Commentary on Ephesians 4:1-7,11-13; Psalm 1; John 17:20-26

The reading from John’s Gospel is from Jesus’ long discourse at the Last Supper. The last section of this discourse consists of a long prayer which Jesus makes: first, on the completion of his own work; second, a prayer for his disciples; and third, a prayer for all believers.

It is this third part of the prayer which forms our reading today. It is above all a prayer for unity among all Jesus’ followers. Even when John’s Gospel was written, divisions had already appeared.

So Jesus prays:

I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their [i.e. his immediate disciples] word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us…

And why does Jesus so especially emphasise this unity?

…so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

And he continues, speaking to his Father:

The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

How, then, can people be expected to accept the message of Jesus, when those who claim to be his followers are so deeply divided among themselves, even to the point of violence? This was the sad situation in Josaphat’s world. It was later the tragic situation in the Reformation, an ongoing process of splintering that has hardly stopped in our own day. It is scandal even today in many parts of the world.

Earlier, at the Last Supper, Jesus had told his disciples:

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

He loved them to the point of giving his life for them. And he added that the sign by which outsiders would recognise his followers would be the love they had for each other. How can there be love without union, or union without love? It was this universal and unconditional love that Josaphat gave his life to uphold. It is as necessary today as it was then.

The First Reading from the Letter to the Ephesians speaks in a slightly different way of the conditions for true unity in the Church and among Christians. First there are the elements which bind us together. To begin with we need to live a life that truly reflects the Gospel (especially today’s):

…with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…

Then there is the presence of the Spirit and the binding force of true peace. Under the Spirit:

…there is one body…one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

These are the elements we must have in common. They give us our unique identity.

At the same time, there is room for a great deal of variety, as each one is called in a different way to serve and build up the community:

…some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…

In this way, we grow together:

…until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Let us continue to work for greater unity among all Christians—first, in our own Church and then with members of other churches. The witness of the Gospel depends on it.