Last Will and Testament

 John 17:20-26 is the Gospel Lectionary text for Sunday, May 29.

This is Jesus' last Will and Testament before God.  It is His prayer of what He has done in His mission to draw humanity together, and His Will that all humanity be one, even as He and the Father are one.

So much of the witness of Jesus' teachings and commands are about human conduct with one another, along with acts of love that restore people to their well-being and to community, that we must look at this desire of Jesus, expressed here in John's Gospel, as His Will.

I have written, preached and talked about Agape Love being central in the teachings, commands and examples of Jesus, toward the Shalom of all people, for a long, long time now.  I believe that I can spend the rest of my life focusing on that and the perfecting of the living of it, and that I should do so.  The unity expressed here is very touching to me, and profound.  It is the Will of God that we all be unified in that Love, humanity with humanity and humanity with God.

I believe that we have much more in common than we have differences.  We have been taught and conditioned to immediately look at our differences, and that creates a barrier toward unity.  We go into encounters with others looking for what sets us apart, rather than what unites us.  We immediately have barriers to overcome in order for us to come together, learn about each other and form friendships or even civil acquaintanceships with others.  Stereotypes and prejudices immediately cloud our vision of one another, regardless of how much we may have in common.  Some among us have used these superficial differences to pit us one against another, so that they might manipulate us toward their own gain.  It has helped to create huge divisions within our nation and across the world.

Jesus, a Jewish Rabbi, reached out to gentiles, women, lepers, the unclean and even those who opposed Him, teaching and modeling love.  Rabbi Jesus used people of other beliefs as examples of faithfulness to God and healed them.  Rabbi Jesus taught people how to mend the broken relationships they had with God and with one another.  Rabbi Jesus gathered crowds and empowered them, even under the oppressive occupation of empire.  Rabbi Jesus acknowledged the worth of women in a society that de-valued them, and Rabbi Jesus lifted up children as special recipients of God's blessings and ones who are to be protected by adults.  Jesus gave His life for humanity, the ultimate unifying act of Love.  Jesus forgave even those who were executing Him, the ultimate unifying act of Love with enemy.

So, what the church has done over centuries is lift up not just this faith, but particular expressions of this faith, as the only right, legitimate belief system for all time and all people.  Jesus taught, commanded and modeled Love, and the church has taught, commanded and modeled indoctrination and assimilation into a culture of greed, lust for power over others and desire for status above others.

We have not honored Jesus' Last Will and Testament.  We have not become one, even among those who profess to follow the same Lord.  We are not united, but are divided - a broken, disjointed body.

I believe it is all about the Agape Love of Rabbi Jesus.  I believe that it is all about that within HUMANITY, and not just certain faiths or ethnicities or cultures or nations.  What we first have in common is our humanity, and the Love that Jesus taught can draw us together regardless of our differences, even of faith.  If it is about LOVE for everyone, then it is faithful to God.  If it is about LOVE for everyone, then it is faithful to Neighbor.

God, whom I believe to wholly other and yet immanent, or more accurately pervasive, is Love.  (I read that somewhere.)

I truly believe what a preacher, preaching among those who did not practice his same faith said, "The Lord is the one within whom I live and move and have my being."

I truly believe the witness of Rabbi Jesus saying, "The Kingdom of God is WITHIN/AMONG you."

I also believe many truths that I have heard and read from countless other belief systems and sacred texts that call for love, unity and peace (Shalom, Eireinei, Salem, etc.).  

In spite of our little differences, let us find our oneness with one another and thus with God, which is the only sustainable way for us to live in Shalom (completeness, wholeness and well-being for all people, which will lead to peace) in this world.

Otherwise, we are doomed to continue on this unsustainable path which leads to despair and destruction.

This is Rabbi Jesus' Last Will and Testament.

We had better start figuring out our own!