Sermon Audio

Did you hear Him? Jesus the Christ mentioned you in today's gospel. Hear Him again: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word." He prays not only for His disciples—"I do not pray for these alone," He says—but also for those who hear His disciples words—"but also for those who will believe in Me through their word," He continues. You, dear hearers, are prayed for by the Christ. Soak that in for a bit.

[short time for reflection]

So, by now, you are probably wondering, what is He praying for you to have or to be. "[T]hat they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us." He prays for one-ness. Be careful, this is not merely unity, as in a bunch of individuals getting together, but union, as in many becoming one. And this, not only a union of people into some mere organization that we call the church, but one-ness in God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Take a little time to ponder that, too.

[short time for reflection]

Now, this one-ness, this union, is a one-ness in God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. For Christians, Lutherans especially, I imagine, theological signals should be going off when one-ness in Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is mentioned. This sounds like Holy Baptism, and it is, and it does us well to mention it. Baptism is entrance into the Bride of Christ. In Baptism, water combined with the word and command of God, the Triune God claims the baptized and unites them with Himself; they are grafted into the True Vine, made a part of it, made one with it. We are incorporated with Christ—incorporated: Latin meaning brought into the body—and that Body of Christ is the Church.

It is this union that Paul recognizes when he writes to the church in Corinth, "Now you are the body of Christ," and to the church in Rome, "[S]o we, being many, are one body in Christ." It is this union that Paul speaks of when he wrote to the churches in Galatia, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

But this union goes beyond only union with God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Baptism is not only the means by which we are brought into the Body of Christ, the Church; not only the means by which we are given forgiveness and life and salvation. It also makes each one of us one with each other. Baptism is what we have in common with each other; it is where we are bound to each other—it's that "blest tie that binds," as we just sang, each of us, Baptized and believing, to each other, who are also Baptized and believing. Certainly, this one-ness is celebrated in the Lord's Supper, but it is created at Baptism. We are joined, each to another, in our Baptisms, made one as the Father and the Son are one with the Holy Ghost.

Here it is, as Paul continues in his first letter to the church in Corinth, "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually," and more clearly again to the church in Rome, "[S]o we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another." [emphases added]

How appropriate, what great timing, that there was celebrated here today a Baptism. For here we witnessed, once again, one being incorporated into the Body of Christ, being joined and made one with the Body of Christ. And, at the same time, yet only a couple of weeks old, little Klara was joined to each of us, made one with us in this great assembly we call Christendom. She is now a part of us and we a part of her, we are one with her, and she one with us. As much as Jesus prayed for all of us in this morning's Gospel, she was included in that prayer. And we, as members of the Body of Christ and individually members of one another, remember her in our prayers when we pray for the church, even if we do not mention her by name.

Now, let's back up. This one-ness and union that Jesus expresses in His prayer is a one-ness with God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is not merely a unity into an organization that we call the church.

A concern you might have hearing that is the different denomination and sects in Christianity today (and that have existed since Christianity began). Even within denominations and church bodies there are divisions: we have confessionals and liberals, those who use the historic liturgies and those who abandon them, and so on and so forth. Even within our little congregation there are divisions: Dare I say that there are those who find value in the various Bible and Theology Studies and those who would only rather come for the Divine Service on Sunday? Knowing of all of these divisions, no matter how small, we might begin to wonder about the efficacy of Christ's prayer or even doubt Him.

I will begin by saying this: God, in his infinite wisdom, grace, and mercy, does not force His will on us. Certainly, He could force His will, and we would all be one in every matter conceivable, true union and unity. Such a time will come when God's will will reign supreme as He will have gathered the church to live in His eternal presence. Until that time, however, He does not force His will, but gives His grace and faith when and where He pleases. While we live here "below," we still struggle with our own will and inward tendencies, and one of those is the tendency to divide.

Oh sure, we like to create that which we proclaim as unity. One group will get together with another—one church will proclaim fellowship with another—when no true unity exists. Two people will join for one reason or another, from as simple as a friendship, or a common goal, to as grand and sanctified as a marriage, but even here, unity is superficial and unions can be strained. Friendships are fragile unities that are quickly and easily broken. And marriage?..."A threefold cord is not quickly broken," we like to say of marriage from Ecclesiastes; but notice that it does NOT say that a threefold cord can never be broken. Even here (or at any congregation), though we are united and joined as one with each other, we still have and hang on to our inward, often-divisive tendencies; so no two people will get along perfectly, even in a Christian congregation, and some might be prone to break away from their local fellowship if they are offended, even over the smallest thing. Rev. Bill Cwirla once wrote,

The sins we commit against each other are a grit that grinds at the gears of our relationships. You can't put a bunch of sinners into a room, even justified ones, and order them to be perfectly united as one. Perhaps you could get a majority, or even a consensus, but there would always be a leftover minority somewhere.

