Unity, the word that jumps out at us from today’s reading. Jesus wants us to come together in unity. We often think of unity as being joined together, with common interests or a common goal, but Jesus doesn’t just want us to be in unity with each other, but in unity rooted in the life of God – Jesus said: ‘As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us’ – they also, that’s you and me, are we rooted in God? Do our lives and all we do spin and revolve totally around God?
At the beginning of the reading, we hear that Jesus looks up to his Father in heaven, and prays – throughout the events of Easter he has prayed endlessly for his disciples, but here he prays for us – for you and for me to be one, to be together in unity with him. What an incredible gift!
And of course there is no distinction, we are all equal in God’s eyes, he made us in his image, male, female, educated or not, young or old, highly religious or bordering on atheist, our sexual orientation, our ethnicity our cultural specifics, our bank balance – none of this matters to a God who sees us all as equal! Can we live that out, or are we sometimes the ones who spot the divisions and drive a wedge so wide in to them, that there’s no hope of unity? But if instead we seek God, we are drawn deeper in to Him, and as we become one these differences aren’t quite such an issue. Jesus says: ‘may they become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’ Our oneness is God given; we can only receive it through being utterly God focused, totally wrapped up in God’s love – and that love is transferred to us, so that we can love others, regardless of difference. That sounds like perfect unity to me!
But how do we seek God? How do we become one with God and grow roots so firm and thick that we remain rooted in him? How do we get so close to God that our heart beats in rhythm with his, or hers? We are all made in God’s image, but we are all so very different and that difference will mean we meet with God and experience God in very different ways.
We are now in the period of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, the global wave of prayer, based on the Lord’s Prayer that started 10 years ago. Here in church, we have some resources to help support your times of prayer – please have a look at the table at the back of church and if you can find time, use our prayer trail, seek out God as you pause and pray.
Our Archbishop, Stephen Cottrell, who was one of the founders of the initiative says: ‘prayer isn’t about telling God what we want or trying to change His mind, prayer helps us to seek God’s way, to discover His vision for each of us.’ He goes on to say that ‘our relationship with God is the beautiful, intimate relationship that is best understood as like the relationship between a loving parent and a dearly loved and cherished child.’ He mentions that in the original language, the Lord’s Prayer would have started with the word Father, rather than ‘Our Father’– how much more intimate and inclusive does it sound to start with ‘Father of ours…’ Straight away, when we use that word ‘Our’ we are including our brothers and sisters in our prayer, we are bringing them into unity with ourselves and with God – we go on to say ‘give us our daily bread’, ‘forgive us our sins’ – when we pray the Lord’s prayer do we ever pause to think who the ‘us’ relates to?
Saying the Lord’s prayer, positions us well to enter a loving and intimate relationship with God – it really is a radical prayer that calls us into relationship; it reconciles us to God and to each other regardless of difference or differences – and sets us up to ‘demonstrate on earth the radical hospitality of God’ [Everyday Faith]. Father of ours, abba, words of endearment prayed by us, the children of God as we seek Gods power, the power of love. Love that transforms.
If you prefer all things techie, there is a TKC app and I can recommend the Church of England’s – ‘Everyday Faith’ app, which is currently covering Thy Kingdom Come using the Lord’s Prayer, however it gives prayer, scripture, reflection and invites a response for every day of every week – it’s very accessible and will even speak to you if you wish! Reading scripture and giving space to God every day, brings us in to step with our God and ensures we don’t follow our own way, but God’s.
We also have the wonderful opportunity of our ‘Retreat and Refresh’ Parish Away day coming up this Saturday. All of us need time away with other Christians – with each other – and with God to enable us to have that intimate relationship that brings us together in unity. The away day is just for us, as a church family – ring fenced time to speak to and listen to God – to be in the presence of our Father, to come close and grow intimacy as you lean in to the ‘Father of ours’. Please don’t think that this day isn’t for you – because it absolutely is! Faith is utterly personal and we are all in different places on the journey that is faith, what is important is that you give your faith space to grow and flourish wherever you are on that journey. There’s no pressure to do anything that you feel isn’t you or that you might be uncomfortable with – there will be opportunities to come together to hear some scripture, get creative or chat over coffee – but also oodles of space to just be alone and sit or walk in the presence of God.
Some of you might well have heard this story before – but many years ago – probably about 20 – I felt I had faith wrapped up. I went to church on a Sunday, spoke to God a fair bit most days, read my bible now and again, but in reality, I wasn’t living life as a Christian. However, I knew God, and had done for much of my life – in fact God really was the bedrock of my life, always solid through the ups and downs of all that life throws at you. I was ok, or so I thought. Out of the blue my vicar at the time challenged me to come along
to a Holy Spirit Day, not a nice serene quiet day, in fact quite the opposite – ‘I don’t need
that’, I blustered, ‘why would you think I need that – I know God.’
In any event, I checked my diary, I was out – I was taking the children to Disney on Ice so I
had a good excuse not to go. However, over the next few days, I felt prompted to say that I could go to the first few hours of the Holy Spirit Day – we were catching a coach at lunchtime, so the morning was free. I went along, not knowing what to expect and still thinking that I didn’t need to be there. However, God had other ideas. God knew I was only there for the morning and incredibly I was overwhelmingly filled with the Holy Spirit in a very physical way within the first hour of being there – suffice to say that I did make it to Birmingham, with two small children, managed to get to the venue and get home again – however I have no idea what we saw as I floated in a world of intimacy and love as God began to transform me.
I can honestly say that my faith changed overnight, as it started to grow and flourish and my intimacy with
Jesus blossomed – and to think that I almost missed out. I soon found out what it meant to have a personal relationship with God. And the reason I’m sharing this story is because I want everyone of us to have that. If we don’t open ourselves up to these opportunities our faith will struggle to grow, we won’t be transformed, and we may well spend our days holding God at arm’s length, struggling to come together in unity and quite possibly struggling to show God’s radical hospitality to all whom we meet.
God comes to us in different ways – please don’t be concerned that you are being encouraged into anything you don’t feel comfortable with, God knows you as his child, he will come to you in a way you can manage and a way you can work with. Imagine the possibilities of growing ever closer to the one who created us!
I urge you to think today about what you will do to allow your faith to flourish and also to think about the things you might be holding on to that stop us living in unity with others and with God. How can we begin to see others through the lens of oneness and unity rather than the lens of difference? I believe it is by intentionally growing closer to the God that loves us unconditionally.
Service: Rev Rebecca Yates, 1st June 2025. (St John’s Church Peterborough UK)
Reading: John 17:20-26