May 23, 2004

Mindekirken , May 23, 2004

Pastor Jens Arne Dale

John 17.20-26

My mother has told me how scary it was to see German soldiers occupy Norway in April 1940. For her generation, seeing historical films from the big nazi gatherings, recalls painful memories. Hitler wanted to be the strong leader, he presented simple solutions and pointed out a scapegoat (the Jews). In Hitler’s dream of unity, his voice spoke for all. WW2 was the cost of getting rid of Hitler’s sick dream of unity.

I grew up in the shadow of the cold war. It’s a long way from nazism to communism, but both ideologies are totalitarian. The will of the single human is supposed to become one with the central, eater expressed by Der Fuhrer or the dictator of the proletariat. Since communism rottened on root, and the wall (in Berlin) literally fell, totalitarian ideologies have been less visible in the world. That’s good.

It’s always dangerous when people in positions of power demand subjection and obedience from others. Also in the realm of faith, totalitarian regimes may exist. Be critical to leaders who preach simple solutions, who deny criticism and reject whoever disagree. If there is no corrective, life in a faith community may develop to suppression and abuse of power. That’s why the position of supervisor is so important. Christian leaders have to be responsible towards somebody from outside the congregation. In our church, the bishop is appointed to such a position. I’ve a friend who is a pastor in a Baptist church. For a long time he has been concerned about people who have been involved in sects where everybody had to be of the same opinion, feel and think the same way. Some times, when people break away from such sects, other members regard them as dead. The prize may be to loose both friends and family. It takes a lot to begin to think independently after having been brainwashed by a sect.

I wanted to address these things today because today’s text is concerned about unity. And several strong leaders have used, or may we say misused, this text to justify their own position. They may claim to be understood as tools elected by God, and they are in a position to define the will of God for the people they will lead. If someone opposes, one opposes God. In that way power might be misused, and abuse develop in the name of God. This week Norwegian news focus a Pentecostal pastor who is accused for manipulation, sexually abuse and two homicides, all in the name of God.

If we read today’s text carefully, we’ll see that there is no allowances given to the false shepherds whether they wear a political or a religious suit. Quite the opposite, true Christian unity is based on the love that makes free. The method of the leaders I have mentioned here, is force.

John 17 is often called the high priest prayer of Jesus. Here, Jesus prays for himself, then he prays for all his disciples, that God must keep them from all evil. In our text, the perspective is widened out. Jesus pray for those who will believe in Jesus through their word. The unity in Christ spread like rings in the water in geography, it grows with the time. We are also included. 1John 2.1 says that Jesus constantly does intercession for us: We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. That means that Jesus prays for us, even today. When we are gathered here, we are subject to the love and care of the triune God.

The glimpse we get today of the prayer life of Jesus, reveals much about him. At this time of his ministry, Jesus had lost a lot of supporters. He knew that his disciples soon would deny and flee. He saw the cross and his gruesome death in the distance. Humanly speaking, it looked like his movement was about to die. But Jesus was confident that this was only the death of a grain. From this something new would grow up, and spread through out the whole world. He was confident in God and trusted his own disciples. What did Jesus pray about? He prayed that they all must become completely one. What kind of unity did Jesus have in mind? It was hardly an organization or an administration. The unity would be a personal relation to Jesus, to know him. The love between the Father, Son and The Holy Spirit would be the example. Looking at the church today, one might think that such a unity may be far away. Isn’t the church split in numerous denominations? Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. It was like a spring field, a growing tree, a fish net castled in the ocean, Jesus said. He used beautiful and poetic images in his parables. Some has, with poorly hidden disappointment, pointed out that Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. Instead we got the church. It does not look like the fellowship of people of whom it is said: Look, how they love each other. Some says that it was Paul and Peter who built the church as an institution or an organization. Jesus had never meant it should develop that way. The answer to that, is that Jesus twice, in Matt 16 and 18 uses the word church, and both texts mirror detailed rules for life in the congregation. The church has it’s time until Jesus returns. It has to have the shape of an organization if we like it or not. The kingdom of God is though present, but it is also described as something which will come when everything is to be renewed.

In the 19^th century, there was a bitter theological dispute in South Africa. The fight spread even to England, and on that background Samuel John Stone wrote the powerful church hymn The Church’s One Foundation. There he says: By schisms rent asunder .. it still is One in Christ. Mindekirken is an ELCA church. The question of ordination and homophile are disputed now, and these issues might have the potential to split the church. It would not be right to suppress the theological debate in the name of unity. The legacy of the reformation is to obey one’s conciseness according to the word of God, even in cases where the church might be splinted. The question is: Which issues concerning creed, liturgy and ethics are so essential that it is worth that price. Looking back on Norwegian church life in the US, there might have been situations when the opposition was of a personal nature, but the arguments were theological. On the other hand, I’m not so sure that church fusion would be the whole answer to Jesus prayer. Unity in organization would only be part of the answer. Why?

The unity of the Church depends on Christ. Unity doesn’t demand agreement in all respects. Paul says in Epees 4.4: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the on ehope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. And 1 Cor 10.17 says: Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body…Therefor we belong to each other, Christians through all times, at all places, with whatever special flavor we may have.

Glory be to God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one true God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ·  924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 ·  (612)874-0716