“That the World May Know”
John 17:20-23
Today’s Scripture Lesson deals with Christian unity. In an attempt to prayerfully and faithfully
interpret this text I’m going to be very transparent. You may learn more about me than you really
wanted to know!
Let me begin by sharing an experience I had while serving as a Minister
Commissioner to our denomination’s 2000 General Assembly. Every day began with a very brief speak-out
session in which commissioners were allowed to share what was on their
hearts. One morning I heard two
extremely divergent opinions shared back-to-back. The first was a heartfelt plea that the PC(USA)
work to end abortions. The second was an
equally heartfelt plea that openly practicing gay and lesbian people be allowed
to be ordained. These statements were a
microcosm of the political and theological divisions in our denomination. Each of them was applauded by a different group
of those gathered. But here’s the irony.
The same person expressed them both. Go figure!
All of our ordination vows are equally important, but this morning I’m
going to concentrate on three of them: (First) Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by
the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church
universal, and God’s Word to you? (Then) Do you promise to further the peace, unity,
and purity of the church?
This
final one is no longer used, but it is one that I took when I was ordained in
1977. Will you be in subjection to your brothers and sisters in the Lord?
The Old and New Testaments are the unique and authoritative Word
of God. The Bible is the
revealed, written Word of God. This may
not mean the same thing to all people.
For me it means that the Bible as we have it today has been preserved by
and brought down to us over the centuries first in oral and then in written
form by the Holy Spirit.
Is it a Christian’s ultimate guide to faith and life? Absolutely. Is it meant to be used as a biology or geology
text? No. It’s more about who, what and why than when
and how. Is any particular English
translation we read a 100% accurate rendering of the original Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek? No. All translations are at best a paraphrase of
the original language. Those who do the
translating do not have access to the original written texts. They can only prayerfully, faithfully, and
diligently work from the oldest texts available, working as conscientiously as
is humanly possible to not impose particular theological assumptions on the
text.
An aside: My seminary education was more of the neo-orthodox than
orthodox variety. I firmly believe that all
theological thought did not die with John Calvin. John Wesley and Karl Barth had a few good things
to say. Nor is the Westminster
Confession of Faith the be all and end all of theological discussion. Neither Biblical scholarship nor scientific
research ended with the original printing of the King James Version of the Bible.
Moving on: Upholding the peace, unity, and purity of the church is
almost impossible in a sinful and fallen world.
In our pride we are prone to disrupt the peace and unity of the church
by way of our attempts to impose our particular brand of purity on it. In our timidity and need for everybody to go
along so we can all get along we often accept a lack of open conflict as a
substitute for real peace and unity. I
sometimes wish that I didn’t have to keep this particular vow. But if I’m going to be a Minister of Word and
Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA), I’m morally bound to try.
Being in subjection to my brothers and sisters in the Lord does not
mean passive acceptance of everything the majority decides. Majorities have been known to be wrong. Not does it mean surrendering my
conscientiously held beliefs. What it
does mean is that even though I am free to debate and vote against the majority
view, and even though I am free within the bounds of our Presbyterian polity to
express dissent in a variety of ways, I either have to learn to live with the
majority view until if and when it can be reversed or as a matter of conscience
I have to surrender my ordination.
My dual concern before I accepted a call to be your Designated Pastor
was that I would be too conservative for this presbytery and too liberal for
many of you. I get along well in this
presbytery, but from time to time, I do find myself rolling my eyes in
disbelief and scratching my head in bewilderment at some of the things said and
done at its meetings.
I feel very much at home here at Grace.
I truly believe that God brought us together for a reason. But every now and then I roll my eyes and
scratch my head in response to things I hear from some of you.
Before moving on I want to share some of my political history and philosophy
with you. Please understand that I
always seek to base my politics on my theology rather than vice-versa. I do not trust the Democratic Party at all. I trust the Republicans even less. I often hold my nose and cross my fingers before
I pull the voting the lever. Although I was raised in an almost devoutly Republican
home, as an adult I have been registered at various times as a Republican, a Democrat,
and an Independent. In 1996 I wrote a letter
to the editor of USA Today imploring Bob Dole and Jack Kemp to be real
Republicans like the ones in
What does all that have to do with this morning’s text? Well it’s my way of saying that: (One)
Christian unity is not necessarily a product of shared theological, social, or
political values. (Two) Christian unity
has absolutely nothing to do with us always agreeing with one another. (Three) It is possible to be a Democrat or a
Republican, a liberal or a conservative, a Calvinist or an Arminian and still
be a faithful, Bible-believing Christian.
(Four) Christian unity is built on neither a properly defined orthodoxy nor
somebody’s notion of political correctness.
(Five) Rarely is it possible for any of us to fit neatly into anybody’s
theological pigeonhole. As I often
answer people when they ask me whether I’m liberal or conservative, “It depends on your definition of those
terms, the particular issue under discussion, what day of the week it is, and
what mood I’m in.”
On the night of his betrayal our Lord Jesus prayed to his Heavenly
Father that his present and future disciples be blessed with a oneness not
unlike the oneness of God himself. God
is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three persons unified in one Godhead, each the
same, each different, all united in an eternal purpose. That is unity and diversity perfected!
Such unity is a gift from God. It
is never the result of any particular human process. Such unity is built on relationships with God
and one another. Such unity is a unity
that must be visible to the world. For
all our diversity, differences, and disagreements we must somehow let the world
know that we are united in our love of God, our love of one another, the
Lordship of Jesus Christ, and a burning desire to share the Good News of
salvation.
On that same night our Lord gave his disciples a new commandment, that
they should love one another. It is a
command. It is not a suggestion. We are to love one another regardless of
political, social, economic, or even theological differences. We are to love one another even when we can
hardly stand to be in the same room together.
We are to love one another even when we cause each other to roll or eyes
and scratch our heads. Even though we
cannot help but bring into the church all the divisions and distinctions that
drive us apart out in the world, we are commanded to not let those things
divide the Body of Christ.
It is our willingness to obey that commandment, and only our
willingness to do so, that enables the church to have any unity at all. Ultimately it is our disobedience in this
matter that tears the church apart. It
is our disobedience in this matter that causes us to demonize one another, label
one another as too much this or too much that, shut ourselves off from one
another by building walls of prejudice, self-righteousness, and notions of
intellectual, theological, moral, or ethical superiority.
Going back to my initial interview here, I remember saying that I was
hungry to be part of a body of Christians who loved Jesus. I believed then and I believe now that Grace
Presbyterian Church is such a body. Because
I believed that I was willing to move into this presbytery and risk being pastor
to folks who might on occasion question my theology or biblical
interpretation. Question away. I'll still love you. And I hope you’ll still love me. More than anything I pray that none of us
will stop loving Jesus.
“I in them and you in me, that they may
become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and
have loved them even as you love me.” Thus prayed Jesus for us. Thus we should pray for one another. Amen.