That They May Be One (Memorial To Robb Elementary Version)

THAT THEY MAY BE ONE (Memorial to Robb Elementary version)

Text : John 17:1 - 11

John 17:1-11  After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,  (2)  since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  (3)  And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  (4)  I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do.  (5)  So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.  (6)  "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.  (7)  Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;  (8)  for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.  (9)  I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.  (10)  All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.  (11)  And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one (NRSV).

Jesus called His disciples (then and now), cleansed them with His word (John 15:3) and prayed over them before He sent them into the world to do greater things (John 14:12). Jesus asked God Father to protect them (and us) and keep them united to Him in much the same way that a branches are connected to a life-giving vine because apart from Jesus who is the vine we can do nothing that will bear fruit (John 15:5). This did not mean that they would not face hard times.

Today, we face hard times when we see evil do its worst. Not a day goes by when we don’t hear about greed, corruption, crime, dishonesty, shootings and other acts of violence and war.

Jesus also gave us the Holy Spirit who regenerates us in our baptism, unites us in the Body of Christ and animates us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was finishing the work that God sent Him to do before they nailed Him to the cross when He prayed this prayer! If there was ever a time in our world need the answer to that prayer to be one as God the Father and Jesus the Son are one it is now! We hurt with those who hurt and for those who have experienced a horrible tragedy like this school shooting. So how does that prayer get answered through His disciples today until Jesus comes back?

We need unity! We need peace! We need perseverance!

UNITY

Why is unity so important to the Church---- Body of Christ? Christian unity according to God’s design does not happen by default. Our unity is about our staying connected to our Creator and each other.

1) Rebellion: Adam and Eve rebelled when they sinned in the Garden of Eden and they were banished from the Garden of Eden for their own good (Genesis 3:23). “ Their misdeed resulted in spiritual death and hence the loss of the life and image of God. … Their misdeed also showed a determination not to seek happiness in God but in the world in the works of His hands. … God banished them into the place of toil and not the place of torment which was an act of mercy”. (Kernneth J. Collins. And Robert Wall. eds. Wesley One Volume Commentary. [quoted and paraphrased] Bill T. Arnold. “Genesis”. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2020, p. 7 -8).

2) Restoration: Through Jesus Christ the Word made flesh we have been restored because of the price that Jesus paid for us on the Cross.

If we allow others to divide us, then do we not allow them to destroy us? Don’t we need unity now more than ever? Doesn’t division among Christians weaken and destroy our witness? As someone (Tommy Tenney) once said, “If God has a bad reputation in the world today, it is our fault”. (Tommy Tenney. God’s Dream Team. Ventura, California: Regal Books, 199, p. 39). That stings when t is true.

PEACE

How does our unity effect our peace?