God's Math
05/20/07
Easter 7
John 17:20-26
Dear friends in Christ,
When I was a kid growing up in elementary school, I remember there was lots of talk about the new math. Parents were all talking and there was some conflict around this new way to approach the teaching of math. If I recall correctly the idea was to help us better understand basic math, rather than just have us memorize such things as multiplication tables. So rather than just memorizing 2 X 3 = 6, we might be shown a picture of 2 baseballs, then two more, and two more, 2 baseballs taken 3 times becomes 6 baseballs. Pretty controversial stuff back then for the adults, that new math.
Well, today I’d like to talk about some really different new math, God’s math if you will, as a way to help us unpack this gospel lesson from John 17. For the past several weeks during this Easter season, our gospel readings have come from that section of John's gospel known as the Final Discourse of Jesus. This last speech, that Jesus makes to his disciples concludes with these verses from the 17th chapter. It is really a prayer of Jesus to his Father in heaven and has often been called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. In a sense, it is Jesus' last will and testament, his parting words, his last effort to teach, to exhort, to encourage, to empower his disciples.
Now here’s the math formula, God’s math, from the text. 1 + 1 + 1 = One. Pretty strange math, isn't it? I guess I could understand parents getting upset if that was the new math being taught in school. But listen to these words of Jesus, and I think you’ll hear God’s math. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Did you hear it? 1 + 1 + 1 = One. It's not too difficult, once we, like good math students, understand the parts of the equation. So let's unravel this slowly. Start with the first two parts of the equation: 1 + 1. Remember Jesus' words: "You, Father, are in me and I am in you" and a verse later he comments as he prays to his Father, "We are one." 1 + 1 -- the Father and the Son are united. They are united in every way. They are united in will, in power, in loving intent for humankind, in commitment to salvation, in a mercy that endures forever. That's what Jesus is stating in his prayer. Jesus came that we might know God -- his will, his intent, his love, his grace, his forgiveness, his power, his peace. Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus. This is truly a case of "like father, like son" carried to the ultimate. To see and know one is to see and know the other. In God's strange, new math, 1 + 1 is truly one. Like the vertical dimension of the cross, God has reached down to this earth in his Son. He poured himself out in this man. 1 + 1 became One, because "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son ..." But there is more to this strange equation. There is another integer to consider. Jesus also said: I pray "that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one." Who is "they"? First, the disciples, then you and me. Jesus prays for unity among believers, that they may be one. Using the image of the cross again, picture that horizontal beam. Imagine it growing and growing and extending its arms. Watch how those arms grow and stretch and bend until they curve in upon themselves and form this huge circle that includes you, and me, and our friends across the street, and across the country, and over in Europe, Asia, India, Africa, indeed across all parts of the globe. And let those arms go and join hands as a symbol of unity. There is really no magic to God's math -- we are one in God united by faith! This is not some complicated calculus most cannot understand. This is God’s math that seeks unity among believers, even as there is unity between the Father and the Son.
It's God's math, and it works. It works because of the unmentioned third divine partner linked to the first two -- namely, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit accomplishes what God has ordained. The Spirit completes the work of God in Christ by calling us together, enlightening us with his Word, filling us with power through the sacraments, sending us out to gather others in his name and around the table with us. By the Spirit’s power, we are one -- not by our own initiatives, not by our own creativities, not by our own inventions. We are God's, claimed in the waters of baptism, joined together in his body, the Church, and empowered for living as a community of faith -- through God’s Spirit.
1 +1 + 1 = One, that’s God’s formula, that’s God’s math. So, what does it mean for us who have been called and gathered into the church today? Well, first it means that we are stronger together than we are apart. Think about that for a moment. We are stronger together than we are apart. Our ones equal one -- a whole. The gifts that God has given each of us individually are to be joined together to benefit the whole. We are to be a living organism, a body, that works together in ways we cannot work apart. This means we need to share our gifts with one another. In fact, in the New Testament, whenever gifts are mentioned, they are always mentioned in the light and the context of the community. Only as God's gifts build up this community of faith are they being used as they were intended to be used.
