Easter 7-- "That Our Love May Be In Them"

Text: 26I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)

It seems like a simple request. And yet….

Jesus prays that the disciples—and all those who believe on account of their teaching—may be one as He and the Father are one. That the love with which the Father loved the Son may be in us, as well.

It seems simple enough, except the apostles had just been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

In fact, it seems that was an ongoing argument. The more you read the four Gospels, the more striking the contrast is between Jesus, who is warning them that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer and die, and the disciples, who are constantly worried about their status and position.

Their unity was tested by their pride.

It seems simple enough. Except, “32 …the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone” (John 16:32, ESV).

We often point out that 10 of the 11 apostles (we’re excluding Judas for this count) abandoned Jesus when He was arrested. That wasn’t all, though. They abandoned one another. They were scattered, each to his own home. What brought them back together wasn’t unity, but fear.

Their unity would be tested by their fear.

Sometimes simple requests aren’t necessarily that simple.

We don’t teach about our unity in the faith very much. It seems more important to focus on the fact that pre-marital sex is sinful, for example. That’s true. And it needs to be said when Scripture says it— which is fairly regularly— but perhaps that topic catches our attention in the text a little more readily than the topic of our unity in the faith.

The unity of believers is often a topic that we neglect until disunity becomes a problem—until the congregation has various divisions and various factions battling against one another. Thankfully we are spared that. But let’s revisit the topic of unity for a moment.

Our Lord’s request seems simple, except the temptation to try to be the greatest is still alive and well.

Sometimes you and I may not argue over which of us is the greatest, but we pretty easily pat ourselves on the back because we’re putting in the time; we’re giving the money; we’re volunteering to serve while so many others aren’t. Sometimes it’s even easier to do that than it is to get to know them, the unique gifts that they bring, and the ways that they might be serving outside the walls of the church.

As is the temptation to show partiality to some people and look upon others as second class members. Our Lord’s words accuse us in this regard, to be sure. They also go far deeper in pointing out our guilt.

Our unity is tested by our pride.

Our Lord’s request seems simple, except we base it on other things.

What is it that unites us? Is it your common status as sons of God? Or is it the family connections you share? Our common confession of faith? Or the long-term friendships that you have developed with others here? Where does our unity come from? If anything other than our common confession of faith and our common status as sons of God is at the center of our unity, then these words of our Lord accuse you. Theses are good things. They are great blessings. But they are not the unity that our Lord is praying for.

Worse, they replace the real thing.

Our unity is tested by false substitutes.

It seems like a simple request, but you do not love.

And are you maintaining that unity as you should? You have been taught to examine yourself before receiving the Lord’s Supper. One of the things that you and I should be examining ourselves for is your unity with your brothers and sisters in Christ. If someone has sinned against you and you refuse to forgive him/her, if you refuse to be reconciled to that brother or sister in Christ, then it is to be feared that you are receiving the Lord’s Supper to your harm, not to your spiritual benefit.

The Lord’s Supper is very much about unity—or at least it should be. According to our Lord’s own words, it is a statement that we are unified in our confession of faith. If you receive it without consideration for our unity in Christ—without regard for your relationships with other Christians or our unity as a congregation—you become guilty of sinning against the body and blood of Christ.

Our unity is tested by our refusal to love.

This passage isn’t likely to prick our hearts with a tremendous amount of guilt. But perhaps it should.

It seems like a simple request. And yet it is deceptively easy to transgress the love of Christ that should make us one.

You may, very well, face a time of great fear like the apostles faced. Perhaps a time of persecution, perhaps something else. Whatever form it takes, on that day will you be scattered, each to his own home? Will you lock yourselves away together in fear? Will your unity stand the test on that day?

Where Unity Begins...

His request isn’t easy.

Thankfully the unity that Jesus prays for does not begin with us. It begins with the love between the Father and the Son.

That divine love between the persons of the trinity is shared with you. “This is my beloved Son,” the Father declared at Jesus’ baptism and again at the Transfiguration. It is a love that is so deep and strong that there are 3 persons but only 1 God. That is the depth of their love for one another.

