Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Happy Mothers Day!
Now
I don’t know if it’s true for all kids, or if it was just me, but I loved
trying to eavesdrop on my mom and dad.
When I was a kid my bedroom was immediately adjacent to theirs. And when I woke up in the morning, I could
sometimes hear them talking, but because of the wall between our rooms, I could
never really make out what they were saying.
It was muffled and wasn’t understandable. I wanted to be in on the conversation, though
it was none of my business. I wanted to
know if they were talking about me, or perhaps, get some dirt on my sisters.
Haven’t
we all, at times, been tempted to eavesdrop on someone else’s
conversation? If you had two landline
phones in your house, and someone else was talking on the phone on the other
side of the house, how tempting it was to pick up the other phone and listen
in. Well, today, we get to eavesdrop on
Jesus and His prayer to the Father. We
get a glimpse into the mind of our Lord as He’s about to go to the cross. The night before He suffers and dies for the
sins of the world, for your sins, He prays.
This
prayer is the third part of what has been called “The High Priestly
Prayer.” As Jesus prays this prayer,
it’s Maundy Thursday. He has washed His
disciples feet, He has fed them the Last Supper, and Judas has left to do his
dastardly deed. And in the midst of all
of this Jesus prays. He prays for
Himself. He prays for His
disciples. He prays for His Church. And He prays for you.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for
those who will believe in me through their word that they may all be one, just
as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that
the world may believe that You have sent me.”
Jesus prays for
unity and oneness in the Church for a reason.
So that the world, as Jesus says, “May believe that You have sent
Me.” Yet, how does the world view the
Church? Endless divisions, sinful
people, supposed “Christians” who aren’t any better than the world is. More and more people are giving up on
“organized religion,” seeing the divisions.
“How can a Church have so many denominations,” they ask. So, how does the Church achieve unity and
oneness?
First,
we must recognize that the cause of all divisions and disunity is caused by
sin. Sin is the grit that grinds our
relationships with each other and with God.
It all comes down to idolatry, to a lack of trust. We all have our own idea of what truth should
be. In our age, truth is something
that’s personal but not absolute.
“What’s true for you may not be true for me, so let’s just agree to
disagree.” Or, “You just interpret the
Bible differently, but we’re really saying the same thing.” That’s not unity! That’s a false unity built on the opinions
and feelings of men.
This isn’t the oneness or the
unity for which Jesus prays. And this isn’t the Father’s answer to His
Son’s praying. It’s a unity and a oneness that’s in Jesus Himself. “I in them and you in me.”
This is a unity in faith. In Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the forgiveness
of sins. A oneness in the Word of God preached and lived truly and
faithfully. You see, unity isn’t
found in ignoring the Word of God, or by dismissing it for the sake of a false
“peace.” We don’t make our own unity,
God gives it to us in His Word.
God’s
Word is, by it’s nature, divisive. As
the writer to the Hebrews writes in Chapter 4, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God’s Word, indeed, divides truth from
falsehood.
But
we don’t want to place ourselves under any authority. We’re Americans! We’re autonomous and free. But that’s where division in the Church
starts; when we substitute our own ideas of what should and shouldn’t be for
what God has said. By refusing to place
ourselves under the Word of God.
The
first step for unity in the Christian Church is to repent. Repent that we’ve ignored the Word of God and
in its place inserted our own religious ideas.
Repent for falling into the lie that’s constantly whispered, “Did God
really say…” Repent for seeking our own “truth” instead of the Truth of
Scripture. Repent for not letting His
love have His way with us, so our love for others has failed. And of all the band of sinful misfits
gathered here, I’m the chief of sinners.
Oneness isn’t found in us, in our own ideas, in our own thoughts, in the
way that we think things ought to be, but in the unerring Word of God. It’s found in Christ who came so that we
would have unity and oneness with God Himself.
Look
at the cross and the lifeless body of Jesus.
What have we deserved from God because of our rebellious disregard of
His holy Word? Total hellish
separation. Yet, Jesus goes to the cross
for you that this separation would never happen. He pours out His blood for you, that you
would have perfect peace and unity with the Father. He puts Himself as enmity with the Father,
becoming sin for you. The Father pours
out His entire wrath onto His only Son, so that you would be at one with God
and we get what we don’t deserve: peace with God and the heavenly inheritance
of the Son. God loves you for the sake
of Christ. You’re at peace with
God. In Christ, there is no charge even
He can bring against you. You’re at
unity with Him.
Jesus
prays, “Father, I desire that they also,
whom you have given Me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you
have given Me because you loved Me before the foundation of the World.” Because Jesus displayed His bloody glory
in full on the cross, for you, heaven’s gates have burst open that you would
see Jesus’ glory in heaven. Peace has
been made between you and God and so it is with His Church on earth.
Unity
isn’t something that we have to make ourselves.
It’s not something that we can achieve if we try hard enough. Peace and unity within the Christian Church
comes by repenting of our sin, forgiving each other, and looking to Christ who
bore His cross for the world, for His Church, and for you. And having been made privy to Jesus’ prayer,
let us continue to live in our baptismal life as Christians. Repenting of our sins, forgiving those who
sin against us, and always looking to Christ who heals every wound, so that we
can show love to those around us.
He lives in you. You
live in Him. After all, He died and rose for you. He baptized
you. He feeds you. You’re part of the church
for which He prays. And not even the gates of hell will prevail against
her or you. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
