The second time that our nation came together was again a surprise event . . . a terrorist attack on the New York City’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The date was September 11th, 2011. For a brief moment, as a nation, we rallied together and became one nation as we mounted a war on terror.
Most of us may not remember how our nation rallied together in the face of the attack on Pearl Harbor because we were either not born yet, or we were too young. That is not case when it comes to what we call 9/11. We can all remember that fateful day when our nation fell victim to a terrorist attack. We can remember when we heard the news . . . watching the video footage on our televisions . . . and, the heroic efforts to find survivors through all the wreckage. And, we can remember how our nation came together as one nation. Before and after those times . . . well, we have rarely been a unified nation as we like to think of ourselves as being . . . we have not been “one nation under God.” No we have been pretty divisive. The times that we are presently living demonstrate that quite plainly.
I don’t want us to think about the divisiveness . . . no, what I want us to focus on--as brief as those moments were--are those two times in which we did come together as one nation . . . one people . . . in unity. Think about how much was accomplished as we came together . . . how we worked together for a common cause. Think about how that felt . . . how it felt to be united as one . . . caring for one another, respecting one another . . . able to set aside our differences to work together to achieve one purpose. Remember how good it felt? Remember how proud we were that we had finally come together even if it was only for a brief moment in time?
There is power and safety in coming together . . . in uniting.
Jesus understood this.
In our reading this morning, Jesus has come to understand the power in unity. In our reading we have the opportunity to eavesdrop on Jesus as he ends his teaching from the last meal he has with his disciples before being arrested, tried, and crucified. It is a three-part prayer. In the first part, he prays for himself; in the third part, he prays for all believers; but it is in the second part that we have the privilege to hear his prayer for his disciples. In this prayer he seeks God’s protection for his disciples, just as God as protected him. Protection that comes from being one with each other . . . God and Jesus, Jesus and his disciples, and the disciples together. Jesus prays: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.”
Up until this point, Jesus had been the protector of the disciples. He is the one who watched over them and kept them out of harm’s way. Like a big brother to a bunch of younger siblings, Jesus took care of them. And, now the time had come when he would no longer be able to be that protector; thus, he calls upon God to protect them through their oneness together . . . oneness that comes from their love of Jesus, his call to love, and a desire to bring God’s Kingdom to fruition. Their protection would come from their unity as one . . . the followers of Jesus.
We, too, are Jesus’ disciples . . . the followers of Jesus. This prayer is also for us. We are called upon to recognize the power, strength, and potential of being united.
Our unity comes from community. I like to tell people that “community” is a combination of two words--common unity. It is our common unity . . . those things that we have in common with each other . . . that bring us together as a community. It is those truths which hold us together. As the followers of Jesus we recognize our createdness as unique children in the image of God. We recognise that God is God and we are not. We recognize our mutual love for Jesus . . . his call to work together in the world, for a world we love. This is what binds us together . . . that makes us one . . . that brings unity. Together we are safe . . . we are protected . . . we are community.
That is what Jesus wants. Unfortunately that is not what the world wants. Jesus knows this and acknowledges it in his prayer: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” Jesus recognizes this irony as he prays for their protection. He also knows that this is the world in which the disciples must play out their call to follow him. He pleads for God to keep them safe and that safety comes in being unified as a community of followers.
Because of this we have to admit . . . even as the “church” . . . that body of followers, we have not done well at being unified. There are days when I think that the body of Christ . . . the community of followers . . . is as divided and divisive as the world we are living in. Because we are divided and divisive, we do not feel safe . . . do not feel protected . . . within the fellowship of followers or out in the world. As the followers of Jesus we are not united . . . we are not one. Too often we focus on our differences, and not enough our on commonality. We rather argue than set aside our differences and work for restoring the family of God . . . of loving God completely and one another.
But, that is okay. As I have said many, many times . . . God is patient, understanding, and especially forgiving. Because God is patient, understanding, and forgiving, we are to keep on trying to get it right . . . to work toward unity . . . to be community. Thus we should work on emphasizing that which we have in common. Through those truths we hold in common we work towards the unified goal of loving God and one another. We do not ignore our difference, but instead we sit down with one another and talk so that we can come to an understanding. We work together to love God . . . to love one another . . . and, to restore the family of God . . . to restore the Kingdom as God desires. In doing this we become united . . . we become community. We are called by Jesus to keep trying until we get it right . . . over and over again.
Yes, we remember how it felt to be united after 9/11. It was an indescribable feeling . . . one filled with great pride, joy, and possibilities. I have longed for such a feeling most of my life, as I imagine many of you have too. I have often thought that if we could get all of God’s children--by this I mean all the people of the world--to set aside all of their differences and focus on what we all have in common . . . well, I have dreamed that in that very moment when we become united in our commonality that we would realize the Kingdom of God . . . we would be one . . . we would be community.
That was Jesus’ prayer . . . that is our prayer. We are blessed through the tie that binds us all. Jesus showed us the way. Amen.
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