Over the past few weeks, we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to sit and look at an intimate prayer between Jesus Christ the Son and God the Father. We’ve been looking at Jesus’ prayer for his followers, for his church, and for himself, known as the High Priestly Prayer. Today, as we turn our attention to the closing section of this prayer, I think back to a class that I had in seminary. I think that it was a class on worship but I’m not quite sure (they all run together). What sticks out to me isn’t the class but the assignment. My professor, Dr. Derek Thomas, would have us write out prayers using certain models or for certain aspects of the Christian life. For example, there was an ACTS model prayer, a pastoral prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving, etc. Now, that wasn’t a big deal for a seminary student; we were used to praying. The challenging part of it was that each prayer had to be one-page (a full one-page), single-spaced, size 10 Times New Roman font, and we couldn’t adjust the borders to make it look longer. Now, to some of you that means nothing, but let me just tell you that if I were to pray a prayer of that length during the worship service, y’all might mistake it for the sermon. The thing that I learned during constructing such prayers was that in order for the prayer to make any sense, there had to be a sense of direction and intentionality about it. You don’t realize how often in prayer you repeat yourself and end up circling back a few times to the same point until you sit down and write out a prayer. You never want to go into a prayer without knowing the things that you want to say and knowing the ultimate place where you are wanting to go. I’m not saying to not let the Holy Spirit guide us. What I’m saying is that when we pray for something or someone, we need to be intentional and specific.
So, as we’ve seen Jesus move through this prayer from worship and glorifying God to discipleship and growing in our knowledge and understanding of God, we come to the place of putting all of that into practice. We come to the point in Jesus’ prayer that he’s been building to, what the Church is to do now that Christ’s time on earth is under 24 hours. Remember, all of this is happening at night, and Jesus isn’t going to see another sunset in his life. Scripture tells us that his death was around 3:00 pm the next day. In those waning moments of Jesus’ time upon this earth, he prays for the mission of the Church, specifically in our taking the message that Jesus Christ is Lord (what Christ has been teaching his followers) out into the world.
One of the reasons why I backed our text up and started it with the last few verses from last Sunday is that the language here really drives home an important aspect of the mission or ministry of the Church. In verse 18, in the middle of the call for his disciples to remain different from the world, Jesus speaks to the Father and says, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” As we read those words and hear those words, I want to remind you of the words that Jesus spoke to his disciples after his resurrection as they are recorded later on in this same gospel account. John 20:21 records these words, “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, even so I am sending you.’” There is a central theme, obviously, of being sent as it pertains to the Christian faith. The purpose, the mission of the Christian church isn’t simply to gather together in what are commonly called “holy huddles”, but to go out into the world. We’re not supposed to be as Martin Luther called it “ivory tower Christians” who are completely closed off from the world around us. We are to be active and vocal and engaged with the world around us. We fail miserably at our mission if we hear this good news, rejoice in it, grow in it, but never share it with anyone outside of our own little Christian community, outside of what I like to call our comfort zone.
Now, I’m sure that some of you are sitting and wondering whether it’s more important that we gather together to worship God and for times of discipleship or to go out into the world. In essence, which of these three aspects of the church that we’ve looked at during this Lenten series is the most important? The answer is, quite simply, that it’s all important. There isn’t one aspect of the Christian life that is more important than any other aside from faith in Christ. Also, remember that worship isn’t just the time that we spend together on Sunday mornings, nor is discipleship confined to Sunday School or formal Bible studies. All of these aspects of the Christian life are to be present and prevalent in the life of the church as a whole and in the lives of those Christians that make up her body. Worship ought to drive us to discipleship and going out, just as our going out ought to instill in us a desire to praise God and grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him. As we grow in our knowledge of God, we ought to want to engage in acts of worship and evangelism. All of these aspects of the Christian life and the life of the Church ought to spur us on to greater commitment to each of the other aspects. You could almost say that it’s this never-ending motion that we find ourselves in the middle of as Christians. The force that is the gospel propels us forward, and the only thing that can cause us to falter is ourselves and our striving for something else instead of moving forward, after God. When we strive for something else instead of God, it’s no wonder that we might fall.
You know, one of the ways in which we go out is through the example of how we relate to one another. I know that that sounds a bit odd, but follow me for just a moment. Throughout the closing verses of this prayer, Jesus repeatedly calls for unity within the body of believers. Jesus prays “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.” Later on, “the glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me.” Jesus prays for a sense of unity, togetherness, and oneness amongst his followers. And we see that played out in the life of the church don’t we? If there is a church in any particular community that is constantly plagued with infighting and bickering, then it’s known about all throughout the community. You don’t even have to have a connection to that particular church to know the stories about how they fight. On the flip side of that, the opposite is true as well. If a church is a place of unity and togetherness and everyone is striving for the same thing, then that’s known. Someone may not be a part of your church, but when they hear the name of that church, they will comment that they have heard of the unity that exists there. We see Paul comment to various churches about how their unity and love is known around the world. We bear witness for the sake of the gospel by the way in which we relate to one another and worship and fellowship in unity with one another as a church.
