When, dear God, shall Christians all be one? It is a first-century inquiry. It is a here-and-now recurring question. Countless programs have been launched. Numerous proposals have been given. Only God knows how many problems have risen in our quest for Christian unity.

We live and minister in the twenty-first century in ways not that different from what our spiritual ancestors experienced. Have some things and relationships improved, especially since Vatican II? The answer without doubt is a resounding, "Yes" but, as we applaud, we are caught by recognizing that much has yet to come into place.

Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John or Jesus' "High priestly prayer" still calls out to you and me. The verses under consideration speak with majestic authority and demand to be heard until all precious parts of the puzzle fall into place. At times, the Holy Spirit grieves and groans in sorrow.

Our stance must always be never, never to give up. The world has been watching a long, long time and it continues to watch. Some of us yearn in nearly perpetual pain for the great day of days. We know it is to be but we do not know the final configuration. We must be patient.

The Father and Son are perfectly related in love. This is such a lofty idea and what are we to do with it? Perhaps our response is that God is God and there is no reason to take it as spiritual fact but more like a mystical moment that is unique to John's Gospel. In other words, any serious understanding is not necessary for the living out of practical matters in the Christian faith. If we do, we have missed truth intended for us and given in the holy scriptures as supreme revelation. After all, there were many writings competing to be in the New Testament and this gospel made it!

Love of this variety is so pure and noteworthy it tends at times to boggle the imagination of those claiming to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ. How do we attempt to understand in an elementary respect our quandary? We beg for our wills to have superimposed upon them the will of the Father. We may never have a rational understanding which satisfies us. It helps immensely to know there is a peace that passes all understanding. We enter another level of spirituality and begin to be gripped by the powerful love the Father has for the Son and vice versa. By way of a footnote, we must not allow our difficulties to tempt us into defeat.

The loving Father goes through the agony of the loving Son being killed like a common criminal and made even worse because of the indescribable humiliation for everyone present to view. The bond of love would not and could not break! Even a sense of being forsaken would offer only a brief look into the humanity of Jesus. If he were truly human, how could it possibly be any other way? Certainly one of the essentials of our faith is the acceptance that in order for our Savior and Lord to be powerfully valid he had to be fully a human being. The centuries-old problem of him just going through the motions — if it were true — would extremely diminish our religion. The supreme sacrificial lamb would be the Son of the Father!

Is our call to oneness one which self-destructs because many in our world see us as worshiping two gods? Our Jewish and Muslim friends have always had a problem with such mathematics. How can one plus one equal one? Perhaps we are straining to solve a problem which eludes solution. However, when we really allow our intellect to function under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a blessed event is given birth. With God all things are possible. God chooses to come to us as Father and Son, perfectly related in love, with the Holy Spirit. They are one, united in love, that the most heinous satanic forces cannot destroy. Calvary proved it once and for all. As sons and daughters, we are to believe innocently and completely.

The Father and Son provide the model for disciples. The Father and Son are one. It only follows that disciples are to be one with each other. As they give evidence to the world, the world will know the Father has sent the Son to redeem it. It is a matter of depth and undisputed quality, isn't it? You and I can become very uncomfortable. It is to our advantage to keep at the task of synchronizing our wills with that of the Father. Love is in the air we breathe and it is intended to be so thrilling and satisfying that you and I are one, just as the Father and Son. We are not left without instruction and an inspirational sense of our expected pattern of living (and dying).

Those of us who have spent our entire ministries laboring on the behalf of Christian unity, accept the fact no amount of arranging and rearranging can bring about what Christ implores. The latest plan to bring churches together in an organizational framework in the long run may not model in love what we say we are about! Political tugs-of-war to see who controls what may break our hearts. However, we learn we are successful in our quest, as long as we do not lose sight of the vision and give up. The Holy Spirit gently reminds us to celebrate the oneness in love which already exists. It may be viewed as partial, but at least, it is that!

We are never defeated in our mandate, as long as we refuse to surrender. Love shall continue to abide, as we are open to configurations the Holy Spirit makes available. The leap from who and what we are to Christ's yearning victory remains in our midst but even that not so blissful predicament is accentuated by love! We must never dare to ask the practicality of being one on the Father and Son's terms. If we do that, it is like a growing subterfuge, awaiting the time to be expedited by the devil. Love will earnestly seek to save us and point to new avenues of growth on our becoming one. Yes, all that you and I are considering is serious business!

Holy Spirit, teach us to love one another in the model given to us. We are not so much afraid, as we are timid and distrustful. Take away our denominations — if he pleases. Allow us to fail if this is the road to full unity. Bring membership losses upon us — if it is a means for your will to be done. Call down fire from heaven — if this is the only phenomenon for your ways to prevail. Please, teach us to seize each and every opportunity to make for better spiritual relationships among us. We yield ourselves not out of exhaustion and despair, but because we seek to do right and to be right. Reassure us of your ongoing and undying love. We celebrate your holy presence among us!

