"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-21)
The above is from what Bible scholars call Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer" which makes up the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John and is part of this Sunday's assigned reading in the Revised Common Lectionary. Jesus, while having his last supper with his disciples before his crucifixion, prays that they might have unity. He's not just praying for a general sense of agreement among them; rather, he's asking that they achieve some kind of spiritual oneness with each other, with him, and with the God of all Creation. This harmony will have a transformational effect on those with whom the disciples come in contact. People will actually experience the presence of Christ and harmony with the Creator Father through the harmony of Jesus' followers.
That's a pretty tall order, if you ask me. Jesus' prayer is putting us all in tension with one of our greatest desires: to be seen as individuals. I mean, don't we all want to be distinguished in some way? Aren't we all just a bunch of little kids screaming, "Look at me?!"
But that's the paradox: at the heart of things, we're all really the same. We're all made from the same molecules and atoms--the very dust of the earth is our essence. We all need food and water and air. We all are driven by the same passions for love, meaning, and security. And yet, we're all uniquely loved by God and blessed with individual gifts.
Theology sucks sometimes, doesn't it? How can we ever intelligently contemplate the nature of God, the mystery of the Trinity, when we don't even understand the paradox of our own existence?
I think this week's lessons are trying to teach us that the path to spiritual peace lies in seeking our oneness rather than reveling in our "ME-ness." Look at the First Lesson from Acts 16. The jailer, the minion of the oppressive government which is imprisoning Paul and Silas, becomes an object of our compassion. This guy has a duty and loyalty to his cause, just as do Paul and Silas. He's willing to give his life just as they are. He has a family he loves and cares about--just like everybody else. The imprisoned Christians in his charge recognize his common humanity and turn an "enemy" into a brother.
For my money, the greatest religious thinkers have been those who have emphasized the similarities, the oneness, of all religious traditions rather than the cultural differences. Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Karen Armstrong are all influential because they recognize that at our very core we are all one.
The best guide for ecumenical understanding of our oneness was taught to me by one of my theology professors, J. Paul Rajashekar. Now, I'm sure my paraphrase of Dr. Rajashekar's insights might be somewhat inaccurate, but you'll get the general idea (And, if you're reading this, Paul, my apologies in advance for any misconstruction of your wise thoughts).
First, people interacted in a tribal sense through a theology of exclusion. This theology said, "I know what I believe. I don't know what YOU believe, but I'm pretty sure it's different from what I believe so you must be wrong. I must, therefore, convert you to my way of thinking. Failing that, I must kill you and take your land."
This theology led to a lot of violence and bloodshed. So we got smarter and came up with a theology of toleration (not to be confused with actual tolerance). This theology said, "I know what I believe. I don't know what YOU believe, but I'm pretty sure it's different from what I believe so you must be wrong. BUT, I don't see any reason why we can't agree to disagree and live peacefully side-by-side. As long as your son doesn't marry my daughter, we'll get on just swell (Besides, some day you'll die and go to Hell anyway!)."
But Jesus urges us towards the path of oneness. Rajashekar refers to a theology of hospitality. This theology says, "I know what I believe, but I DON'T know what you believe. Therefore, I cannot assume that it's different from my own belief system. If we can get our vocabularies worked out, we might discover that we have more in common than we originally thought. We will emphasize our oneness, and learn to live in harmony with each other and with the Holy Spirit of God which dwells in each of us."
It's about putting our egos and our desire for ME-ness aside. Flying in the face of modern self-help thought, Jesus never prays that we will have self esteem. He is praying for oneness. It's a prayer both mystical and practical. Sometimes I wonder if, instead of working out the world's differences with soldiers and diplomats, we should send religious people who are willing to talk the theology of hospitality to those whom we perceive as being so different from ourselves.
It couldn't hurt.
Have a blessed week, my friends.
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