“Fostering Belief, Oneness and Love”
Sermon Presented May 16, 2010
John 17:20-26
Because I am program chair for my Rotary club, I usually sit with the speaker during dinner. My nametag has the classification of Clergy on it, so I am often asked about my church and denomination. Last week I was visiting with the speaker and the topic unsurprisingly turned to “church”. He was bemoaning the status of his denomination, and mentioned that there is a good likelihood they will split after a controversial decision at the national meeting last summer.
No matter what denomination Christians belong to, members believe differently on some topics. That holds true in most churches, too. And because of those differences, tension, anger, and disunity often prevail – harming the witness of the church and the denomination, as well as the ability to serve those in need. Love for one another lessens as conflicts grow. We have trouble moving past our differences to attain unity and love. When unity and love are achieved, the importance of our differences will diminish.
Jesus knew people well! He not only understood his followers, but he understood 21st century Christians as well. Human nature is the same in all generations, even though the issues change. Because Jesus understood people, he knew what they needed and he knew how to pray. He prayed for his followers, and then he prayed for all who would come to a knowledge of him through their witness.
Our text this morning is the conclusion of the prayer Jesus offered right before his crucifixion. It’s a prayer that was on target for his followers as well as for us.
John 17:20-26
Have you ever considered that the people who are mentioned in the biblical stories were either very good or very bad – and sometimes both, like David? The ordinary – the in the middle kind of person – didn’t make good copy, and thus isn’t part of the written word. Their stories were probably like ours – not especially good – or especially bad. They struggled with issues we understand, and those issues are addressed in Jesus’ prayer.
Even though we are separated by almost 2000 years, we get it when Jesus prays as he does for them – and for us – because we know what he’s talking about. We understand that we come up short in our discipleship because we aren’t united as we should be and we don’t love as we should love. We may even “get it” that our witness is affected by our lack of unity and love, but we often don’t get it enough to decide to change.
And how do we change, anyway? Most of us are pretty much set in our ways. An awareness of our need to change is piqued through conversations, scripture, sermons, articles, hymns, prayers, and/or loving actions – and as God opens our hearts to new understanding we see the need to change. Until we see the light, we won’t act, and until we act differently, because of what we see, we won’t change. To be more specific, unless we act in loving ways toward people, we will fall short in love and unity.
I may say I want to be united with all Christians, but until I’m willing to listen to those I disagree with, I’m only fooling myself. It takes effort to build positive relationships. We have to work at doing loving acts toward those we disagree with. As we listen, we can begin by practicing civility toward our friends, associates and enemies.
We can also learn to cultivate contentment with the things in life that can’t be changed. Next year I will be a year older than I am today and I will have less money than I have today. Next year my memory will be no better than now – and probably it will be worse. I don’t have the gift to preach as I would like or the sense of humor my son Gary has. I must learn to be content with the things I can’t change, and when I am, I will be more understanding of others. When we are content, we have greater inner peace and are more generous toward ourselves and others. Greed, ill will and jealousy decrease when we are content.
Okay, then how do we foster the qualities Jesus prayed for? We must work at it. First, we need to spend more time with God seeking better self-understanding. Often the problems we see as those of another are our own problems. This past week I have been overwhelmed with self-awareness, and it hasn’t been pleasant. Hopefully this understanding will be the impetus for me to change.
Now I want to interject something we need to keep in mind. Sometimes we fail to stand up for what’s right because we don’t want to make waves or upset someone or let another know we don’t agree on a certain point. That’s not good either. I try to choose my battles – but because I don’t like conflict, I sometimes fail to confront when I should – or my anger erupts in inappropriate ways. When we harbor hurt or anger, we need to address it. Our feelings may only be the result of a misunderstanding.
Jesus knew his followers didn’t think alike! They had different backgrounds, beliefs and goals. They squabbled over who was the most important among them. But no matter how immature and incomplete they were, Jesus accepted them and loved them. No matter how much heartache they caused him, he still wanted the best for them. In fact, he wanted them to live such good lives in community that unbelievers would come to the belief that he was sent by God, and that’s how he prayed. He prayed that they would be completely one.
People aren’t going to have right beliefs just because someone points them out or hammers at them. We come to right beliefs when someone loves us to understanding. My guess is that you are a Christian today because of some loving Christian in your life, and not because of dogmatic teachings. Right beliefs develop over a lifetime. However the beliefs aren’t as important to Jesus as the love and unity. He prays that his disciples show love and unity so that those who aren’t his followers will believe that he came from God.
We help foster unity and love of God’s people through our loving acts. Most of you have heard me say over and over again that biblical “love” isn’t a feeling but actions. When you show concern for a sick or lonely neighbor; when you prepare or purchase food to feed the hungry; when you listen carefully to the person whose beliefs are 180 degrees from yours; when you act with civility toward others with a different point of view; when you pray for your enemies instead of cursing them; when you learn to love and accept yourself with all of your imperfections; when the good of the whole supersedes your own desires; when listening – real listening is more important than speaking; when an act of forgiveness is offered instead of an act of judgment; then love abounds and unity happens.
Having said this, there are times to protest and times to firmly stand up for what we believe. Without such actions, nothing changes. However, we attack the issue and not the person.
Next Sunday we celebrate Pentecost Sunday – where barriers fall and unity breaks out with the advent of God’s Holy Spirit. In this group of Jews representing all countries of the known world – differences abounded! But even with those differences, walls crashed and unity burst forth. And as a result, people came to believe that Jesus was sent by God.
The unity to which we are to ascribe isn’t for our sake alone, but as a witness to the world! Unity witnesses to the love of God in an individual and the Christian community.
In our text of six verses, “love” is mentioned five times. “Love” describes God’s relationship with Jesus, and the relationship Christians are to have with God and one another. The emphasis is clear.
Wilanna has chosen the perfect hymn to close this service – “Help Us Accept Each Other” by Fred Kaan. The words of the first verse go like this: “Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us; teach us as sister, brother each person to embrace. Be present, Lord, among us and bring us to believe we are ourselves accepted, and meant to love and live.”
The prayer of the hymn and the prayer Jesus offered might sound like sentimental idealism if we didn’t know what happened next in the story of Jesus. All the way to the cross, Jesus lived that self-giving love that he sought in his prayer for his followers. If we take this kind of love to heart – if we really believe it and live it – Christian divisions and hostilities will melt away. That’s the hope that courses through Jesus’ prayer for us.
05/16/2010
