Gospel of John, chapter 17:20-21

The prayer of Jesus after the last supper was that His followers be one, so that the world would know that His Father sent Him. How manifest is that message of unity among Christians in the world of today? What do we see? A church united or a church divided? One thing is sure: the Lord wants us to be one, just as He and the Father are one. The question is: How do we achieve this unity when there is so much division and animosity among Christian denominations? Can it be done? The answer, I believe, is yes. It can be done if we stick with the teachings and example of Christ. We can be united in the essential beliefs of the Christian faith; and we can be united in our common cause of following the example of Christ; the way, the truth, and the life.

Christian unity must be a top priority for every individual Christian, for every Christian community or church. That is why St Paul urges the Christians of his day to “make every effort” to maintain “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

When St. Paul was writing, the church was still one and undivided. Yet he admonished the Christians back then to do all in their power to be united as one body in Christ. The situation today is far from the unity of the early Christians. The church of Christ has suffered schisms upon schisms, divisions upon divisions, factions upon factions, with the result that anyone espousing “one flock, one shepherd” would appear to be dreaming an impossible dream. Still, that is what the Lord prayed for, and that is what we are commanded to do; to strive that all “will become one flock under one shepherd” (John 10:16).

We must all work together for Christian unity because we share so much in common. We all share in one baptism; we profess the apostle’s creed; we are powered by the same Holy Spirit; we are all children of the same Father God; and we are all called to follow the example of Jesus Christ; God’s only Son. What we have in common is much greater than what divides us. With this in mind, we need to come together as Christians to share the love of Christ, and to spread this good news in a world waiting to be healed.

This is a very daunting task, and it is going to be easy. The challenge facing every Christian today in regard to Christian unity is: Can we? If we take Jesus’ prayer seriously in the gospel of John, chapter 17, the answer is quite simply: yes.

Fr. Hugh Duffy