There's a story which many of you have heard and it is a fitting introduction for our text. A group of new arrivals in heaven met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. He began to show them around, pointing out areas of interest and filling them in on the rules of the kingdom. There were many "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, and they were obviously enjoying themselves immensely. Suddenly Saint Peter stopped a short distance from a massive building which was miles-wide, long and high, and without doors or windows. "While we pass this building," he said, "you must walk quietly and utter not so much as a sound." So the entourage tiptoed obediently past the monolith without a word.
Once they were past, however, an inquisitive soul inquired, "Why did we have to be so quiet when we passed that building?"
Saint Peter responded, "God put the (name a denomination here) in there; they think they're the only ones up here."
It isn't just (name a denomination here) who think they are the only ones who have got this God business right. There are other denominations who also give the impression of exclusiveness and project the feeling that it is only natural that the blessings of God should fall upon them. They are probably just as amazed as we are to see that it "rains on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45)."
I suppose that is not strange, since we have been brought up on a diet of theological ingredients which are not only palatable for us but have come highly recommended by God; at least that's what our clergy tell us. So we are suspect of those who indulge in denominational dishes of a different sort.
It is important to realize, however, that God's docrtinal tastes are not so narrow. According to Jesus, all who love the name of the Lord are welcomed. Notice, that while he wants us all to be one with him and the Father, he doesn't suggest that our unity is dependent upon our ability to develop a theological recipe which all Christians everywhere could find tasty enough so that we all can feast together as one, a gigantic universal church.
In other words our unity need not be the result of sitting down at the negotiating table and trying to map out a theological menu for the church that would appeal to all concerned. Bishop William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, once said, "We meet in committees and construct our schemes of union; in face of the hideous fact of Christian divisions we are driven to this; but how paltry are our efforts compared with the call of God! The way to the union of Christendom does not lie through committee rooms, although there are tasks to be done there, it lies through personal union with the Lord so deep and real as to be comparable with his union with the Father...."1
Temple has penetrated through the superficial. His sense of union in Christ is beyond togetherness. He moves past even the appealing call to our common humanity, illustrated most commonly in the words of Pastor John Donne many years ago, "... No person is an Island entire of himself; every one is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. If a clump of dirt be washed away by the Sea, Europe is the Less, as well as if a Mountain were, as well as if a House of your friends or your own were; any person's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Humankind; and therefore never send for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee."2
The unity for which Jesus prays is deeper, richer and more consuming than "sharing the same skin" a la Donne and it certainly is not dependent upon a huge organizational world church infrastructure. Rather Jesus' desire for a union of people is founded upon the Word of God with faith as the way in which we come to understand that we have been brought into close relationship with God and the world.
The point is, more than merely sharing a common humanity, God in Christ has brought us together into the intimate unity of the family of God. Our adoption as children of God, and therefore as members of the royal household, was accomplished when "God sent forth his Son, born of woman (Galatians 4:5)." Baptism becomes the unifying act which places us all into the same family, makes us all blood relatives who have been bonded together by the shedding of Christ's blood on Calvary. This is no mere genetic affiliation, this is a dynamic creation, constituted by Christ, which shall last for ever and ever.
The genius of God's plan is obvious. If we recognize that we are all members of the same family, if we acknowledge that God desires to hold us in a single peace then, ideally, we will stop fighting with each other and destroying one another and instead begin standing with one another and working together to bring people to Christ and to become an answer to prayer for those who cry out to God for help.
However, if your family is like my family, your day-today operation is not marked with constant good will and cooperation. Parents can disagree with each other, or the children, or the youngsters with each other. There are so many possibilities for dissension - goals will vary, opinions often differ and wills may clash. I think the reason for the popularity of the television cartoon "The Simpsons" is that it lays bare some of the battles which are fought in the arenas of many homes. Apparently there is some comfort in knowing that others experience problems similar to one's own. But if love is at the heart of our relationships, and forgiveness is liberally applied, there is still a family unity and loyalty which acts like a glue - unity holds family members together even when they are apart and loyalty brings them together again at times of crisis or joyful celebration.
The church as the family of God has characteristics similar to other family units but with infinitely more possibilities for disagreement and dissension. It is no wonder then that Paul saw the primary task of the church as one of reconciliation: "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)."
