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Yes it appears to be a bit of a regression from John 17 back to John 13. But think of it as a recap to our look at John 14-17. John 13 is where it all started. The Lord's supper, last supper before the cross. If you listen to these as they drop, today is Thursday of Holy Week, the day that Jesus started the tradition of what we now call communion. And as we revisit that table meal, we are reminded that we follow a King whose crown is a towel. AND serving is His Way to blessing!

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Few prayers have driven and shaped my heart and my ministry like this prayer; Jesus’ prayer. And you know he prayed it with great fervency in the last hours of his life. It is his prayer for us, that we would be one, that we would be one, just like the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. He prays that we would live in such a compelling community that everyone wants to be part of it. But it's not easy, right? None of us are perfect, all of us are flawed and we bring those flaws into our relationships. So how do we live in this kind of community?

Here's what Jesus said, "I have given them my glory, so that they can be one." So I guess we need to ask the question, "Is his glory enough?"

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There is a prayer in John 17, a prayer between Jesus and his Father, just before Jesus goes to the cross. At the heart of that prayer is a simple request, "Father make them one. All those who will believe in me, make them one." Honestly I find myself grieved by how easily we minimize the unity at heart of his dream. He's praying that we would form a glory-saturated community that would reveal Jesus to the world around us.

And in fact, I will suggest that Jesus greatest prayer also reveals the great dream of his heart, a dream that continues to this day, "that we would be known by the quantity and quality of our love for each other. Jesus greatest dream became his greatest prayer. Sometimes it seems like Jesus-dream is little more than a pipedream. But if we love him, if we truly value the price of the cross, if we not only proclaim it but actually consider ourselves to be his followers, shouldn't his
dream, be our dream? Shouldn't his prayer, be our prayer?