“I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us.”
Jesus continues to pray for us in today’s Gospel. God’s desire is to unite all of us: “I pray that they may all be one.” Sadly, however, religion can often divide us. Paul defends himself in his trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin with these words: “I am a Pharisee…I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.” The Pharisees believe in the resurrection but the Sadducees do not. As Paul brings out there is division and disagreement among his fellow Jews not only about Jesus but even about the resurrection from the dead.
Sadly, Christianity has also had its history of divisions, schisms, and “holy wars” right up to the present day: Christians are divided against Christians, and/or liberal Catholics against conservative Catholics. Often in these religious battles instead of trying to see the good in the other or even trying to understand their point of view the one side demonizes the other and caricatures what they are saying. Today we have a modern “holy war” with the “weaponization of Eucharist.”
Jesus prays that all may be one so that the “world may believe that you sent me.” What does the church, the Body of Christ, look like to outsiders? If all people see is anger, polarization, and division what kind of Christ do they see and why would the “world believe that God sent Jesus.” So, we pray with Jesus today for unity, for patience and understanding to see the good and holiness in one another. Let us pray and work for this unity: “that we may all be one.”