To reconcile is to bring into harmony, not into unison, two opposing parties or points of view. There is a difference between the two concepts. "Reconciliation is not making everyone 'sing' in unison. It is to enable everyone to 'sing' in harmony. Reconciliation doesn't erase differences; it seeks to bring them into workable accord. The world will always have opposites. You will never get opposites to 'sing' in unison, nor would you necessarily want to. To do so might be to destroy individual contributions and needed correctives. But polarities can be brought into harmony - where differences, strengths, uniqueness, and distinctions can be blended into melodic composition."3
God has given us the responsibility of declaring the good news that because Jesus died for us all, we have already been reconciled, brought into harmony with God. And because of that we are further given the goal of being reconciled to one another. That is the unity for which Jesus prays. The world's inhabitants need to recognize that we are all one family in God, regardless of color, or denomination or worship preferences. We may not always sing the same musical line, but we are to seek harmony until we become a universe, a uni-verse, one verse, one song in praise of God's awesome grace in Jesus Christ.
So our calling begins with reconciliation, calling people home to share God's love, joining with other Christian churches in declaring the glory of Christ till all are moved to join with us in living out the goodness of God. But part of our oneness in Christ also includes unity of purpose. Friedrich Nietzsche once said, in effect, "It would be easier to believe in your Redeemer if you looked more redeemed." On the other foot that means it will be easier for others to believe in the Savior when you bear not only his creative word, but also his loving presence into the world.
One man suggested that the ecumenical movement was a sideshow with theologians sitting around splitting doctrinal hairs when they should be planning strategies for ministering to the needs of the poor for food, shelter, compassion, companionship and understanding. "In this shared vision of response to the needs of others," he said, "we become one indeed."
That is the glory of which Jesus said, "The glory which thou has given me I have given to them," the glory of being the incarnate presence of God, the answer to prayer for the millions who cry out to God for mercy every hour. That is not glory as the world usually speaks of it but it is glory indeed for the needs of the world are monumental and those who sacrifice to minister to the needy are most like Christ.
There is, however, the other side of the equation. While we are to be, as Luther said, "little Christs" to the world, we are also, according to Jesus to see Christ in "the least of these who are members of my family (Matthew 25:3 1ff)." We need to have one word of caution. So often we think of the poor, the needy, the dispossessed as persons "out there." If we look around us we will see that there are also many persons who need us "in here." I'm reminded of the story J. D. Salinger tells in Franny and Zooey.
Franny and Zooey are members of the Glass family which had been featured on the radio show, "It's a Wise Kid." Years later Franny suffers an emotional collapse and Zooey, trying to bring her out of it, reminds her of those days. He brings to mind how Seymour told him how to shine their shoes for the Fat Lady in the radio audience, a person they did not know but who felt she knew them because of the program. "He never did tell me who the Fat Lady was, but I shined my shoes for the Fat Lady every time I went on the air again.... This terribly clear, clear picture of the Fat Lady formed in my mind ... and she probably had cancer. Anyway, it seemed clear why Seymour wanted me to shine my shoes when I went on the air. It made sense."
The memory stirs something in Franny; she remembers how her Fat Lady had cancer, too. "But," says Zooey, "I'll tell you a terrible secret - are you listening to me? There isn't anyone out there who isn't Seymour's Fat Lady. There isn't anyone anywhere that isn't Seymour's Fat Lady. Don't you know that? Don't you know that secret yet? And don't you know - listen to me, now - don't you know who that Fat Lady really is? It's Christ himself. Christ himself."4
So we are committed to reach out to everyone everywhere; all are included in the encompassing love of God, those who agree with us and those who don't. We reach out with God's Word to those whose lifestyles comform with ours as well as those that don't. Our response to Jesus is to proclaim the good news of the sacrificial love of God to the down-and-out as well as the up-and-in. We are to minister to the needs of all members of this congregation but our concern is to spill over into the community and into other lands because God's love knows no boundaries, denominational or otherwise.
The prayer of Christ for unity does not compel us to rush to the negotiating table in an attempt to reduce our Christian differences to a bland recipe of faith which offends no one so that we end up with a church that is weak and powerless. The oneness for which Jesus so yearns is something beyond togetherness. In fact unity is not even something we can decide to do or work toward. Being made one with Christ is something that has already been accomplished; it is up to us to accept it and begin to live it! Therefore we are called forward to proclaim the good news that God has reconciled the world to himself and in harmony work with one another in carrying out Christ's merciful ministry to the world. In the words of Emmett Jarrett, "Our unity is God's gift, because it reflects the unity of Jesus with the Father, without which we are nothing. Let us pray for that unity, of suffering and glory, of faith and of service, in love and in hope."5
1. Quoted from a sermon by the Rev. Emmet Jarret in Selected Sermons, May 11, 1986. Parish Supplies, New York.
2. An adaptation from Major British Writers, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1959. p. 392.
3. Pulpit Resource, Vol. 11, No. 1, Inver Hills, Minnesota. p. 37.
4. Sallinger, J.D. Franny and Zooey. Little, Brown and Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 1961. pp. 198-200.
5. Jarrett, Emmett, Selected Sermons, May 11, 1986, Parish Supplies, New York.