The Presbyterian Pulpit
A sermon by the Rev. Dr. David E. Leininger
ONE CHURCH???
Delivered 10/5/08
Text: John 17
To read endnotes, click on the the note number, then click
on the 
to return to your place in the text.
This is a special day in the life of the Church, World
Communion Sunday, the one day in the year when Christians around
the globe agree to come together in celebration of the Lord's
Supper. This is a most symbolic day because it says something
about the Church of Jesus Christ that is not readily apparent on
the surface: this day says that, no matter how divided the Church
appears to be by denomination, by doctrine or by politics, the
Church really does have something that unites it.
Unfortunately, World Communion Sunday is a relatively new
event in the history of the Church. It began in 1936 - not very
long ago considering that the Church has been around for almost
2,000 years now.
I say "Unfortunately" in light of that passage of scripture
we just read, those verses in the 17th chapter of John that have
come to be known as Jesus' High Priestly prayer, Jesus'
intercession on behalf of those disciples who had gathered there
with him in that upper room and for those disciples who would
follow along down through the centuries of history. He was
praying for kings and commoners, for ministers and layfolk, for
priests and people. He was praying for Martin Luther, John
Calvin, and John Wesley. He was praying for Billy Graham and
Robert Schuller and Pope Benedict. He was praying for you and
me, our children and grandchildren, asking that we be kept safe
(:11), that we have joy (:13), that we be preserved from the
power of sin (:15), that we might be fit to serve God
(sanctified) in the power of truth (:17), that we might
eventually live with him (:24), and that we might be filled with
love (:26). But there was something else.
That "something else" is the one thing that, I hope, struck
you as you heard that scripture read: within the space of just a
few sentences, the Savior repeats one particular thought four
times. Four different times he uses the same words - "that they
may be one." Here was Jesus' last will and testament, offered
only a few hours before his crucifixion, a concern for the unity
of the Church that was so overwhelming that he would say the same
thing four times. But yet it took over 1900 years for those of
us around this planet who call ourselves his disciples to even
begin to make an effort as tentative as World Communion Sunday to
show that there really is something that unifies the Church.
Now admittedly, we might have to do some hard looking to
come up with anything that shows the Church as even remotely
united despite what we affirm in our creeds from week to week
about believing in a "holy, catholic (or universal) church." On
the surface, there is nothing universal about it. Across the
parking lot we have the Methodists and the Church of Christ, down
the road in one direction we have the Episcopalians and the
Catholics, in the other direction we find the UCC's and more
Catholics and Methodists, to the north we have Baptists and
Independents. And, quite frankly, until relatively recently,
each individual group appeared to take great pleasure in taking
potshots at all the other groups. Fortunately, there is less of
that these days than in the past, but there is not much question
that the wounds are still there. The result is a collection of
sects and denominations that want to claim to be ONE CHURCH
despite a mass of evidence to the contrary.
What about it? What is it that makes all these disparate
groups want to claim to be a part of THE ONE CHURCH? Why would
we even want a World Communion Sunday? What is it that we claim
unifies us. Well, the most obvious answer would seem to be
Jesus. "Where Christ is, there is the Church." Is that really
true?
Think about it. In the Gospel record we read that the
scribes and the Pharisees were where Jesus was, but they surely
could not be equated with the Church, nor would they have wanted
to be. You see, they wanted a religion of rules and regulations
as the way to righteousness before God, and that was not where
Jesus was. So despite their physical nearness, we really cannot
say that they were where Jesus was.
Think of another situation. Of all the people we read about
in the pages of scripture, none could be thought of as being more
where Jesus was than the disciples. But one of them, Judas,
ended up betraying him to the cross. Could Judas be equated with
the Church? Of course not. Many think that Judas did what he
did because of his disappointment that Jesus refused to lead a
political revolution against Rome. But again, that is not where
Jesus was. And again, physical proximity was no guarantee of any
togetherness.
