Today's Gospel

The Unity Prayer

She said the strangest thing. On the very first day of class, my history professor uttered very provocative words. Among all the things I heard in that first semester of my seminary training in preparation to become a Methodist pastor, her comment still stands out most of all, 30-something years later. She was going to be teaching us the history of early Christianity, from the disciples in the Book of Acts all the way through the first 10 centuries of believers. To introduce herself to a nervous group of newcomers, us on the very first day, she shared some of her own interests and personal background. Then she shared what she said was the driving motivation for her entire ministry. Her passion was the unity of the church. I still remember it. She said, "I believe that when Jesus prayed for His followers to be perfectly one in His final prayer in John 17, He really and truly meant it." And I thought to myself, "What does that look like?"

When Jesus completes His final instructions for the 12 disciples, He prays over them. These disciples have learned from Jesus. They've served with Jesus. They've lived with Jesus. These 12 men will become the foundation of a movement that shakes history and creates the most enduring global impact of all time. These men will launch the church, the family of God, imperfect men chosen by Jesus. In His final words to them, Jesus reminds His 12 chosen men that believers will be known for their love. "Love one another," He says. Jesus then prays in order to prepare them for His death, a prayer asking the Father to care for the 12 and the work they're about to lead, a prayer for all of His followers yet to come, including you and me, a prayer to bind us all together as one. "Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one even as we are one." Jesus' last message and prayer for His leaders consists of a prayer for unity. Jesus desires and prays for unity. He desires for us to be one, not just for our benefit, but also for the sake of everyone else who will hear the gospel through the church. Our unity or our lack of it will impact the world. How much more effective we will be if we stand as one against all that opposes the church? Nonbelievers and newcomers will just be amazed that a group of people possesses such a powerful spiritual bond. It will stand in contrast to all the division and all the discord that fills the world. Jesus says, "Our unity reflects the unity of God Himself. The Trinity is one, and so, too, shall the body of the church be." God, not us, is the source of our unity. Our oneness reflects the oneness of God.

Wow. That's heavy stuff. I mean, Jesus means business. These aren't some throwaway disposable optional words. Jesus' desire is for us to be one as He and the Father, the Trinity, are one. The unity of God is the model for the unity of the church. We represent the unity of God in the world. Jesus has a high destiny for his people, that they may become perfectly one, not just one, but perfectly one, completely unified, not separated or divided in any way. Wow. Maybe, just maybe, division pleases us but displeases God. Perhaps gossip, dissension, and discord is of our own sinful origin. Maybe, just maybe, the church is designed to be built on the model of unity, not the model of division. Perhaps the unity of God should be our base, rather than our tendency to accept conflict and division as normal. Perfectly one. A beautiful and wonderful image.

Each year, Anita and I have the privilege of leading the Dynamic Catholic Pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. And on Wednesdays when we're there, assuming the Pope is in town, the Pope has his audience where he comes out into Saint Peter's Square, and he shares a teaching with everybody who's gathered there. And I still remember the very first time I experienced that. It's a very, very real holy moment every time we go. I remember the first time. We arrived early in order to be as near the front as possible. The Pope's chair sat beneath the canopy. Sections were cordoned off, and the security forces were in full display. When we arrived, believers had already begun to gather in Saint Peter's Square, at the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica built over the tomb of Saint Peter. All in all, there were probably 20,000 people gathered that day just to hear a 20-minute message from the Holy Father, the leader of the one church.

As we waited for the Pope to arrive, the crowds gathered, and the groups and individuals came from Asia and from Africa, from South America, from the United States, pilgrims from all across Europe, bands of religious sisters adorned in their defining garb, schoolchildren from around Italy waving flags and cheering and singing, collections of religious brothers praying the rosary in anticipation of the Pope's appearance and teaching. A dozen recently married couples sat near the canopy, knowing they were going to receive a personal blessing from the Pope after his words of instruction. The brides wore their wedding gowns. Choirs sang. Banners flew. Chants melodiously hung in the air. The Holy Spirit saturated the front porch of the church like a mist as people from every race, nation, and tongue gathered for one sacred purpose. Before my eyes, the world was gathering as one to worship Jesus Christ. We gathered there as one body, one global divine family. A holy moment. The Holy Spirit, overwhelming. Here I was, sitting in the middle of 20,000 fellow pilgrims. It had taken years, but now I was there. As the one church, we looked differently. We spoke differently. But we shared the same Lord, the same Eucharist, the same Holy Father, and the same Blessed Mother. We really were one family. And so Jesus prayed. "Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one even as we are one.