My favorite Gospel account is John’s. I like it because John spends more time on
Jesus’ week leading up to the crucifixion, and, no other book has as many “red
letters.” A case could be made that John
was the closest of all the disciples to Jesus, as Jesus told him to “take care
of my mom” while hanging on the cross. John also recorded some other amazing
things Jesus said hours earlier, like:
After washing twelve pair of dirty feet, He said, “Do you
understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and
‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
should wash one another’s feet. I have
set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:12b-15)
A bit later He said, “My command is this: Love each other as
I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay
down his life for his friends. You are
my friends if you do what I command. John 15:12-14
And then, just before going out into the garden, where He
knows He is going to be arrested, Jesus prays for His disciples. And at the end
of that prayer He prays for us – you and me!
Hard to imagine, but it’s true…
“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. John 17:20-23
Two things jump out at me in His prayer. First, Jesus cares more about unity than we
have. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that the most segregated hour of
Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning. Unfortunately this statement still stands
true. Of course, King was talking of race and how men and women of different
color choose to worship separately. But we know separation isn’t confined to
race. Economic status, age, denomination, various life choices, etc. all prove
to be issues that separate more than unite. Sad.
Second, Jesus says our unity has a very specific purpose –
to encourage the world to believe that – God sent Jesus and that He loves. Unity with a purpose!
So, over the past few weeks our church, Washington Christian
Church, and Faith Connection Church have been discussing and planning for a
time of worship together. We’ve named this worship service “Seventeen
Twenty-One” as a reminder of Jesus’ prayer for unity.
It is scheduled for September 27, at 10:30am, at the
Washington County High School Gymnasium, and it will take the place of our
usual Sunday morning worship. All three churches are taking a leadership role,
and other area churches have been invited to join us. An offering will be
taken, and it has already been designated to go to yet to be determined need at
the school. In other words, we want our unity to impact our community and draw
attention to our Savior Jesus Christ! Unity with a purpose!
Please mark this date down on your calendars and make plans
to attend. And, invite others to come!
