“One With God” – John 17:1-11 – May 4, 2008

The lection in John ends, “so that they may be one as we are one.” It just so happens that the logo of the United Church of Christ includes the phrase, “that they may all be one.” The meaning of that phrase reflects the historic commitment of the UCC to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.

Is it realistic to imagine that churches could truly be united? Churches share different visions. They are diverse; rural, urban, suburban, black, white, large and small. They have different styles of worship and a variety of missions. What then was Jesus’ purpose in saying “that they might be one?”

The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume IX reads, “the words in this chapter of John are portrayed not as Jesus’ instructions to the community, but as Jesus’ words offered to God in prayer.” Jesus was praying on behalf of the Christian community. He wasn’t advocating the unity of the church for that would make it seem as though the church could take care of itself. Instead, Jesus was entrusting the future of the church into the hands of God. In other words, the future of the faithful does not depend on our ability to be totally unified but our dependence on God’s care.

To be “one with God” does not mean we are like Cheers, “where everyone knows your name,” where everyone works together in harmony, although that would be wonderful. It is not a body where everyone agrees and all believers are in one accord, believing exactly the same. Rather, being “one with God” means we understand that we can live with the assurance that God cares about us.

Normally we pray to God, asking God to do this or that. We even pray for God to intervene on behalf of others. We pray for security or to have our needs met. We pray for wholeness, peace and yes, even unity. But here in John, Jesus is praying for us. Jesus said to God, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.”

Jesus prays for us because we have to live in the world. We have to struggle with keeping the faith. Every day our faith is challenged by a complex and sometimes hostile world. Things happen that don’t make sense. Things happen that are beyond our control. People hurt us, take advantage of us, abuse us and test our patience. Life is not fair. The ways of the world are forever influencing our choices and our beliefs. Nevertheless, Jesus is praying to God on our behalf.

There are times when someone in the church will call and want me to know that a loved one is having surgery. They don’t expect me to visit or modify my schedule to attend to their needs. They just want me to pray for them. In the same way, Jesus is praying for us whenever we face adversity.

A young soldier fighting in Italy during WWII managed to jump into a foxhole just ahead of a spray of bullets. He immediately attempted to deepen the hole for more protection. As he was frantically scraping at the dirt with his hands, he unearthed a silver crucifix. A moment later, a leaping figure landed beside him as shells screamed overhead. The soldier turned to see that his new companion was an army chaplain. Holding up the crucifix, the soldier cried, “Am I glad to see you. How do you work this thing?”

That same soldier, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, wrote about his WWII experience in the Pacific. While flying on a mission, his plane crashed. He and his crew were lost at sea for twenty-one days before being rescued. He said, “In the beginning many of the men were atheists or agnostics, but at the end of the terrible ordeal each, in his own way, had discovered God. Each man found salvation and strength in prayer and a community of feeling developed which created a liveliness of human fellowship and worship and a sense of gentle peace.”

Do we truly realize that Jesus is praying for us? Do live with the assurance that we are always in the protective care of God? “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one,” Jesus said.

Unfortunately many people are afraid to entrust their loved ones into the hands of others. What parents don’t realize is that their over protectiveness can result in severe psychological behavior problems in the lives of their children in later years.

One time a woman was preparing to leave her four-year old child with a babysitter. But, she had doubts about leaving her in the care of someone else. She watched from a window as her daughter rode her tricycle down the sidewalk. As she peddled along her tricycle tipped over some tree roots. She came running into the house and lifted her skinned knee for her mother to see. “Who will kiss my knee while you are away?” she said with a quivering voice. Her mother was about to mention the babysitter, but something overcame her and she said, “I know. God will do it.” Her daughter beamed with a look of satisfaction and headed back to her tricycle.

We are one with God when we know God is praying for us. We are one with God when we place our lives and the lives of others in the hands of God’s protective care. To be one with God also means we have eternal life.

Although we normally think of eternal life, or heaven, as some far away place, in the gospel of John we have a different understanding. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” The gospel of John interprets eternal life as a relationship, not a place. To live eternally means we are one with God. Heaven is not a kingdom but a kinship.

Recently I saw the movie, The Bucket List, with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. The two men are terminally ill and they commit to doing those things in life they always wanted to do. Instead of receiving medical care they set out on a journey, visiting famous places, and doing some adventurous activities. Toward the end, Morgan Freeman decides he had done enough and wants to go home. He spends his last days reunited with his family. Meanwhile, Nicholson is inspired by Freeman’s relationship with his family and reconciles with his daughter for whom he had been estranged. The Bucket List is now complete and the two men die, but live eternally. At first they were one with themselves, then they both became one with God.

We may not know what heaven looks like, but we know what it feels like. It is an intimate, loving relationship with God. Most believe that we are working our way toward heaven, some faraway paradise. Here, to be in paradise is to have a relationship with Jesus and with God.

When people get married we say “they have become one.” They are intimately connected and bonded together through unconditional love. Likewise to be one with God is to love God unconditionally, a God who loves us back in the same way.

In the book of Revelation, John describes the Holy City. In Chapter 21, verse 22, he said, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” This implies that eternal life is not about a holy structure but a relationship with a Holy God.

A friend of mine works with at risk youth. Many of them have appeared in Juvenile Court in the past. The current group is staying out of trouble. A local judge was impressed with the progress of these youth and asked my friend what was making the difference this time? He responded by saying, “It’s all about building a relationship.” These youth have low self-esteem because no one has taken an interest in their lives. They have not had any quality relationship with someone who truly cares for them. My friend has connected to these youth by establishing a relationship which is enhancing their self-esteem and changing their lives.

To be one with God is to live with the assurance that Jesus is praying for us. To be one with God means we know God protects us and watches over us. To be one with God means we have a relationship with God and that relationship will sustain us into the future.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio