Unity

“My prayer is not for them alone. 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.   – Jesus of Nazareth

Have you ever wondered what Jesus would say if you had a chance to hear him pray for you?  There is a passage, tucked away at the end of the Gospel of John that allows us to listen in, so to speak, on one of Jesus’ prayers.  The prayer takes place after Judas has been sent off to do what he needed to do, after Jesus has spent an afternoon and evening gathered with his friends preparing for Sabbath and possibly celebrating Passover, and while Jesus is keenly aware that their time together is about to come to a dramatic end.  In fact, the prayer seems a natural extension of that afternoon’s conversation in which Jesus offers challenge, explanation, and lots of hope to the ones who will be most affected by the events about to take place.  Jesus knows it will not be easy, for him or for those who love him.  So, he does what any God-loving Jewish man would do, he prays.  Not the pray of ritual or symbol, not the stilted prayer of those who are afraid or uncertain in God’s presence, but he prays a simple, heartfelt, prayer for himself, for his disciples, and for those who will come to believe.

A Prayer for Us

That means you and me.  Here in this chapter tucked away at the end of the fourth gospel, we have the precious opportunity to hear what our big brother, the one who has walked the spiritual path before us, asks God on our behalf.  What does he ask for?  Not peace, not freedom from trouble, not financial security or good looks – he prays for our unity.  He prays in terms that are unmistakably powerful.  That we may be one just as he and his Father are one.

Jesus’ union with God is not negotiable, He and God are one  – no matter what has happened, or will happen.  No matter how he might feel about what is ahead – Jesus and God are united.  It is a done deal.  He couldn’t be seperated from God if he wanted to be – they are one!  This is the unity that he prays for those who will come after, for you and I.  That we may know we are one.  Despite the way we feel about each other, talk about each other, react to each other, or fear each other as children of God we are ONE.  Never alone, never separated, never isolated, through our connection with God, which is just as non-negotiable as Jesus’ was, we are all connected to each other.

Life in the Circle

Imagine a circle of humanity.  Within that circle there are those that we are close to, who’s company we enjoy, and those we would much rather have at the other side of the circle.  We want some distance there, so we are not affected by them or their behavior.  Now see that at the center of the circle is the Divine Light, radiating out to all and drawing us ever closer to itself.  As we draw closer to God we AUTOMATICALLY draw closer to God’s children.  The circle contracts and we are drawn into closer and closer intimacy with each other.  And we live happily ever after in a state of perpetual bliss?

Not a chance.  The closer we draw to each other the more we are impacted by our own fears and resentments.  The closer I am to you, the more I let you see into me, the more I feel like you have the power to hurt me.  I want to pull away, take my connection to the Divine and leave you – except we are connected to the same God who loves us BOTH.  This is the unity of God, where the Spirit calls us closer and then we face the fear of being connected to each other.  We’re not always nice, we’re not always democratic, we’re not always loving, we’re not always easy to get along with – and yet we are ONE.  United to each other through our union with God just as Jesus was.

The spiritual path is one of pull forward, pull away.  This is our path: drawn together by our connection to and experience of connection with God, pushed apart by our humanity and the belief we can harm each other, confronted once more by the Love of God, and pulled back into the circle.  It takes courage to live that way.  Let us be patient with ourselves, and with each other through this process.  None of us are easy to live with all the time, yet if we lean in to Unity we are seeking God’s will.  When we seek to know God’s will and to have the power to carry it out  the abundance of the universe is marshaled on our behalf.  When we are willing to stay, to face the fear and love each other even when we don’t like each other very much, we will be given everything we need to overcome the things that block us.

Unity, it’s a done deal.  Let’s live as if we believe it, looking always to God for the courage we need to face each other with love in our hearts and a smile on our faces.  The truth is, we’re in it together, whether we like it or not!