Dear Partner in Ministry,
In John 17:20-22, Jesus prays for the church that “they may all be one” so that the world may believe that he was sent by God. The unity for which Jesus prays is to be a prime indicator of the Christian belief that Jesus was sent by God to bring reconciliation to the world.
This concern for unity is prominent throughout the New Testament. For instance, in the letter to the Ephesians (4:1-6) the church is urged to promote peace and maintain the unity of the Spirit by cultivating humility, gentleness, patience, and tolerance.
The letter to the Philippians (2:1-11) connects these qualities to the life of Jesus—who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but instead humbled himself, taking the form of a servant—and urges the church to follow his example.
The letter to the Galatians (5:22-26) speaks of the qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as the fruit of the Spirit. This way of the Spirit is essential for the unity of the church.
These texts point to the importance of the visible unity of the church as a testimony to our neighbors of the truth of what we say we believe. Our mission is vitally connected with an appropriate and visible manifestation of our unity in the midst of our diversity. Failure to maintain this unity will significantly compromise our witness to the world.
In the midst of the deep divisions currently shaping our culture, we should remember the prayer of our Lord that we might all be one. This doesn’t mean we will come to agreement on all the social and political issues facing us. Unity is not uniformity. It does mean that the unity we share in Christ transcends our differences and calls on us to love each other in spite of them.
This is the way of life we are called to live by Jesus as a testimony to the power of reconciling love in the world. May God give us the grace and humility to bear this witness at GPC as a sign, instrument, and foretaste of a world where everyone has enough and no one needs to be afraid.
John