We are each responsible for the hurt caused to others with whom we associate. We are each victims of the hurt caused by others with whom we associate. We like to hang on to our labels, no matter how insignificant and damn those who do not agree with them or join with us under that banner. We sin against each other and the unity we are supposed to have and, therefore, sin against God.

So, it only stands to reason that we will encounter all kinds of divisions, even in Christendom, this side of eternity. We'll have different church bodies, denominations, and even congregations within these denominations, that can agree on a great number of points, but differ perhaps in only one or two small issues, but these are still issues that divide. Or, there's the grander scale of holding to a completely different confession or even subtle differences in the interpretation of Scripture—issues that, without a doubt, will divide.

This leads, inevitably, to people, even within Christian congregations, who hold to completely false and damnable doctrines. I speak not only of false religions, such as Mormonism or Islam, etc., but also of people who are often, oxymoronically, called False Christians. This is why Paul writes to the church at Corinth, "For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you."

This is exactly what Jesus, Himself, said in this morning's Gospel:

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

[emphasis added]

Once again, in His infinite wisdom, grace, and mercy, God allows factions and divisions, allows heterodoxy and false religions, that the truth may be brought to light. He used the problem of the Arian heretics in the 300s—who taught the Second Person of the Trinity was created, not begotten—to proclaim the truth put forth in what we confess as the Nicene Creed. He used the problem of indulgences to proclaim the truth put forth in the 95 Theses of Martin Luther and later the Augsburg Confession (and all the Lutheran Confessions found in the Book of Concord). Out of division, God brings unity, so that the truth may be known, that the world may know that the Father has sent the Son because He loves His creation, and in His truth, He creates true unity and union.

And so, Jesus prays, "[T]hat they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us." We come back to the one-ness Jesus prays for. Not only does He pray for it, but He brings it about. He uses divisions and heresy to bring to light the truth, calling Christians to the one-ness found in that truth. He brings individuals into unity and one-ness with other believers through the waters of Holy Baptism, joining them to Himself, incorporating them into His Body, and also joining them to each other. We are joined to all Christians through Christ. We are joined to each other out of the love that God has for us, His most cherished creation.

This union works beyond and in spite of the unity we try to create ourselves and the divisions we enhance among ourselves. In other words, in Christ we are joined to those we would not otherwise be joined to. This union crosses so many lines and borders we would not imagine crossing ourselves to find unity. For in Christ, we can be united to one who would be a cultural enemy, such as an enemy of our state. In Christ, we can be united to one who would be a political enemy, such as one who claims to be Democrat to one who claims to be a Republican. In Christ, we can be united to one who would be a social adversary, such as a Rockies fan to a Dodgers fan, or an Avalanche fan to a Flames fan, or a Broncos fan to a Raiders fan. These all, and others, can be united in Christ, finding themselves joined to the one-ness of God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—fully incorporated into the body of Christ confessing to that which He calls sin and receiving the forgiveness from that sin and a holy desire to live a life apart from that sin (and others), all out of a love of God that desires for us all His blessings and grace.

Therein lies the reason for the union that Jesus prays for. Jesus prayed,

Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

In other words, you cannot be where Christ is now, ascended to the right hand of God, unless you are joined to Him, unless you are in union with Him. And then, being in union with Him, you receive all the gifts that He gives in His Word, which He Himself came to give, because you are in union with Him in all that He has done and is still doing. This is what Jesus means when He says, "that they may be made perfect," or complete, "in one"—it is the perfection or completion He refers to. It is as Rev. Cwirla again wrote,

The desire of Jesus' prayer for union is that we be with Him where He is. That's a package deal. He wants us to be with Him in His death, in His resurrection, in His ascended glory.

You, dear Baptized, even you newly Baptized Klara, still living in that Baptismal promise, have been united with Christ, you have been joined to Him. "In Christ you died, in Him you live, in Him you reign, in union with Father and the Holy [Ghost], one forever," forgiven for all of your sins.