The same is true on the macro level as well as the micro. How we relate to other Christians is a testimony for the gospel. However, the sad fact of the matter is that we read these words, and upon applying them to the Church (universal) as it exists today, many questions arise from both within and outside of the Church? If there’s a call for unity, then why do we have so many different denominations? Why isn’t there just one Church instead of Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Pentecostals, and all the other groups that I’m overlooking this morning? Well, the truth of the matter is that the different denominations exist not out of a sense of disunity, but for theological reasons. For example, the protestant churches differ from Catholic churches greatly because of the differences of theological interpretations of the infallibility of man. Now this is just one example, but whereas the Catholic church views the Pope to be infallible in his official teaching (ex cathedra), protestants view him to be just as fallen and fallible as anyone else. As such, anything that he says, even during his time in his chair, isn’t holy simply because he says it. Yes, it may be true in some cases and we know that he is a Godly and knowledgeable man, but he’s sinful too. He’s fallen just like anyone else. And each of the protestant denominations have various points at which there are serious theological issues that have caused divisions. The truth of the matter is that the only time that there won’t be denominations is when we are united in heaven. Under God, there are no divisions, but there is amongst man. Now it should be and needs to be noted that most protestant denominations will consent that the differences that exists between them are not matters of salvation, but more matters of the application of biblical teachings. So, there is still a sense of unity that does exist amongst protestant churches, even if it isn’t the most perfect of unions. What matters most isn’t the denomination, but the faithfulness with which the gospel is proclaimed. I’m of the mindset that all Christians, regardless of denomination, are to relate to one another using the words of Paul in Ephesians 4: “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
So, all that being said, I can read some minds in here as you think , “Ok, even if there is a good reason for all the different denominations, why are churches filled with such infighting?” The answer, honestly, is that churches are comprised completely of sinful, fallen, and imperfect people. It’s no secret that most of the fighting that takes place within churches is because of things like the air being too hot or too cold, the carpet being a color that someone doesn’t like, or someone going with one contracting service over another. I’ve even seen one member leave the church over the type of food that was served at a Wednesday night dinner. We also hear of people leaving because of things like the worship service, the sermons, or the music. Now, it’s not that there is anything wrong with them, but that people argue over how they are preached, the type of music there is, the volume of the music, or the time of the worship service. I’ve seen someone leave because the pastor kept running over the “allotted” one hour for a worship service. I’m telling you, I grew up in a pretty harsh church where I saw fighting, members leave, and pastors fired over all of these issues. And the only explanation that I have been able to come up with after all of the study and theological training that I’ve received is that it’s because we’re fallen. We’re a bunch of imperfect people seeking to worship a perfect God and live holy lives. We see folks every day jumping around, searching for the perfect church. I love what Charles Spurgeon had to say about the perfect church, “If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all; and the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it. Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us.”
Friends, the unity of the Church, both individually as a congregation and universally with all other Christians is the testimony, the witness, of the Church. It is an expression of the gospel itself. Jesus is praying for us to be united. He’s praying for the Church to be the “one body with many parts” that Paul talks about in Ephesians 4. Jesus prays to the Father saying, “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” We see that Jesus is not only speaking of what he has done, but what will continue to be done through the power, the work of the Holy Spirit. I absolutely love what R.C. Sproul says of this verse. “We are called to participate in the death of Christ, in the afflictions of Christ, in the humiliation of Christ, for if we do no, we will never share in His glory. But in order to be faithful disciples in this world, to fulfill the mission that He has given to His church, we need to be encouraged by the knowledge of His love that He has shed abroad in our hearts. The knowledge of His everlasting love for us gives us the strength we need to fulfill the mission that He has given to us.” Does the knowledge that God loves you so much that He sent His Son into the world to die for you give you the strength that you need to fulfill your mission? Does the understanding that Jesus resisted all temptation in this life and endured complete humiliation all for your sake give you courage? Does the knowledge that you have the Holy Spirit working in you and through you give you strength? Does the sacrament that we are about to observe this morning, the elements on the table representing the shed blood and the sacrificed body of Jesus, give you the strength to proclaim the name of Christ with boldness and in unity? Because if they don’t, then what will? Jesus is all we need. He is the only way in which we are included in this love that exists between the Father and the Son. It is in Christ alone where we find the love of God the Father. It is our mission to strive for that destination and to guide others along the same path. It’s not always going to be easy. As Jesus said during his Sermon on the Mount, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” It’s not easy, but it’s our mission. May we boldly and faithfully accept the task that is before us.
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