I feel this is a real battle today, this maintaining community. As I said a few weeks ago, our understandings of community are changing, especially with the online communities being created through the internet. We need to be aware of that and engaged in it, using those communities to build up the body of Christ. But I also believe we need to be together, face to face, person to person, to support and learn together in the church. I’m convinced it can’t be done alone, and those who think they can maintain any real meaningful spirituality apart from a faith community, are really deceiving themselves. We need to be together, we need to share our gifts, and so build up one another in the body of Christ. In my mind, one of the real pluses of our new fall schedule of two worship services with a time for education and fellowship in between, is the way it can potentially build community among us. I really look forward to having more time to visit, to participating in adult classes, to wandering among the God’s Gathering children, to have time for community. In some ways, that’s what are summer schedule does as well. We have time to be with one another, to share our gifts and to be Christ’s body. The second thing God's math means for us comes from the text itself. Why are we all to be one? Jesus answers: "So that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." God's purpose is fulfilled in that math, you see. Our oneness is a witness to the world of who Jesus is. People look to us to understand God, Jesus, faith, how to live, how to love. If we’re divided and not loving one another, how can we ever expect non-believers to come to faith?
And further, the only way the world will know about God’s love for them is through us. We are the arms of the cross outstretched and growing, every time we join hands with others in love. Joined to Christ in baptism, we are joined with one another in his body, and we have the responsibility to reach out to others in that love and forgiveness and grace we have come to know and experience in this place.
If I were to share one disappointment I’ve known in my now 26 years as a parish pastor, all in the Twin Cities Metro area, it’s that I don’t think we’ve done unity all that well. Within the local church, within our Lutheran denomination, and across the different denominations, we talk about unity better than we practice it. I understand that, because we’re human. Our individual selves and our individual understandings are always before us. But I continue to see lots of competition between churches for church members. I continue to see some churches suspicious of the practices of others. I continue to see churches failing to respect the traditions and understandings of other churches, as if they alone hold the truth in all matters. I admit that I have at times fallen into that as well, and that all disappoints me. I pray for greater respect, understanding, and practice of church unity, that we may be one and provide a healthier witness to the world.
Ironically, one of the joys of global mission and traveling to our partner congregation in Tanzania, Africa, is the unity, love, and mutual respect that is shared. There’s no competition, there’s no theological suspicions, there is unity and there is mission together. It’s tough to do that consistently close to home, and I’m sure they have those kinds of issues among churches there as well. But in global partnerships you leave much of that baggage behind, and can truly experience unity in faith and practice.
Finally, let me say a closing word about what this text doesn't mean. I don’t think it means that we are expected to one day on earth, have just one global church of some sort. The world’s too big, the cultural and theological differences are just too many to expect that to be. You can just look to nature and see that God loves diversity and that’s a good thing. There's no question that Christ's prayer calls for oneness, but I think he means oneness in spirit and in mission, rather than oneness in institution and structure. We are to unite around the great essentials of the faith and the mission God would have us do. And what is this mission? To a world of sinful people, we have a word of forgiveness and grace. To a world that fears death, we have the promise of eternal life. To a world that can't distinguish between right and wrong, we have a moral foundation to help us discern. To a world that too often hates, we have the witness of love. To a world full of injustices, we strive for justice and peace for all people. It is this faith and this mission that unites us and it is there that we find our unity.
A closing story about what happens when God’s math doesn't work -- when we don't allow it to work. It is reported that Mahatma Gandhi, in his younger days, was impressed with Christianity. One Sunday in South Africa he went to a church, planning to ask the minister afterwards for instructions in the faith. But as he entered the building the ushers refused to seat him. "Why don't you visit the colored peoples' church?" he was asked. Gandhi never became a Christian. "If Christians also have such differences, I might as well remain a Hindu," he explained. Yes, we have differences, differences that too often divide. But today we have been reminded of God’s unusual math, 1 + 1 + 1 = One. Jesus prays for our unity. As the Father and the Son are united, so may we also be one, so that we may be one in God’s mission in the world. Amen
With thanks to Glenn Luwig, esermons.com
John 17:20-26
Dear friends in Christ,
When I was a kid growing up in elementary school, I remember there was lots of talk about the new math. Parents were all talking and there was some conflict around this new way to approach the teaching of math. If I recall correctly the idea was to help us better understand basic math, rather than just have us memorize such things as multiplication tables. So rather than just memorizing 2 X 3 = 6, we might be shown a picture of 2 baseballs, then two more, and two more, 2 baseballs taken 3 times becomes 6 baseballs. Pretty controversial stuff back then for the adults, that new math.