The Father and the Son convey love with no beginning or ending. Even to make an attempt to speak of love "before the foundation of the world" is a very tall order! Nevertheless, our text tells us that is true of the Father/Son relationship. It moves us away from both the creation story and interpreting their relationship in the context solely of power. Creation and power are favorite tools philosophers and some theologians use to explain God's will and ways. John's Gospel wants you and me to know and believe that the eternal and everlasting link between Father and Son is love. It is a love that makes them one.

Christ earnestly seeks his followers to share in his glory and love. They were given to him by his Father. If you and I can be, at least, something like the relationship described, we enter a oneness that provides unlimited possibilities for Christian unity. Our personal identity is not obliterated. Indeed, Jesus and his Father are one but they remain separate and distinct. Perhaps this is much like a marriage of interdependence in place of either dependence or independence. We are one because both parties desire it be that way! Our faith is truly amazing and we don't realize it, until we grow far enough to deal with the issue at hand. Centuries have impressed upon us that love is the right way to go, now and forever.

So much love spills gloriously into the hereafter. Because of love, heaven becomes a realistic expectation. Simply to live indefinitely without that bond conjures up visions of boredom and lack of spiritual vitality. To live forever and flounder around the universe doesn't strike me as much of a way to be happy! Rule out the heavenly existence thoroughly imbued with love and what do you have? The key to our blissfulness is found in love, isn't it? This eternal virtue brings with it a solidarity. Every thing and every one becomes as they were intended. We were originally made for heavenly perfection and we are not to back away in stubborn resignation.

When we tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love, we are also telling the story of the Father's love. It will be our theme in glory. We will be living in loving holiness and wholeness. In the meantime, we are to be faithful not just in a military sense but in a loving style of living. The intent is clear for this world and the one beyond. We are to be one in the Lord and one with one another. All of our aspirations seem to come together and we praise his name now and forevermore. Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning and prior to the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. The new commandment to love one another reflects an ever-existing bond between Father and Son.

The Father and Son instill love into Christ's holy church. It is always of the variety that seeks to unite and not divide. The only exception may be division which precedes a greater and more complete union. Sometimes denominationalism has its problems solved by dissolving! Who said the United Methodists, American Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Episcopalians, and others should continue indefinitely for the body of Christ to survive and grow? Could it be that love has its way by providing dissolution and wrecking crews? Experience has a way of showing us that the Holy Spirit can save us for better days by freeing us from institutions which bear little fruit.

For centuries, we have had dreamers point to the most complete configurations of the church, as it should exist in the world in which you and I live. We might quickly add that most, if not all, have been disappointed. The inspirational adjectives from what is popularly known as the Nicene Creed may be a major exception: "one, holy, catholic, apostolic." But aren't we astonished specifically that it makes no mention of love? Maybe we ought to send it back to the church fathers for review and possible editing! Perhaps there is room someplace for John 3:16. We can be certain whatever final form it takes, love will play a prominent part. The church devoid of love cannot be the church of Jesus Christ.

The call to oneness remains certain but the time for it to happen appears as elusive as ever. We may be assured the Holy Spirit is at work, coaxing and cajoling, or should we simply say inspirationally wooing? We may also be assured we will not be telling the Holy Spirit what to do and what not to do. As we have traveled the road of ecumenicity, hopefully we have learned that. If some have not, maybe that is why they become so disappointed and defeated. In a few cases, some of us can point out disillusionment. But let us not be downcast and doubt our God's Word to us! With chins up and head high we put failed attempts behind us and proceed to ask for more love and patience.

Every way you and I turn, love always is the answer. Love in Christ's holy church moves about in ways unknown to you and me. The ministry of ecumenism — perhaps like no other — shows us this. Just when we are ready to throw in the towel, we discover a new and unlikely dialogue is about to take place. Our Father has not forsaken his boys and girls! Our Savior and Lord has not stopped lovingly to be one, as he and the Father are one. The unity of Christ's people, so the world might believe, as an imperative, does not go away. We can avoid, evade, and reject but it absolutely refuses to go away. We are called to be patient and resilient, as the Holy Spirit independently moves about.

A few of us have traveled the country, and fewer still internationally, attending workshops and seminars on behalf of Christian unity. We have given speeches, chaired committees, contributed to dialogues, and written articles. We have been inflamed with passion for the unity of Christ's holy church. Unquestionably, progress has given us increased hope. Love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit was, and is, present. As an extension of divine love, we have sought to practice ecumenical discipleship. Our failures are there for others to view but so are our successes! We continue to pay a price for this discipleship but we do so in love for the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit does not cease working.

As a backdrop of the unity for all Christians, we look worshipfully at the Father/Son relationship and catch a glimpse of what we are to be. While there is an incomplete view and some darkness, we are never left totally in the dark. Human loving persistence alone cannot take us where we are called to go. It can show other Christians and the world we are paying a price so that precious people may join us in the call to oneness. The key is the same as it always has been: love. What new tactic shall we use to improve our movement? In most cases the answer is "none." There is an old/new one that, in time, invariably becomes triumphant. It is a four letter word: love.