That love they also share with you.

And remember what we talked about just two weeks ago—the love of Christ is not simply a warm feeling toward you. It’s active.

Jesus showed it when “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

“It’s strong enough to stand unbowed and unbroken, beneath the fists and the whips of Roman soldiers…. It’s powerful enough to continue to see to the care of His mother …even as His very breath was being stolen from Him by the act of crucifixion. [It] is, in fact, stronger than death. And each step of the way it was for you. He endured it to pay for your sins of taking God’s name in vain, of false witness, of murder. He loved you enough to pay the price for all the ways that you have failed to love.” (see “Easter 5C” sermon preached May 19, 2019 and “Maundy Thursday” sermon preached April 14, 2022). That love— that bleeding, dying, love; that fearless love— was and is for you.

There on the cross, His prayer, His request was fulfilled: “the love with which the Father loved Him is in you, and He is in you.”

This past Thursday the Church celebrated Ascension Day. We remembered the day—40 days after the resurrection—when Jesus ascended into heaven. Because the love with which the Father loved Him is in you, and Jesus is in you, it would be hard to overstate how important Ascension Day is for you and me.

When Jesus said elsewhere, “I am going to prepare a place for you,” you probably have a similar image in mind about what that means: He had to put in a new subdivision just off one of those streets of gold or have a more mansions built in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. I heard another pastor by the name of David Petersen point out recently that that’s not what Jesus was intending us to understand. When He said, “I am going to prepare a place for you,” the place Jesus went to prepare for you is His place. He ascended to the right hand of the Father and is seated on the throne in order to prepare a place for you there with Him. It’s not just a grand event, it’s for you.

When He says that He has made known God’s name to you, that’s a bit of an understatement, too. He has given it to you. He comes to you— personally and individually— and, one by one, He writes His name upon you in baptism. That is how the love of the Father and Christ, Himself, dwell in you.

You are united to Christ in His death and resurrection through baptism. And you remain joined to Him through His ascension.

He has ascended in order to prepare a place for you there in the midst of the throne and is guiding you there to the source of the river of the water of life so that you will be right there where God, Himself, can wipe away every tear from your eyes.

Oh, and the enemies that are being put under His feet? It just so happens that they are your enemies, too. He took your enemies to be His, also, when He took on human flesh. They were defeated when He suffered and died in your place. And now, as He ascends to the right hand of the Father—to His rightful place of power and authority in heaven—and begins His reign, the devil, the world, your sinful flesh and even, one day, death itself are being put under His feet once and for all—not in order to glorify Himself, but for you.

Our unity begins and ends in Him.

It flows from—it’s actually created by— receiving the Lord’s Supper together.

In a sense, it’s a little unfortunate that our communion rail is straight across. It would be fitting, for example, if it were curved, if you weren’t looking straight at the altar, but also able to see one another. Because the Holy Meal that our Lord gives you here is not just about your relationship with Him, it also binds you to one another, to the point that the Apostle John writes that God’s love for us abides in us and is completed in us as you love one another (1 John 4:12).

That’s why Paul writes, “26If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Corinthians 12:26, ESV).

God’s love abides in you and is completed in you as you care about and for one another.

By doing everything from praying for one another to more concrete acts of compassion.

It abides in you and is completed in you as you forgive one another and are reconciled to one another.

It abides in you and is completed in you as you rejoice with one another.

As you rejoice on days like confirmation Sunday, just a few weeks ago, and as we rejoice along with our graduates next week.

It abides in you and is completed in you as you shed tears together.

As we’ll do again on Friday as we commit the body of our brother Bob to the ground— earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust— in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection; in the confidence that can only come from the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death.

That love— that starts with the perfect love of God for you in Jesus Christ and overflows with love for one another—

That love leaves no room for fear.

It seems like a simple request. It’s not so simple in practice. Thankfully the love with which the Father loves the Son is powerful enough to make us one.