And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one
We are meant to live in the unity of the Trinity even in our relationships with one another as Church. This is the unity of the Spirit. It is not trivial or abstract. It is visible enough for outsiders to notice.
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
We are called to live a unity which, to an outsider, doesn't make sense, and doesn't even seem possible. We're too different. Our personalities don't align. Our temperaments are often diametrically opposed. Yet we can, in spite of this, manifest a unity that is supernatural and amazing.
The world is rightly scandalized when they see divisions among us. These divisions reveal our all to evident human failings. We are not meant to be easy to divide on doctrinal lines like the Pharisees and the Sadduccees. We are meant to be united around the person of Jesus Christ. We are meant to be held in union by the glory he himself receives from the Father.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
It is, in fact, that direct line of grace, of glory, of divine life, that makes the unity to which we are called possible. It is a posture of receiving what God does not cease to pour upon us. It is constantly being filled and filled again with the Spirit and the words of Christ. As soon as we take the initiative ourselves we find ourselves fragmenting along the lines of our human failings.
In the midst of divisions we can take courage. Even if the waves of the sea have taken our gaze from the horizon there is a fixed point to which we can look, a lighthouse guiding our way, a voice calling us home.
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."
Assuredly Paul would not be able to walk in union with the plans of God for the Church without the Spirit. If he put himself first he wouldn't go anywhere near Rome. But Paul receives the glory from Jesus which the Father gives. He is able to follow no matter the cost.
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.
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