Jesus' Prayer for Christian Unity

John 17:20-26

"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. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

"Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

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Jesus has left the building. Sort of.

I mean, on Thursday, the liturgical calendar reminded anyone who pays attention to that sort of thing that it was the Festival of the Ascension where, 40 days following Easter’s resurrection, Jesus left for Heaven; to the other side of eternity; to be with God, the Father, in a different way.

And this bit of John’s Gospel we just heard is part of what the same people who pay attention to such things call Jesus’ “farewell discourse.” Only this long goodbye – which is three chapters long in John’s version of the story – really has more to do with his pending crucifixion and death, than it does with his ascension into Heaven. Which is to say, we’re all over the place, chronologically and liturgically, this morning.

But the nutshell of it all, no matter which leave-taking you focus on, is that Jesus is, or has, or will be leaving soon when we hear him praying this morning.

And I’ve always have a hard time with this passage – wrapping my brain around whatever in the world it is Jesus is trying to say and pray and convey. It’s clumsy, right? All of this talk about "being one as we are one…" About "I in you and you in me and them in us…." And about "being made known, knowing this and making that known…" It all sounds like a bunch of gibberish, really.

And I’m okay with that. I always like to remind myself and whoever’s listening that it's okay to be a little confused, here. It helps me to recognize that Jesus is praying – that he's having a conversation with God and that it's not practiced or scripted. I actually wonder if it was ever really meant for anyone else to hear. And I wonder who actually did hear it. Did he know someone was listening or was it something he told someone about afterward? Whatever the case, it's nothing more – and certainly nothing less than – a prayerful conversation between a Son and his Father; between a man and his God; from the Savior of the world just before he leaves his people and heads off to his crucifixion.

And even though it’s clumsy, there is something very meaningful about what Jesus prays. "God, make my disciples one just like you and I are one. Bind them together in a way that matters. Call them together in my name. Remind them that I am yours and that they are mine. Keep them focused on your grace and glory and help them to share what I've taught them about love with the world where they live."

And I have to imagine Jesus would have been a bit upset or anxious or scared, here – not just because of all the pain and suffering and death that was in his future – but because he knew he would be saying goodbye to his friends… his family… his followers. Even if that whole resurrection thing panned out like it was supposed to, things were going to be different going forward, and Jesus would be leaving – even