16 May 2013 - a more perfect union

16 May 2013 - a more perfect union

“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,

How important is the unity of which Jesus speaks?  Isn't unity just fru-fru feel good hand holding with no great significance?  If unity is just sentimentality then it is natural to think so.  But unity has roots that go much deeper.

as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,

Unity is the mystery and power of the Trinity at work in the world.  Perhaps we have not yet known this unity but only its cheap substitute: sentimentality.  We need to prize the unity that comes from the Father highly.  A lot is riding on it:

that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Clearly such unity is not that result of our human efforts.  It is supernaturally caused by the prayer of Jesus.  Only such power can have results like these.

We are united as one that we can be brought to perfection together.  It is the opposite of the Sadducees and Pharisees in the first reading.  Their disunity sets them against each other and keeps the possibility of being perfected by God in the distance.

When we are being brought to perfection as one it is something so supernatural that the world can see it.  On our own we tend to have the opposite effect on one another.  When we rise out of the self serving patterns of the world and act in selflessness and love the rest of the world can't help be take note.

It is such a powerful testimony that is not only proves something ambiguously supernatural is happening with regard to unity but rather it proves the supernatural love of God the Father for us.

The love with which the Father loves the Son is the Holy Spirit.  Only the Holy Spirit has the power to unite us in a way that is convincing beyond mere sentimentality.  It is evident in the early Church of Acts in which we see the disciples holding all things in common.  There is no thought among them of some individual and private path to salvation that modern Americans might prefer.  They don't neglect to meet together on the LORD's day and encourage one another leading up to that day (cf. Heb 10:25). They devote themselves to the apostles' teaching, to prayer, fellowship, and the breaking of the bread (cf Acts 2:42).

When we go to great lengths to ensure that people feel welcome in our Churches it is a good impulse.  But the liability of such an impulse is for it to become a merely human effort and therefore sentimentality.  But human effort cannot bridge the great differences between us.  Jesus can do so, however, and his prayer assures us that he is ready and willing.

When the world sees us united in pursuing one goal above all its pleasures it will have to take notice.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot. 

The early Church is united in pursuing this.  Let us learn from them.  Let us seek to be filled with the Spirit and so give witness that the Son is sent by the Father and that they love us all immensely.

The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

Jars of Clay - They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love