The gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 16th, is John 17:6-19. Verse 11 says, “And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
Jesus prays, that they may be one, as we are one. Wow! What a powerful prayer. Jesus is the Son of God, but also… he is God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity three in one. Jesus is praying that we will be one as God is one.
And yet we often live in division. In our nation, our families, and our churches, disunity can rob us of the joys of collaboration, creativity, and cooperation. Division can quickly transform into opposition, and opposition can so quickly devolve into name calling and personal attacks. We can forget who we are and who we are called to be, we can forget about Jesus’s prayer. It’s interesting that Jesus doesn't pray that our differences be eliminated. He doesn't pray that we lose our identity or our individuality. It’s not that we can no longer disagree, but Jesus and the Father are one because they give themselves to one another, they love first.
In 2015, a tragic mass shooting took place at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. When this occurred the North Georgia Annual Conference of the UMC was in session. Bishop Michael Watson, the presiding Bishop, asked for a moment of personal privilege to share with the body that day. These remarks have served as an important reminder for me of how we are called to live in the midst of any disagreements we may be experiencing. I invite you to watch these remarks and to perhaps make this call for unity a prayer this week.