Sunday, May 28th – Unity

Sunday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Psalm 68
Ezekiel 39:21-29
Peter 1:12-19
John 17:1-11

Unity   
John 17:1-11

I think a lot of people have a lot of different conceptions about what it means to be unified.  For some, the idea of unity means that we all think and act alike.  We walk in lock step, with common beliefs and common actions.  For those who hold this conception of unity, there’s also usually the mindset that if you’re not with us, then you’re against us.  For others, unity is marked by allowing others to live as they would see fit to live.  As long as we get along, overlooking our diversity, we’re unified.  For others still, and this can be the mindset in the church, unity means blindly going along with whatever the leader thinks is best.

While it’s probably possible to label each of these depictions as unity, they all miss something important about unity.  For a long while, I’ve been fascinated by one of the main tenants of Christianity, the Trinity.  If you’re unfamiliar with this idea, at a very basic level, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God exists as one in three.  So, like Judaism and Islam, we confess that there is just one God.  The difference is we believe that God reveals himself to us in three ways, as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  God is three, yet one.

There are no shortage of analogies which seek to explain this complex and headache-inducing concept, and most of them fall short, breaking down or inadvertently lead us into heresy.  My favorite way to talk about the Trinity is as a circle dance.  The image is that the members of the Trinity are forever joined in a circular dance where there is unity of purpose and movement and love.  The Father loves the Son, and the Son returns the love while loving the Spirit as well.  The Spirit goes out from the Father and the Son and invites others to join in this divine dance with God.  There is true unity in this Trinitarian circle dance.

In today’s gospel passage, we read a prayer given by Jesus at the end of a rather long section of teaching.  In a lot of ways, he’s wrapping up some of what he wants the disciples to know.  One of the things that always jumps out at me when I read Jesus’ prayer is Jesus’ petition that his followers be protected so that they might be one as Jesus and the Father are one.

I must confess that I’m not totally sure what you and I being one like Jesus and the Father are one really looks like.  I’m sure it doesn’t look like most models of leadership, christian or otherwise.  I’m also convinced that much of the church doesn’t even come close to operating like anything that looks like Trinitarian unity.  Anyway, it’s always easier to define something by what it’s not.

What I am convinced of is that striving toward Trinitarian unity is a worthy cause.  Selflessness is a worthy cause.  So is deference toward others.  Mutual love that goes all in for the sake of the beloved is essential.  I’m convinced of it.

It’s probably not practical.  Trinitarian unity, that is.  But I believe it’s what Jesus wants for us, and I’m committed to trying to live that way with my family, those I minister to and with, and with those all around me.  I hope you’ll join me in trying, too.

Prayer: O God, forgive us for thinking we’ve achieved unity when we probably haven’t.  Help us to look toward you for the answer to what it means to be unified.  Help us be one with each other as you are one.  Amen.