That they be one

Christ's prayer for the disciples is a prayer of unity (Jn 17.11) but what does this mean in a period of time when there is so much disunity and so many people act more as if they were at the building of the tower of Babel. Christ prays this in the total understanding that he is sending the sheep out amongst the ravening wolves (Jn. 17:14-19). So Christ knows that the world into which his disciples are placed is a world that is not as it should be and one that is likely to fracture the community through time. Yet he still prays for unity. Our own world is fractured not only in our faith but in our social life together. COVID 19 has given us a time to be together in families and online with our extended people, our neighbours. The question we need to ask is what happens now as we move out back into the world do we go back to where we where or do we take courage from Christ and move into something new?

Perhaps our immediate reaction is to, like our forefathers in faith, yearn for what we had. Those who were led out into the wilderness from Egypt yearned for the past.  A past filled with hardship but also with those things that they had become used to. Here in the desert was a new experience and a new hardship. They were divided, they were unsure. If we look back into our past of just a few months ago we as a Church Universal were divided. I know of people who would say that belief in the bible and only what the words of the bible stated was right. I know others who look at the bible and see a book with a multiple of meanings not just one. I know of people who said that the OT or Hebrew scriptures were of little consequence as Christ had done away with the old and we only had to worry about the new. All of these were and are views held by people about what the scriptures of faith mean. Irrespective of their views the consensus was that people should abide in love but due to their individual interpretations of scripture they were often unable to do this. This acceptance of God's word in love and complete disregard for anyone else's view is the paradox of life that those of faith lived. Something that applies to all faiths throughout the world. This is where we have come from.

Only when we see with the full spectrum of love do we see clearly

Just as the disciples had little idea as to what to do when Christ ascended as they had come to a decision point (Acts 1.10-11); we too have reached a decision point but staring into the sky, whilst it is a decision, does not take us into the future,. The opportunity is given us as we come out of isolation to continue our self isolationist project and continue to bicker about our view of scripture, God and faith or move into or at least towards a better place. Each of us has a different point of view, especially when it comes to the display and outward expression of our faith. Our views are informed by our backgrounds and our social circle among other things. If we are brought up with a specific view of our biblical heritage we will see perhaps only in the black and white of that heritage, others may have been brought into faith late in life and embraced a more scientific and liberal view but still claim Christ as the light and redeemer of humanity. Our display of Christ-likeness is the only guarantor of being followers of Christ and by creating dissension within society as a result of strongly held views does not display Christ within our lives. Just so that we can be absolutely clear, if I was wearing glasses tinted green and I adamantly described the world around me in that colour spectrum others would disagree. Those wearing red glasses or yellow glasses would also have trouble with those not wearing glasses. However, if we all saw one thing in the same manner, we would be one. However as 1 Peter puts it we are surrounded by a "roaring lion" of temptation (1 Peter 5.8) to do what the ego wants not what love wants.

In looking towards God and attempting to interpret what God is telling us there is only one thing that binds us in unity with Christ. That thing is love and if and only if we act in all our words, deeds and thoughts with love we will be able to be as one. God comes in many dimensions and is viewed from many different angles when we speak about Christ and God if we do not use the language of love we are like blind people speaking about the different parts of an elephant and saying they are different creatures. Let us post COVID 19 speak again the language of love.