Well, today I’d like to talk about some really different new math, God’s math if you will, as a way to help us unpack this gospel lesson from John 17. For the past several weeks during this Easter season, our gospel readings have come from that section of John's gospel known as the Final Discourse of Jesus. This last speech, that Jesus makes to his disciples concludes with these verses from the 17th chapter. It is really a prayer of Jesus to his Father in heaven and has often been called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. In a sense, it is Jesus' last will and testament, his parting words, his last effort to teach, to exhort, to encourage, to empower his disciples.
Now here’s the math formula, God’s math, from the text. 1 + 1 + 1 = One. Pretty strange math, isn't it? I guess I could understand parents getting upset if that was the new math being taught in school. But listen to these words of Jesus, and I think you’ll hear God’s math. “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." Did you hear it? 1 + 1 + 1 = One. It's not too difficult, once we, like good math students, understand the parts of the equation. So let's unravel this slowly. Start with the first two parts of the equation: 1 + 1. Remember Jesus' words: "You, Father, are in me and I am in you" and a verse later he comments as he prays to his Father, "We are one." 1 + 1 -- the Father and the Son are united. They are united in every way. They are united in will, in power, in loving intent for humankind, in commitment to salvation, in a mercy that endures forever. That's what Jesus is stating in his prayer. Jesus came that we might know God -- his will, his intent, his love, his grace, his forgiveness, his power, his peace. Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus. This is truly a case of "like father, like son" carried to the ultimate. To see and know one is to see and know the other. In God's strange, new math, 1 + 1 is truly one. Like the vertical dimension of the cross, God has reached down to this earth in his Son. He poured himself out in this man. 1 + 1 became One, because "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son ..." But there is more to this strange equation. There is another integer to consider. Jesus also said: I pray "that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one." Who is "they"? First, the disciples, then you and me. Jesus prays for unity among believers, that they may be one. Using the image of the cross again, picture that horizontal beam. Imagine it growing and growing and extending its arms. Watch how those arms grow and stretch and bend until they curve in upon themselves and form this huge circle that includes you, and me, and our friends across the street, and across the country, and over in Europe, Asia, India, Africa, indeed across all parts of the globe. And let those arms go and join hands as a symbol of unity. There is really no magic to God's math -- we are one in God united by faith! This is not some complicated calculus most cannot understand. This is God’s math that seeks unity among believers, even as there is unity between the Father and the Son.
It's God's math, and it works. It works because of the unmentioned third divine partner linked to the first two -- namely, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit accomplishes what God has ordained. The Spirit completes the work of God in Christ by calling us together, enlightening us with his Word, filling us with power through the sacraments, sending us out to gather others in his name and around the table with us. By the Spirit’s power, we are one -- not by our own initiatives, not by our own creativities, not by our own inventions. We are God's, claimed in the waters of baptism, joined together in his body, the Church, and empowered for living as a community of faith -- through God’s Spirit.
1 +1 + 1 = One, that’s God’s formula, that’s God’s math. So, what does it mean for us who have been called and gathered into the church today? Well, first it means that we are stronger together than we are apart. Think about that for a moment. We are stronger together than we are apart. Our ones equal one -- a whole. The gifts that God has given each of us individually are to be joined together to benefit the whole. We are to be a living organism, a body, that works together in ways we cannot work apart. This means we need to share our gifts with one another. In fact, in the New Testament, whenever gifts are mentioned, they are always mentioned in the light and the context of the community. Only as God's gifts build up this community of faith are they being used as they were intended to be used.
