The farewell words of Jesus and Paul in today’s readings (John 17:11‑19; Acts 20:28‑38) are wonderful. Jesus is addressing his Father, and Paul is saying goodbye to the priests of Ephesus. It is moving to listen to Jesus pray for us. It is powerful, almost shocking, that he asks his Father that we might be as together, as united, as He is with his Father. He asks his Father, “keep them (us) in your name, that you have given me.”
How is it that if Jesus and the Father want us to be “together, as united” as they are, that we are so far from being “one”? I don’t mean just between the major Christian churches. It seems that there is so much lack of togetherness and lack of unity in the world: religious and ethnic fighting; almost continuous wars in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, central Asia; distrust between different faith communities; differences within our parishes; divisions in our families. Divisions that discourage us.
Yet when we see unity, when we see togetherness, we see a genuine one-ness that mirrors the one-ness of the Father and Jesus, it is very powerful and inspiring. When we see it, we don’t have to look very hard to notice that it is very counter cultural, not of this world. It is a glimpse of people Building the City of God®, a small view of the coming Kingdom.
The desire of Jesus, in his final prayer for us while here on earth, can give us hope. If it continues to be Jesus’ desire that our divisions be healed – and it surely must be – then Jesus will give us the graces that we need. The wonder is that no matter how stubborn or independent or uncooperative we are, it is our own deepest desire to be one with others. Many events in our lives may have done some damage to that desire – bruised it badly or hid it away for so long that we are unaccustomed to knowing it – but that desire, to be in communion with others, is deep in our hearts.
When Jesus says he “consecrates” us in the truth, perhaps he means that there is a sacredness in each of us that, with the spark of grace, is ready to live in the truth of who we are. The spark of grace is to experience the love Jesus has for us. He gave his very self for us – forsaking all the options that might have seemed “better for Him.” And he did this so that you and I might give ourselves to our relationships, our marriages, our communities, every good we try to do with others. Consecrated to the truth of who we are – for others, not for ourselves – we can be one – just as Jesus and the Father are one.
Let’s all pray to the Father today, in Jesus’ name, that we might all be one. It is a big prayer. It is a big desire. It begins at home, with the people closest to us, at work with the people with whom we struggle the most, in relationships that need the greatest healing. No greater joy awaits us; no mission is more pressing; nothing will change the world more dramatically. Nothing responds to the desire of Jesus more completely.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!