Oneness

 

The Spiritual Waiting Room

Oneness

God's Love

Revealed   Sign   United

I In Them You In Me

Us

(Photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture:   John 17:22 and 23

Jesus was praying with His apostles at the conclusion of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday and said,

"I have given them the glory that the Father gave Me.

I want them to be one as We are one.

I in them.

You in Me.

I pray that they may be brought to perfection as one.

This way the world may know that You sent Me.

They will understand that You love them just as You love Me."

Reflection

Did you ever feel truly one with someone?

It is a great feeling and a moment to be cherished. It can happen when we are talking with someone, and we know that person understands us and connects with us.

Sometimes it can happen with a group. We can be at Mass or at a concert or a play and we feel at one with everyone who is there.

People go to sporting events and have a similar experience. Our team rallies in the bottom of the ninth and wins the game on a walk off home run. Everyone in the stands is on their feet cheering and screaming.

In our reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus is praying to the Father for oneness. He wants all of His followers to experience exactly what He has: a closeness with God the Father.

It is a unity that comes when we truly love another person and feel at one with them. Jesus wants us to feel God's Love as He feels it.

Jesus reveals a God who loves us completely and totally. God holds nothing back. It is a love that bonds us to God forever.

Jesus has left us signs of that Love. We call them sacraments. They are meant to remind us that we are loved because we can tend to get caught up in our daily tasks and worries and forget how deeply our God loves us.

Jesus tells us that we are united with God just as He is united with the Father. It is a unity that God will never break. We have the freedom to walk away from that unity; but God will always pursue it. God wants to be one with us forever.

Jesus desires to be with us. He knows the feeling of unity. It is that feeling of unity with the Father that has helped Him is His ministry. There were those who opposed Him, walked away from Him, and desired His death. In all of those circumstances Jesus knew that the Father would be with Him and be one with Him. He would never be alone.

Jesus wants that same strength and intimacy for us and prays to the Father that we might always possess it.

No longer is it I.

It is Us!

Forever.

1. When have you felt one with others?

2. Do you feel close with God the Father and Jesus?

3. Why does God love you totally and completely?

4. What sacraments remind you most about God's Love for you?

5. What do you feel as you contemplate Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)