TO BE ONE

The lectionary lesion for next week is John 17:1-11, but I will address the whole passage through verse 26 in anticipation of next week's worship.

The High Priestly Prayer is in THREE parts.
The first is Jesus' prayer for Himself, in completion of His mission.
The second is Jesus' prayer for His disciples, victorious over sin because they are unified with one another and with God.
The third is Jesus' prayer for the church universal, that they may have unity in love.

Jesus is all about Unity in Agape Love.
The Kingdom of God is all about Unity in Agape Love.
The world is about division, inequities, conflict, ruthlessness, merit, person gain at the expense of others, exclusion, arrogant hubris, greed, hatred, power with which to exploit and abuse others, status for self above others and the sense of superiority that comes with it and opulence for some on the backs of those who struggle to survive.  The world is built on empire values.

We are empire in the United States of America today.
Our actions reveal our values, which expose the truth of our devotion and loyalties, even for many in the church.
Jesus still prays for us, on our behalf, with the Father.

Our nation was built on the enslavement and genocide of whole cultures.
Our nation has exploited and manipulated the world for our own gains for generations.
Our nation has considered itself exceptional over others, and has even developed an American Civil Religion that claims the name of Jesus, but devotes itself to Wealth, Power and Status.
Our nation claims the name of Jesus, the Commander of Agape Love, but manufactures hatred among its own people so that those with wealth, power and status can keep it all at the expense of the rest.
Our nation has now abandoned its most vulnerable to give the elites more.
Our nation has walked away from allegiances formed for justice and Democracy, to pursue injustices and Fascist Oligarchy.
Our nation needs the High Priest to pray on our behalf.

We, disciples of  Jesus and the church universal, need to repent - to change our thinking so that our direction will change.
We, disciples of Jesus and the church universal, need to live what Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us to live - Agape Love and Grace, as Kingdom values.
That is our hope.  It alone is faithfulness to God.

The summary of this passage and prayer, is that the world will have the love that God has shown within ourselves.  That is Jesus' prayer for the world.
If we, disciples of Jesus and the church universal, would witness to that vision and live it, then the world would take note (especially because it is so distinct from the empire values we have seen normalized since 1981 in the church and society), and imitate that, even become a part of the body of Christ.  It happened in the First Century, according to Acts.

One thing is certain - the path we are on is not a sustainable one for life on this planet.
Our hope, I believe our only hope, is that we will live the Agape Love and Grace that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for us to live, here and now, in THIS PART of the Kingdom.

THAT WE WOULD BE ONE, AS JESUS AND THE FATHER ARE ONE.
UNITY IN LOVE.
Pastor Jamie