position in Christ’s kingdom and the other’s were jealous. There was a traitor among them, etc. We see Paul dealing with lots of division in the early church – Corinth, Ephesus and Philippi come to mind. In Ephesians 4: 31 -32 Paul wrote: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander. along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate toward one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” It is a hard, sacrificial path toward unity with many obstacles and much to give up. It is hard. I struggle with this and I think most people do. We need God’s help and we have God’s example in Christ Jesus.