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One

John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:4-7

August 6, 2006         (Click the date to see the bulletin)

1. How many ways are there to say "One"? There’s one in English, uno in Spanish and Italian, un in French, eins in German, eis in Greek, ehkad in Hebrew – that’s about as far as I can go. For just ONE word, the word one has multiple implications. What comes to your mind when you hear the number "one"? Well, there are football teams and their fans who are very interested in being #1. There are even huge foam rubber fists with the index finger pointing up with #1 printed on it. You wave them at games, and even if people cannot hear, they still know you’re saying "We’re #1!" Then there’s that special "someone" – Richard calls me "Dearest One" and I love it! Those without a special someone may feel all alone – as in Three Dog Night singing "One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do." All these are valid associations with the number "One."

2. But Jesus sends us another direction! Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all wrote about it. Matthew takes 10 verses to tell about it; Mark takes 14 verses; Luke, 35. But John spends five whole CHAPTERS to describe what happened that night in The Upper Room. >From John’s point of view, that night was worth the extra ink. You see, Jesus was preparing his disciples for the future. His greatest concern was "How will they get along without me? What will happen in the days and weeks ahead?" He had trained them the best he could, but would they remember? Would they carry through? As much as Jesus knew, he did not know exactly what the anser would be. So he did what we all do when we don’t know what to do – he prayed.

3. The whole 17^th chapter of John is Jesus’ prayer for his disciples. And the theme of his prayer is unity – being ONE. But what does he mean? Did he mean "Make them #1!"? Or "Make them the most significant"? Or "May they be all alone"? Probably not. So how can we discover what he did mean? A good way to find the meaning of a word is to find what it does NOT mean – explore other words and use that old reliable "process of elimination."

4. What about UNANIMOUS? Unanimous means being of one mind, having absolute total accord. But a group can have a unanimous vote on something, like a vote to adjourn a meeting, but still not agree on every single issue. No, being unanimous is not the same as having unity, being one.

5. Maybe UNIFORM? Uniform means saving the same form, always the same, never changing. Manufacturers work hard to have their products uniform. Think about a sack of Hershey’s Kisses – every one is THE SAME. How many millions of Hershey’s Kisses are there? Uniform they are, but we cannot say they are "unified." Each one is individually wrapped; most are not in the same package; packages are not even in the same store – or the same town. No, being uniform is not the same as having unity, being one.

6. Well, what about UNISON? Unison means having one sound. When we sing a song in unison, it’s supposed to sound like there is only one voice. So a congregation can sing in unison, but still have factions within it. No, being in unison is not the same as having unity.

7. So far, we know for certain that unity is NOT unanimous, it is not uniform, and it is not unison. Well, if it’s not any of these, that what IS it??? Unity is a lot like the circuit board I showed the children. Each chip has its own task to perform, so they are not unanimous; some are big and round and flat, some are tubular shapes, some are square-ish blocks, so we cannot say they are uniform. Very different parts, yet all linked together by a little blob of solder. And each chip is essential to the smooth working of our air conditioner. If even one of those little pieces gets corroded or loose, St. Andrew’s Hall gets really hot. Having unity, being one, means every part works together for a single purpose. This circuit board is my favorite example of unity.

8. Another pretty good example is a loaf of bread. What goes into a loaf of bread? Yeast, some kind of lard (shortening or butter), flour, salt and something liquid. Stir them together, pop it in the oven or bread machine, and out comes a loaf of bread. Can you see each ingredient when you look at a loaf of bread? No. Do you eat each ingredient by itself? Not hardly. Do you know anyone who eats yeast straight from the package? Or butter right out of the tub? Who sits down to a heaping plateful of flour with a side dish of salt? Nobody that I know! Yet when you mix all of these ingredients together, the result is delicious! Before it can be "delicious," each must lose its defining characteristic. Nobody can really taste the salt, and it’s no longer a little crystal, but we know immediately if the salt has been left out! Having unity means being one even though there are differences, giving up some of our distinctiveness for the good of the whole.

8. Having unity, being one, being whole, is a noble goal for any individual person, for a family, and even for a congregation. It means "having one’s act together," having every aspect of life working together, going in the same direction at the same time, toward a single purpose. In a family, it means every member cooperating, most of the time, and sometimes it even means setting aside what one wants as an individual so the rest can have what they need collectively.

9. But Jesus didn’t pray for individuals, nor did he pray for families. Jesus prayed for his disciples, the Church. He could have prayed for anything. He could have asked God to give them food for the rest of their lives, or positions of power and influence in the community. But he didn’t. He prayed for them to have unity. Jesus knew that this new Church would need UNITY more than anything. "Even though they are so different, O God, make them ONE, so the world will know that You have sent me" (17;23).

10. It’s such a good prayer. And it is my prayer for our life and work together. "O God, even though we are so different, even though some of us resemble yeast, and some are like flour, or butter, or salt, make us ONE. Keep us together as we move into the future. Make us like a loaf of bread – soft, yet well-defined; strong, yet no one of us over-powering the other. Make us ONE, O God, so the world will know Christ Jesus is our ‘baker.’"

11. We come to this Table today on the first day of the rest of our lives together. We come believing in the unity between Jesus and God – they are ONE. And we come believing in our own unity. We need not worry what will happen, or how it will happen. God has a wonderful way of being present as we work and pray our way into the future. We come to eat of this bread, made from so many very different ingredients, and yet still ONE loaf, ONE loaf to remind us that in Christ Jesus, we are ONE. Thanks be to God!

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