The Oneness that Makes God Known

St. Paul’s Church in Bergen, Jersey City NJ

May 12, 2013

Year C: The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 16:16-34

Psalm 97

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

John 17:20-26

The Oneness that Makes God Known

            The lesson I just read comes from the Gospel of John’s account of the Last Supper – the final meal shared between Jesus and his closest friends and followers.

            The way John tells the story, since Jesus knows that his time on earth is running out, he tries – in what’s called the Final Discourse - to get through to his often thick-headed followers, to teach them – and to teach us here today - what’s most important.

            So, at that final meal, Jesus gets down on his hands and knees and washes the feet of his disciples, acting out his most important lesson: that we are all meant to be loving servants of God and loving servants of one another.

            And now, in today’s passage, we come to the end of the Farewell Discourse, the end of the Last Supper.

            And what does Jesus do at the end of his time with his friends?

            No surprise: Jesus prays.

            Jesus prays for his disciples gathered around him – and Jesus prays for us.             
            Jesus says, "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, 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.”

            At the end of the Last Supper, at the end of his time with his friends, at the end of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus prays for oneness.

            Jesus prays for oneness among his disciples back in Jerusalem two thousand years ago – and Jesus prays for oneness among us here today.

            Jesus prays for the oneness that makes God known.

            Unfortunately, most of the time we fall far short of oneness.

            You don’t need me to tell you that the city, the country, the world, and even often the church are broken, fragmented and divided.

            Often we are broken between the rich and the poor, fragmented by race and ethnicity, divided between liberals and conservatives.

            Often we are broken between urbanites and suburbanites, fragmented by our success and our failure, divided between the young and not so young.

            Often we watch our own TV channels, making sure that we’re never exposed to points of view or cultures different from our own.

            Often we demonize people who disagree with us – willing to assume the worst – willing to assume that our opponents are not just wrong but that they’re mean-spirited, malicious and maybe even downright evil.

            And, all too often the Church falls far short of oneness.

            Over the years the three remaining Episcopal churches in Jersey City have not always been willing or able to work well together.

            And just walk around our neighborhood and see all the churches of the many Christian denominations, including our own, that all exist because of disagreements and divisions that usually later on seem to have been not so important.

            Yet, like Humpty Dumpty, once something gets broken – even the Body of Christ – it’s nearly impossible to put it back together again.

            Yet, Jesus still prays for his followers – prays for us - to be one, like he and the Father are one.

            And, every once in a while, we get a glimpse of the oneness that Jesus prays for – the oneness among his followers, the oneness of all people, the oneness that makes God known.

            Often we glimpse that oneness in times of disaster and tragedy.

            Like most of you, I remember very well the glimpse of oneness we saw after the September 11 attacks. I remember that first terrible evening when Fr. Hamilton gathered some of us together to pray and grieve over in the chapel, when we reached out to those in need, when we cut each other as much slack as needed, when just about the whole world became one in solidarity against unspeakable horror committed against people just sitting at their desks or taking a flight on a crystal clear morning.

            And in the years since, when there have been attacks here and elsewhere, when American cities have been submerged by powerful storms, often we’ve glimpsed that oneness yet again.

            Fortunately, it’s not just in times of tragedy that we glimpse the oneness that makes God known.

            Often we glimpse that oneness in the bond between parent and child – and today on Mother’s Day we celebrate the special love – the unique unity between mother and child – the oneness formed over nine months of pregnancy and years of loving care.

            And, at our best, we glimpse the oneness that makes God known right here in church, right here at St. Paul’s.

            I’ll never forget the first Sunday that my wife Sue and I walked through those doors.

            We were struck by so much: the beauty of this place, the diversity of the congregation, Fr. Hamilton’s smart and passionate preaching, and the wonderful music.

            But, as some of you know, I’ve never gotten over the exchange of peace.

            Where we came from when you went to church you hoped nobody would sit close so when it was time for the peace you could just give a little wave or a nod or maybe the peace sign.

            But, here…just about everybody was out in the aisle, greeting each other with what looked like and, it turned out was, genuine affection and deep love.

            For a few minutes, our fragmentation, our brokenness, and our divisions are healed – and we glimpse, we experience, the oneness that makes God known.

            And then after we glimpse oneness during the peace, we experience oneness in the most profound way imaginable when we gather at the Lord’s Table, reach out our hands and take the Body and Blood of Christ into our bodies and into our hearts.

            At the end of the Last Supper, Jesus prayed for his disciples, and then he said, "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, 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.”

            At the end of the Last Supper, at the end of his time with his friends, at the end of the Farewell Discourse, Jesus prays for oneness.

            And, Jesus is still praying for oneness – for the oneness that makes God known here at St. Paul’s – the oneness that makes God known in Jersey City, in the diocese, in the country and throughout the world.

            Jesus is still praying for oneness – for the oneness that will unite us with our sister churches in Jersey City, inspiring us to proclaim together the Good News in deed and in word.

            Jesus is still praying for oneness – for the oneness that will break down the divisions between rich and poor, between black and white, between the successes and the failures, between liberals and conservatives, between the young and the old, between suburbanites and urbanites.

            Jesus is still praying for oneness – for the oneness that like an earthquake will rock the world’s foundations, the oneness that will heal the bad history and mistrust between the oppressors and the oppressed, between the jailers and the jailed, between the powerful and the weak.

            Jesus is still praying for oneness – for the oneness that makes God known.

            And so as we begin a new chapter together, may we here at St. Paul’s answer Jesus’ prayer - and be one, making God known to Jersey City and beyond.

            Amen.