A Final Prayer for Unity and Mission—Lectionary Reflection for Easter 7C (John 17)

John 17:20-26 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁰ “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, ²¹ 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. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, ²³ 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. ²⁴ 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.

²⁵ “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ 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.”

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                Eastertide is coming to a close, with Pentecost on the near horizon. According to the liturgical calendar, the day of Jesus’ ascension is also at hand. The Gospel reading comes from Jesus’ high priestly prayer on this Seventh Sunday of Easter. It is a prayer for unity that provides the scriptural foundation for the modern ecumenical movement. Although this prayer remains unfulfilled, that does not mean it is not important. It simply means there is work to be done.

                This final prayer for the unity of Jesus’ followers takes place before the departure for the Garden of Gethsemane, where he will be betrayed by Judas and arrested. Jesus has finished his meal, washed the feet of the disciples, and given them their mandate to love. His betrayal by Judas is just moments away. But, at this moment, Jesus expresses his concern/hopes that his followers would stay united. Not only does he pray for his disciples who had gathered with him to that point, but all who would believe through their word. In other words, Jesus has a missional vision in mind as he prays for them. He may be facing imminent suffering and death, but he is looking into the future. Therefore, he prays that his followers would be one, as he and the Father are one. He prays that even as Father is in him and he is in the Father, so might they “be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” F. Scott Spencer notes the connection of the Greek words en (in) and hen (one) as foundational for the unity of Jesus’ disciples.

Notice the play on words in Greek between en (“ in”) and hen (“ one”). They have the same two letters, distinguished only by a rough breathing mark in hen. “Oneness” begins with and is sustained through “in-ness”— mutual, intimate intercourse, way beyond superficial association— the very oneness of Father-and-Son, which remarkably “they” are invited “in” on, to share together “in” the perfect (complete) divine love communion. [Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 2 (Kindle p. 314)]

With this prayer that his disciples would share that oneness Jesus shared with the Father, Jesus affirms that it will be through the witness of these followers (the church) that the world will know that Jesus did not act on his own. Rather, reflecting the message of the Prologue (Jn. 1:1-18), but as the Word of God in the flesh. But again, this requires that Jesus’ followers be united with him and with each other.

                Jesus then prays that the glory given to  him might be shared with his followers, “so that they may be one.” What is this glory that unites Jesus’ followers? As we see in the following chapters, it is the cross and resurrection through which Jesus is glorified. Jesus’ disciples then carry forward that glory as they bear witness to him. But this requires that the church stay united with each other in Jesus, who is in the Father. Unfortunately, the church has rarely been united with each other, or dare I say with Jesus. Even today, the shadow of Christian nationalism hangs over the witness of the church, as does a history of colonialism.

                We may not yet experience the unity Jesus prays for in this final prayer before his arrest, but it is assumed. It is a gift to be experienced. He notes in the prayer that he is in the disciples, even as the Father is in him, therefore, these disciples might become “completely one” so that the world might know that the Father sent him. Not only that, but the Father loves them even as the Father has loved him. Let us remember that Jesus has already revealed God’s love for the world so that the world might be saved through Jesus (John 3:16). Marianne Meye Thompson comments on this message:

The disciples’ unity with one another and with the Father and the Son is intended to bring the world to know that the Father sent Jesus: that is its purpose, though not always its result. When faith is born, it will be faith that the Father sent the Son, and that the Son’s mission exemplifies the unity of the Father and Son and their love for the world. The disciples participate in Jesus’ mission, embodying God’s love in order to bring life to the world, regardless of the response. [Thompson, John (NTL) (Kindle p. 356)].  

With that, Jesus prays that his followers might see the glory given to him because of the Father’s love for him from the foundation of the world. Again, we go back to the prologue, which reveals that the world came into being through the Word (Jesus) (John 1:10).

                As Jesus concludes his prayer, he acknowledges that the world does not know the Righteous Father. However, Jesus acknowledges that he knows the Father, and his followers know that the Father has sent him. The final words of the prayer declare: “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.” This takes us back to Jesus' mandate to love (John 13:31-35).

                In the early days of the modern ecumenical movement, unity and mission were interconnected.  The early ecumenical leaders understood that division in the church, what Peter Ainslie, one of those early leaders, called The Scandal of Christianity, undermined the witness of the church. He wrote:

But withdrawing and setting up denominationalism in every part of Christendom gave both weakness and shame to the church, hindering its christianizing of the world because it had not itself become christianized. Consequently we are dealing to-day with a Christianity that is so weakened in consequence of its scandal of denominationalism that it is not strong enough to go satisfactorily on the mission of Christ to the world. [Ainslie, The Scandal of Christianity, 1929, pp. 139-140].      

While there is an imperialistic tone to Ainslie’s message, he correctly diagnosed the problem facing the church of his day and our day. Our divisions undermine our message of God’s love for the world. He recognized that unity did not mean agreement on every matter. Rather, he addressed the fact that denominations put their own interests above the message of Jesus’ love for the world. While we remain divided, undermining our Christian witness, there are signs of hope. One of those signs is found in the early messages issued by newly inaugurated Pope Leo XIV, who spoke of other Christian communions as “sister churches” and seemed to downplay papal supremacy. What that means is not completely known, but it does suggest that he recognizes that our divisions are a scandal. Might we come to a similar conclusion, and embrace the unity that Jesus offers us, so that the world might know that the Father has sent him into the world, revealing the glory of God.  

             So, as we conclude our Easter journey and prepare to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the church, such that the church might go out into the world and make known the good news of Jesus, may we embrace our unity and begin to live into it. Unity starts in the local Christian community, such that we might share the love, glory, and grace of God in our relationships with each other. But we can't stop there. Luke Powery suggests that in offering this prayer of unity, Jesus is proposing a discipleship of resistance, such that this “call to unity resists temptations to divide along racial, educational, socioeconomic, and gender lines. To divide is easy. To be one is difficult” [Powery, in Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, Year C, p. 248]. We are seeing that difficulty being played out in this moment. Of course, unity for the sake of unity is dangerous if it allows for injustice to continue in our world. The love that God shared with Jesus and Jesus shared with his disciples is there for us to experience so that we might express to the world God’s love for the world. In this, God is glorified. This is also the foundation of our missional calling, which is an expression of our faith in the God who is love (1 Jn.4:7-8).