In John 17:20-23 Jesus prays for the Church Catholic by saying:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (English Standard Version).
This prayer for the consummate unity of the Church is spoken by the eternal Word of God. Therefore, we must have confidence in His Word. It will never return void. That being said, how do we make sense of this prayer given the current lack of unity in the Church today? Even in those communions that claim to be one (Rome and the East), doctrinal divisions abound on both a lay and clerical level. They can therefore only claim this “oneness” on a merely jurisdictional level. Surely the unity Christ is praying for—a unity that is on par with the unity of the Godhead—goes beyond purely jurisdictional unity. Therefore, the point being made is that no communion has manifested Christ’s prayer that they be “perfectly one” yet. Is this a failure of the Word, or is it something else?
Ultimately, I believe that this prayer is one that is realized over the passage of time. In other words, it is fundamentally eschatological. A Church which expresses perfect oneness, equal to the oneness of the Father and the Son, is a deified Church. Thus, the realization of this prayer is gradual just as our own deification is gradual. Just as we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), the Church must work out her corporate and covenantal salvation with the same fear and trembling. She must walk by faith and not by sight. She must grow in her humility, forsaking all sense of pride and self-sufficiency. Most of all, she must always remember her Saviour and his prayer for her visible unity.
This call to unity, therefore, must be at the forefront of all ecumenical dialogue. And while we must never forsake truth for the sake of unity (for this would not be unity at all), we must also not allow our own pride to cause a break in Eucharistic fellowship between Christians. St. Paul confronted St. Peter for this very sin.
So let us solider on with confidence that the Word who prayed for unity in his body will not fail to achieve it, while also remaining sober-minded about the fact that we are the appointed means of accomplishing that purpose. May we never grow weary until all Christians share (visibly) at the same altar and table.
Works Cited:
The Holy Bible. English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016.