6th Sunday of Easter (Jn. 14:15-21)
“I pray for those who will believe in me through their word, that all may be one as you, Father, are in me, and I in you; I pray that they all may be one in us, that the world may believe that you send me.”
We read extensively from the Gospel of John in the Easter Season. John’s Gospel was written for a Christian community that was in great turmoil. We remember that there were many factions in the community. The members of the Johannine community were being forced out of the Jewish synagogue. Some members believed that they shouldn’t leave their Jewish faith to be part of the Christian movement. Others believed that to be true to Jesus they had to separate themselves from their Jewish brethren so that they could form their own religious organization.
The writer of John was greatly distressed by all the upset he saw. We can imagine friends being alienated from each other. Families were probably divided with some members following the new Christian way while others maintained their Jewishness. The writer of John was trying to hold the fledgling Jewish community together. So, he speaks often about oneness.
We can remember how John uses the symbol of the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine his followers are the branches. If Christians cut themselves off from Christ, they risk spiritual atrophy.
The oneness John speaks of is broader than just church membership. He writes of a oneness that unites the believer to God. What does Jesus say repeatedly in the Gospel of John? He says over and over that when he speaks, it is the Father speaking. For the Father and I are one he says. When you hear me teach it is the Father speaking. But not only are the Father and Jesus one with the Spirit, those who are baptized believers are one with the Trinity. We are one with God.
And it is that oneness that gives us hope. Christians can have hope even in the face of death. Quite often we speak of death as the ending of something rather than the continuation of something. Emanuel Kant, a great Philosopher spoke of death as the end of the “Empirical Ego” of a person. What did he mean by that? The empirical ego is said to be an object of self-reflection where we observe our own mental state shaped by time and experience. While we live on earth, we are constantly aware of the fact that one day time will run out. Our senses are bombarded by all the events of our lives. We file incidents away. We speak of our bucket lists. We feel that we must achieve our goals if our life is to be worthwhile. Of course, we never do everything we hope to do. No, it is impossible.
When we die the empirical ego dies, but the spiritual part of us remains alive. From the beginning of existence we are connected to God. We are always one with God. We forget that we are also one with everyone else who lives. When a person dies, we could say they let go of the ego to be absorbed into the everlasting life of God. Spiritually, they are still with us. We feel their presence; they are a part of our life experience that always remains in place. Certain moments remind us of their continued involvement in our life.
Today, I remember my mother. She died on Mother’s Day in 2012. I feel her with me today. I remember the wise things she said. I remember her spiritual example. I recall how we would take flowers to her mother every Mother’s Day. My mother valued faith in Jesus above all else. Today, 14 years after physical death she is one with the Trinity. She is one with me. And her life and death remind me that someday I will join in the eternal oneness that Jesus prayed for. One day everything will be one as God intends. And that is the way things have been planned from the beginning of creation. We all move towards final unity with Christ.