I feel this is a real battle today, this maintaining community. As I said a few weeks ago, our understandings of community are changing, especially with the online communities being created through the internet. We need to be aware of that and engaged in it, using those communities to build up the body of Christ. But I also believe we need to be together, face to face, person to person, to support and learn together in the church. I’m convinced it can’t be done alone, and those who think they can maintain any real meaningful spirituality apart from a faith community, are really deceiving themselves. We need to be together, we need to share our gifts, and so build up one another in the body of Christ. In my mind, one of the real pluses of our new fall schedule of two worship services with a time for education and fellowship in between, is the way it can potentially build community among us. I really look forward to having more time to visit, to participating in adult classes, to wandering among the God’s Gathering children, to have time for community. In some ways, that’s what are summer schedule does as well. We have time to be with one another, to share our gifts and to be Christ’s body. The second thing God's math means for us comes from the text itself. Why are we all to be one? Jesus answers: "So that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." God's purpose is fulfilled in that math, you see. Our oneness is a witness to the world of who Jesus is. People look to us to understand God, Jesus, faith, how to live, how to love. If we’re divided and not loving one another, how can we ever expect non-believers to come to faith?
And further, the only way the world will know about God’s love for them is through us. We are the arms of the cross outstretched and growing, every time we join hands with others in love. Joined to Christ in baptism, we are joined with one another in his body, and we have the responsibility to reach out to others in that love and forgiveness and grace we have come to know and experience in this place.
If I were to share one disappointment I’ve known in my now 26 years as a parish pastor, all in the Twin Cities Metro area, it’s that I don’t think we’ve done unity all that well. Within the local church, within our Lutheran denomination, and across the different denominations, we talk about unity better than we practice it. I understand that, because we’re human. Our individual selves and our individual understandings are always before us. But I continue to see lots of competition between churches for church members. I continue to see some churches suspicious of the practices of others. I continue to see churches failing to respect the traditions and understandings of other churches, as if they alone hold the truth in all matters. I admit that I have at times fallen into that as well, and that all disappoints me. I pray for greater respect, understanding, and practice of church unity, that we may be one and provide a healthier witness to the world.
Ironically, one of the joys of global mission and traveling to our partner congregation in Tanzania, Africa, is the unity, love, and mutual respect that is shared. There’s no competition, there’s no theological suspicions, there is unity and there is mission together. It’s tough to do that consistently close to home, and I’m sure they have those kinds of issues among churches there as well. But in global partnerships you leave much of that baggage behind, and can truly experience unity in faith and practice.
Finally, let me say a closing word about what this text doesn't mean. I don’t think it means that we are expected to one day on earth, have just one global church of some sort. The world’s too big, the cultural and theological differences are just too many to expect that to be. You can just look to nature and see that God loves diversity and that’s a good thing. There's no question that Christ's prayer calls for oneness, but I think he means oneness in spirit and in mission, rather than oneness in institution and structure. We are to unite around the great essentials of the faith and the mission God would have us do. And what is this mission? To a world of sinful people, we have a word of forgiveness and grace. To a world that fears death, we have the promise of eternal life. To a world that can't distinguish between right and wrong, we have a moral foundation to help us discern. To a world that too often hates, we have the witness of love. To a world full of injustices, we strive for justice and peace for all people. It is this faith and this mission that unites us and it is there that we find our unity.
A closing story about what happens when God’s math doesn't work -- when we don't allow it to work. It is reported that Mahatma Gandhi, in his younger days, was impressed with Christianity. One Sunday in South Africa he went to a church, planning to ask the minister afterwards for instructions in the faith. But as he entered the building the ushers refused to seat him. "Why don't you visit the colored peoples' church?" he was asked. Gandhi never became a Christian. "If Christians also have such differences, I might as well remain a Hindu," he explained. Yes, we have differences, differences that too often divide. But today we have been reminded of God’s unusual math, 1 + 1 + 1 = One. Jesus prays for our unity. As the Father and the Son are united, so may we also be one, so that we may be one in God’s mission in the world. Amen
With thanks to Glenn Luwig, esermons.com