I took biblical Greek not when I was first in seminary at Yale Divinity School but years later while I was a campus minister at the University of Chicago.  I am not particularly good at languages, so I had to work up my courage to register, but I earnestly wanted to know how the language works.  We have it here in translation, but what lies underneath our version?

Our instructor started us on the first chapter of the Gospel of John right away.  We had our grammar books and dictionary, to be sure, but he had us translating the Bible on the first day.  And John is fascinating because he was not writing a testimony to the identity of Jesus as God’s divine presence in our world, as were Matthew, Mark, and Luke, what we call the “synoptic gospels, “ “Synoptic,” “from the same point of view.”  No, he was most concerned about concepts and developed a convoluted style that spirals back on itself to make his point.

That is what we have here at the end of his prayer for the disciples, a poignant moment just before he is to face the authorities and be killed.  “I ask 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 sent me.  The glory you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may be completely one . . .” and so it goes.  We get the point: the unity between God and Jesus is to be the unity between Jesus and the disciples, which is to become the unity among the disciples, ultimately which gives rise to the Church.

Unity with God, unity through God . . . that is John’s point.  How is God made known to a world that does not know God?  By the unity evident among the believers.

Unity, however, is not the hallmark of the Christian Church these days.  There is the apocryphal story about the man stranded on the desert island for ten years.  Finally, rescuers arrive, and they see that he has built three buildings, a large one and two small ones.  The man says to his rescuers, “Let me show you around.  This is the house I built that has sheltered me from many a stormy night.  And back here is the church I built, complete with stained glass windows, so I have had a place to worship God.”  The rescuers pointed to the third building and asked, “What’s that?”  “Oh,” he said, “that’s the church I used to go to.”

The Church originally split east and west, with centers in Constantinople and Rome.  Eventually, it split Protestant and Catholic, with Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli leading the way.  Henry the VIII formed his own church in England when he wanted to marry again, and again, and again, and the Pope said, “No!”  But, if you are king, you get to do what you want.  So, he established the Church of England, and we were reminded on our recent tour in the U.K. that there were hundreds of years of bloodshed from kings and queens on down to the average serf in the street, all because of religion.  Today, the Protestants have continued to subdivide until now there are hundreds of denominations.  Someone reported that he drove through a southern town where there were four Baptist churches – cleverly identified as First, Second, Third, and Fourth.  And three out of the four were at the same intersection.

How is it that we make God known to a broken and hurting world when we, ourselves, are fractured?

Now, harkening back to my formative years for a moment.  When I was in seminary we had at least fifty different denominations represented among the student body – Presbyterians, Lutherans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, AME, AME Zion, Catholics, Episcopalians, Disciples of Christ, the Salvation Army, Schwenkfelders.  I doubt if I would ever had met a Schwenkfelder if I had not gone to seminary.  But the truth is, in the classroom it never seemed to make a difference.  We all studied the same Bible.  We all sat next to each other in theology classes.  We learned pastoral care together.  We had rich discussions about church history because of the mix.  Diversity does not mean “division.”  Unity does not require union.  But making God known to an unknowing world takes love. 

“They’ll know we are Christians by our love,” we sing, but even before that, Jesus demands that we know him, and through his essential unity with God, we get to know God, too.  The unity of God and Jesus becomes the unity of Jesus and his disciples, which results in the unity among his disciples, us.  And the unity among us reveals God’s love to the world.  Our unity is revelatory; that is why we are called the “Body of Christ.”

“Give me a sign!” someone might cry.  “A burning bush!  Part the waters!  Let the Cubs win two in a row!  Anything so that I might believe.”  But, we are to be that sign.  We are to be the miracle.   

Katherine Raley, our intern from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, will be with us for only a few more weeks.  Then, she is going to Oregon this summer to be an interim pastor.  She belongs to the Disciples of Christ denomination, but she will work in a United Church of Christ congregation.  She has been a delight for us to have in our midst, and I hope that she learned something useful in a United Methodist setting that will encourage her in ministry this summer.

But, she has done some unusual things this year, like participate in infant baptism.  In the Disciples of Christ denomination they have believer’s baptism for someone who is old enough to answer the questions for herself or himself.  And they practice full immersion.  Many of you grew up with that as the norm, as well.

So, who is right . . . infant baptism or believer’s baptism?  Factions in the Church have defined themselves by their answers to that question over the years. It is possible to take a radical position on that and divide over it, if you wish.  But what if we saw baptism on a continuum on which we choose where to place the emphasis? 

In the Disciples denomination usually they have a christening ceremony for an infant, a naming ritual, a dedication of the child.  And then, when the child perhaps is twelve or thirteen, there is the baptism based on the individual’s own confession of faith.  That is where they put the emphasis.

In the United Methodist tradition we tend toward focusing on the infant for baptism, especially as the child, unable to speak for himself or herself, is a perfect example of one who benefits from God’s grace.  The infant cannot earn God’s love, but it is freely given.  But, what do we do when that infant becomes a child of twelve or thirteen?  We have Confirmation, the ritual during which the person of age confirms the vows made in her or his name at infant baptism.

Each tradition recognizes the importance of both times of transition; it is a matter of where each puts the emphasis.  Of course, we will baptize anyone at any age if the person has not been baptized before, but since we understand baptism to be God’s gift, not our reward, we hold that a person ought to be baptized only once, no matter the age or circumstance.  And we will sprinkle, pour, or dunk.  The amount of water is not determinative.  One is not more or less baptized if it happens in the lake or at the font.  Katherine, I am glad that you have been part of what we do here, and have been gracious and faithful enough to participate.

And the same thing concerning the Holy Communion liturgy.  In the Disciples tradition the Lord’s Supper is very important, but it tends to be less formal in style and more lay-led at the table.  Certainly, for United Methodists there are many liturgical forms to choose from, and the roles for laity and clergy are intermixed.  This, too, is on a continuum where we choose to emphasize what is most instrumental in a particular setting.  Again, I hope with your participation in the Eucharist not only on Sunday mornings but also Saturday evenings and on Wednesdays both in the morning and at noon when our forms are quite simple has given you a breadth of experience that expands your level of comfort.

The Church does not need to divide over differences, not if the differences fall along a continuum that is generous, and as long as there is love among the followers of Christ.  The unity is found in love, not agreement.

I spent a year as a minister of two small Methodist congregations in Wolverhampton, in the industrial Midlands of England.  It was a long time ago, but I still remember vividly the circuit meetings where representatives of all nine churches gathered to make decisions.  The prevailing formula that anyone would use when he or she stood to disagree with another, was, “I say this to you in Christian love, sister.”  John Pugh to Harry Hewitt, “I say this to you in Christian love, brother.”  And what came next often was pointed, but the preface mattered.  By placing a criticism within the context of Christian love, it was easier to hear and disagreements were easier to face.

We make God known to a world that is unknowing by the unity among us that is anchored in love, the love we have seen between God and Christ, the love we know between Christ and his disciples, the love we experience among us.

Some have said that when we worship together we are rehearsing for the rest of life, or at least that Sunday prepares us for Monday.  When we sing songs of praise we are opening our eyes to the goodness of creation.  When we pray we are developing our awareness of our deepest needs.  When we read scripture we are retrieving a history of interpretation.  When we baptize we are celebrating the sanctity of life.  When we gather at the Lord’s Table we are portraying the community of love that we want to become, in the Church and in the world.

People will come to know God first by what we do, and then by why we do it.  Feeding people, clothing people, soothing, healing, and strengthening people, doing what is right, just, and merciful for people, radically including people, extravagantly loving people. 

Jesus prays on our behalf, “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me.  I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  So be it.  Amen.