Unity
by Maria Rudolph
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That they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity (John 17:22b,23a).
Read John 17:20–26
The theme for General Synod next year is ‘The gift of God – It’s grace that unites us’. What a beautiful encapsulation of the ending of Jesus’ high priestly prayer in our John reading today. Jesus is the culmination of God’s grace through the redemption of all people by his blood. A better gift doesn’t exist. The climax of Jesus’ extensive prayer captured in John 17 is for the unity of all believers – that we may be one as Jesus and the Father are. If only we could achieve such a blessed unity in our earthly life already. But it seems this will only come to completion when Jesus returns.
Jesus, who is fervently praying for unity, is also the very one in whom we find true unity. Paul reminds us (Ephesians 4:3–6): ‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’
The key is Jesus. The reason for unity is one hope: grace – the redemption through Jesus’ blood. The reason for unity is one baptism – new birth through water and the word. God the Father is over all, through all and in all. Jesus is the centre. The foundation. The focus. The reason. Unity in faith means all believers can follow, serve and proclaim Christ and this blessed hope – together. Unity in Christ means finding common ground in Jesus, which sustains us when we have theological, cultural and practical differences. The colour of our skin, the language we speak, our convictions on what music or liturgy we should have in worship, if women or men should be ordained, or whether we can pray in tongues – our starting point in any of our big and small issues is recalling our Christ-centred unity as baptised believers. This is an ongoing work in progress to which we are called in different ways throughout in our lives. Let us take the words of Jesus’ prayer and make them our own – especially as our LCANZ journeys toward the General Convention of Synod in 2024.
Today, our prayer comes from song lyrics by Robin Mann (used with permission).
May we be one,
bound in love forever,
growing close together day by day;
growing as God fills us with his life –
we are joined in him; he makes us one.
May we be one,
as our Father planned it –
may the love of Jesus make us strong.
No-one can harm us when he is near –
he has brought us peace; he makes us one.
May we be one,
Jesus’ truth to bind us –
with his body, he unites us all;
dying our death, he restores our life,
living with us now; he makes us one.
May we be one,
sharing life together
with the Father and his only Son.
Now we have life in this world of death;
heaven has begun; he makes us one. Amen.
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