Historians observe that Christianity has gone through a major upheaval every 500 years or so. In 476 the Western Roman Empire fell. In 1054 the church split east and west. Then in 1517 the Protestant Reformation splintered the church, opening the door, it seems, for the fracture of the church into thousands and thousands of denominations and independent churches. Now you and I are living in the next 500 year inflection point, and Christianity seems more divided than ever. Yet as we will see, Jesus prayed that we, his followers, would be unified. Has Jesus’ prayer request been fulfilled or not? Seems not. Let’s take a look.
Jesus concludes his prayer in John 17, praying for the people who will become his true followers because of the ministry of the disciples. First, we look at what he prays in verses 20-23.
“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Does this prayer sound familiar? Jesus already prayed for unity for his disciples, now he expands that prayer request to all Christians. Fast-forward 2000 years and I wonder what Jesus thinks about his church’s practice of unity. From the earliest days of the church, as we read in the book of Acts, unity was a struggle.
Certainly Christians have poorly mistreated one another over the years. Christians have parted ways. We have not been unified in so many ways. But that is also somewhat, or mostly, on a human level. Humans created denominations, different churches, different doctrinal statements.
But what about the church universal? The Apostle’s Creed refers to this church in the phrase, “I believe in the holy catholic church.” As a Protestant Christian, I’ve heard people confused about this, to the point where they change that line. The reason is the word, “catholic.” Notice that “catholic” is lower-case, meaning that it is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church. Instead “catholic” means “universal” or “general,” and refers to all Christians through all time. That church cannot be broken. Jesus holds it together.
Christians have also sought unity. The Conestoga Valley Ministerium is an example of unity in the church here in our school district. Mennonites, Lutherans, Methodists, Independents, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Reformed, all putting our differences aside to work together for the mission of Jesus. It is so vibrant and encouraging. I’m working with two Mennonite pastors to create a ministerium prayer station for the CV Bonfire in October. What a joy working together with two pastors from a different denomination, but whose are hearts are aligned to reach the community for Jesus. It’s not about our churches, it’s about pointing people to Jesus.
This is prayer for unity is also why I love that my congregation has opened our building to so many different Christians: Baptist, Orthodox, Pentecostal. And Christians from around the world: Haiti, Honduras, Burma and Puerto Rico.
Yes, it is sad that there are divisions in the church, but we can still be the answer to Jesus’ prayer.
Engaging Scripture 