Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus, by the power of the Spirit help us to be one in You, that we may reveal the love of God to the world - the love of the Father, the love of the Son, and the love of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A group of Anglican clergy were attending a conference in Scotland. Several of them set off to explore the countryside. Presently they came to a river spanned by a temporary bridge. Not seeing the notice that it was unsafe, they began to cross. A workman ran after them in protest. "It's all right," declared one of the clergy, not understanding the reason for the man's haste. "We're Anglican clergy from the conference." "I'm no' caring about that," came the reply, "but if ye dinna get off the bridge, you'll all be Baptists!" Apologies for the accent, if there's anyone here from Scotland - I do a better Irish version!
A temporary bridge. Heeding the warnings. Taking the plunge. Perhaps we could also be talking about our new coalition government?! The events of the past few days have been strangely fascinating, haven't they? And it has been interesting to note that ecclesiastical analogies have been used to describe what has happened. Take, for example, the following one from Andrew Gimson on the front page of last Thursday's Daily Telegraph, as he described the press conference launching the new government: "Mr Cameron sounded like a Church of England vicar who finds himself obliged by falling numbers to enter into a partnership with the local Methodists, but is determined to present it as a decision taken from a position of strength. There was wild enthusiasm in Mr Cameron's voice as he spoke about the 'great sense of inspiration and excitement' which has been aroused in him by the idea of coming together with Mr Clegg's chapel folk. … Mr Clegg will need, we suspect, to show extraordinary tolerance over the next five years. For Mr Cameron has rather selfishly bagged the post of .. vicar - or prime ministership as it is also known - and the splendid vicarage which comes with it. … It is already becoming clear that Mr Cameron will have the chance to deliver any number of sermons, while Mr Clegg, who considers himself just as good a preacher, will only be able to climb into the pulpit on the rare occasions when the .. vicar is away."
In these challenging times, it may be that the new coalition government provides the breadth, strength, and stability to tackle the pressing issues facing our country, and world. If it is to succeed, it will need a unity of purpose, and a continual willingness to find common ground. Yet it is not a political merger or union. There are doubtless tensions within the coalition, tensions which will surface, sooner or later.
Sometimes, it seems as if the Church - and especially the Anglican part of it - is rather like that new coalition. It holds together such a wide diversity of radically different Christian perspectives that it is hard to see how it can possibly last. This broad Church is an uneasy alliance in which different ecclesiastical parties vie for positions of influence. In this situation, Gospel truth is often in danger of being diluted by pragmatic compromise, and our true God-given unity of purpose is neglected in favour of 'keeping the show on the road.'
But is that really what God calls us to do? Does the Lord want His people to be a coalition of compromise? Not according to Jesus in today's Gospel: "As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be (one) in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17. 21).
We are called to be a community of love, not a coalition of compromise.
Unity is not an optional extra for those who would follow Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in his Letter to the Ephesians, Christian unity flows from our life together in Christ: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4. 4 - 6). Unity arises from our having one Father, one Saviour, and one indwelling Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit who integrates us into - and unites us within - the one Body of Jesus Christ, as children of the same Heavenly Father.
In today's Gospel, Jesus prays that "those who believe in me through their word .. may all be one" (John 17. 20). He is talking about you and me. His followers handed the word of the Lord onto others. They too believed and then in turn passed it on, and on, and on. If they hadn't, then the Church would have died out. But that's never happened. People have always told other people. That's why we are here today.
So what is Jesus praying for, as He prays for us and all His other followers, in this and every generation? "As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be (one) in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17. 21). He prays that we might be united. Such unity is not really an outward thing, a formal arrangement, a coalition of common interest. Rather it is based on - and must reflect - nothing less than the unity that is at the heart of God, that perfect communion of love that we confess as God the Holy Trinity. And then the world will see and know that this kind of community - one that is united across all traditional barriers of race, gender, custom, or class - can only be the result of God's love at work.
Unity, then is vital, if we are to live up to our calling. And that is why Christian disunity is so scandalous. Just as unity flows from obedience to the will of God, so disunity flows from disobedience. Wherever we find disunity in the Church - whether between denominations, within denominations, within a local church, or between two Christians - then, somewhere or other, there is a stubborn refusal to seek, or to submit to, the will of God. And in that refusal, and resulting disunity, God's love is clouded, and the witness of God's people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ is undermined.
If that applies to us - whether as a Church or to any of us in our relationships with one another - then may you and I pay close heed to these words of St Paul: "I .. beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4. 1- 3).
If we seek to follow the way, and obey the will, of Jesus Christ, then we are assured of this: God's help is at hand. That's certainly the message of Ezekiel in today's first Bible reading. Here God's people in exile were given a wonderful promise. It was a promise to renew them, both outwardly and inwardly. Outwardly, they would return from exile to their own land. Inwardly, they would receive a new heart and a new spirit, one that would cleanse them and enable them to be obedient. For God would pour His Spirit into His people, and enable them to follow His ways. God's help would be available to those open to receive it.
That promise of God's help remains. In Jesus Christ, it has been made by God in Person. Through Him, God's love has been poured into open human hearts by the gift of the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit - whose coming we celebrate next Sunday - who helps us to know, and follow, the way of Jesus. The way which leads to the perfect community of love. The way that continues to be the Lord's prayer for His people: "As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be (one) in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17. 21). Amen.
John Barr
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