“So That They May Be One”

John 17:1-18

May 8, 2005

It was May of 1934, and a status confessionis had been declared. The proclamation of the gospel itself was at stake and therefore it was time for the Church to come together as one voice to re-confess their common faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. One hundred thirty nine delegates representing eighteen Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches from throughout Germany met in the town of Barmen. In doing so, they were publicly renouncing Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist agenda.

The National Socialist party was quickly rising to power under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, who was elected Reich Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. On the surface, Hitler’s Nazi party, sought compatibility with Christianity, but it soon became evident that their agenda was much more ominous. The Nazi party was much more pagan than Christian, but it gained support from a group of nationalistic churches who called themselves the German Christians. Soon the Nazi party, with help from the German Christians, began to directly impose its agenda on all the churches calling for the need for racial purity and superiority in the churches of Germany. What came to be called the Aryan paragraph, the Nazis called for the exclusion from the church of all Christians with Jewish ancestry, which meant that race was a direct criterion for church membership.

It was in response to this chilling Nazi agenda that the Confessing Church met at Barman to declare its faith, in doing so, many of the delegates including the author, Karl Barth, was expelled from their teaching posts and pastorates, and some even lost their lives for supporting the theological convictions of Barmen. You can find this confession in the Presbyterian Church USA Book of Confessions under the title, “The Theological Declaration of Barmen.”

I tell you this story because today is the 60^th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, when the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was ratified at Berlin on May 8, 1945. One will never no for sure the impact the Confessing Church made against the Nazis, but it is a credit to the eighteen churches and one hundred thirty nine delegates that they did not shrink away from their responsibility but came together as one body to speak out against the evils in the world, even at the cost of their own life. They are an example of what it means to be a Church in unity, to be a Church who speaks as one people, with one voice, with one mission to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

Even today there are numerous ecumenical organizations consisting of churches from around the world who work together as missionaries, as sent ones, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ through their ministry to the poor and the oppressed. They represent all that is good about being a Church in unity. Only together can we the Church truly make an impact in the world in which we live. But in our text for today Jesus prays that his disciples will be more than unified in their common ministry and mission, he prays that they may be one.

Jesus was more than unified with God, he was one with God. It is our confession of faith that Jesus Christ perfectly revealed the heart and character of God. He revealed the love for which God loved the world, and through his work Jesus accomplished God’s will for the salvation of the world through the cross. In Jesus Christ, we have eternal life now, for through him we have come to know the Father. To know God is to know what God is life, and to be on the most intimate terms of friendship with him. To know Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior is to know the Father in the same way. To be one with Jesus is to be one with God. This is how we are supposed to be with each other.

To be one with each other transcends the differences between Christians. As long as we are on this planet, Christians will never organize their Churches all in the same way. They will never worship God all the same way. They will never even all believe the same things. But Christian oneness is more than just about church administration or organization, it is about being in a personal relationship with one another, in a unity of love that breaks through barriers between people, that puts aside differences and petty arguments, and seeks reconciliation with our fellow brother and sister in Christ.

We already live in a fractured world where groups of people are pitted against each other. We already live in a world that divides people by all sorts of measuring sticks, black and white, male and female, Christian, Muslim, Jew, rich and poor, young and old. How can we witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, when we ourselves live as separate people? To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means something, it means that we are together in a common ministry, that we are together in a common purpose, that we are together in a common fellowship. The church divided is a church that will not stand. A church divided is a church that will not stand.

This text from John 17 offers us a truly amazing insight into heart and character of Christ. Jesus’ prayer to the Father is so full of grace and inspiration that it is easy to forget that this prayer takes place under the shadow of the cross. It is the final hours of Jesus’ life on the earth, and the air is heavy with the sounds of betrayal and crucifixion. And yet, here is our Savior, in his last hours on earth, knowing what will soon take place, praying to God, not for himself, but for the group of disciples who will continue his ministry and mission after he is gone.

These disciples who Jesus prays for are not depicted as the helpless, frightened followers who are confused about the future, but as God’s own possession, given to Jesus, people who have kept the word taught them and have understood that Jesus has come from God. They belong to God, and Jesus prays that God will protect them as they live out their calling in the world, that God will enable them to be one, in a new way of life that is guarded and guided by the one who has called them into relationship.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we may not be of the world, but we are not out of the world, and we are also not left to our own devices and desires, but with the very reality of God. And just as Jesus was sent into the world to reveal who God is and finish God’s work, so we too are sent into the world to carry on Jesus’ work. We too are sent to reveal the God who is personal but not private. We too are sent to demonstrate to the world what it means to be one with God, to live in a relationship with God that brings God glory and honor and us joy and fulfillment.

We may not be in the time of an official status confessionis, but we are always in a time when the church must join ranks and come together as one to confess its faith. We may not sit down and write out a common confession, but we are always in a position to speak and live out our common confession of faith. How we do it as one will speak volumes about the One in whom we believe, and in whom we have faith.

In a world where it is more natural for people to be divided than united, and more apart than together, it is our individual duty and responsibility to demonstrate our oneness of faith, hope, and love, and in doing so we will become the answer to the prayer of our Lord Jesus. Amen.