Think about it from the opposite standpoint. Where did
Jesus say that he was? Well, in Matthew 18, he says, "where two
or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (1) Jesus
says he is in Christian fellowship. In Matthew 25, he talks
about feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and visiting the
sick and then says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for
one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (2)
Jesus says he is in the poor. At the very end of Matthew's
Gospel, we read what has come to be known as the Great
Commission: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end
of the age." (3) Jesus is saying that he is with us as we seek to
evangelize the world. In the 22nd chapter of Luke's Gospel we
find recorded the story of the last meal Jesus shared with his
disciples and the familiar words we use every time we celebrate
the Lord's Supper: "And he took bread and gave thanks and broke
it and gave it to them saying, `This is my body which is given
for you.'" (4) Jesus is saying that he is with us in the
celebration of the sacrament. Those are just a few passages that
happen to come readily to mind.
The point is this: if we want to say that Jesus is the one
who unifies the Church by his presence, if we want to say "Where
Christ is, there is the Church," we had better be clear on where
Christ himself says he is.
What, then, does that mean for us on a Sunday like this one?
Does it say anything to us about whether or not the Father
actually answered Jesus' prayer for the unity of his disciples
through the ages? Does it say anything to us about our
affirmations in the creeds about a universal Church? I think it
does. Just using those few passages we mentioned a moment ago
about where Jesus said he would be, we can see that there is far
more that unites all these disparate Christian groups than
divides us.
Jesus said he would be with us in Christian fellowship. Do
the Methodists believe in fellowship and practice it, or the
Baptists or Catholics? Of course they do, just like we Lutherans
and Presbyterians do. Jesus said he was with us in those in
need. Does the United Church of Christ believe in and make an
effort to care for the sick, the naked and the hungry, or the
Mennonites or the Assemblies of God? Of course they do, just
like we do. Jesus said he would be with us in our efforts at
evangelism. Do the Pentacostals believe in and practice sharing
the gospel with the whole world, or do the Wesleyans or the
Covenanters? Of course they do, just like we do. Jesus said he
would be with us in the celebration of the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper. Are millions and millions of Christians,
regardless of denomination, gathered expressly for that purpose
this morning? Absolutely. As I say, if we believe that "Where
Christ is, there is the Church," we find that there is far more
unity in the midst of our Christian diversity than we might
readily have noticed.
One final consideration: what kind of "oneness" was Jesus
talking about in his prayer? Was it organic oneness, the kind
that would say that there should not be any denominations or
sects at all? Probably. After all, the only Greek work in the
New Testament that could be translated as "denomination" would be
better translated as "schism" or "heresy." So saying,
faithfulness does not preclude diversity. The unity for which
Jesus was praying was a unity of love and purpose. As Father and
Son are united in love and united in the mission of "reconciling
the world to" themselves, as Paul said, (5) so Jesus would have his
disciples to be equally united in love for one another and united
in furthering that mission of bridging the gap between God and
creation. That is what Jesus meant when he prayed "that they may
be one."
As I said at the outset, this is a special day in the life
of the Church. It is special because it causes us to focus on
what unites us as Christians, regardless of denomination, and
forces us to downplay the things that we have allowed to come
between us over the centuries. Considering all the strife and
division in the world, any day that brings people together is a
special one.
But it is special for one more reason: as we celebrate our
unity around the Lord's table, we can use the opportunity to
examine some of the causes of division among us and then take up
the challenge, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to seek ways of
overcoming those divisions so that, one day, even a casually
observing world will see, that Jesus' prayer was answered - that
by the grace of God, Jesus' disciples really are one. Then we
will sing with new meaning:
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord;
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love;
And they'll know we are Christians by our love. (6)
Amen.
1. Matthew 18:20
2. Matthew 25:40
3. Matthew 28:19-20
4. Luke 22:19
5. II Corinthians 5:17
6. Peter Scholtes
click and send us mail