At the end of a long day, as the noise settles and the distractions quiet down, many of us finally catch a glimpse of ourselves. We really get to see ourselves in the mirror. Not just the physical reflection, but the deeper truth beneath the surface. 

We see the traces of a day lived in tension: moments of tenderness and moments of irritation, words that we used to build people up and words we wish we could take back. There is love and regret, courage and avoidance, clarity and confusion.

The bottom line is, we are not one thing. We are a collection of contradictions held together somehow by grace. We carry within us this sacred complexity, and when we are brave enough to look closely, to look honestly, we see both beauty and brokenness. We see both the person we currently are and the person we are becoming.  

In John 17:20-26, part of the Final Discourse, Jesus prays for us. He does not pray for us to be perfect. He doesn’t pray for us to see what we see in the mirror. He doesn’t pray that we are successful or have faith. He prays for us to be one with flaws and our differences and our contradictions.  

The Greek word used here for “one” is the neuter singular form, which refers not to personal identity but to unity, purpose, and relationship. This is not sameness or uniformity. Jesus isn’t praying that we all become alike, but that we all become united in the same communion he shares with God — our Parent, our Mother, our Creator, our Father.  

Commonly, though, this text gets misinterpreted. We have to be careful with Jesus’s prayer for oneness. Uniformity is sameness imposed from above, from the top down. It erases differences, silences dissent, and it controls. When enforced, it becomes a tool for oppression. And sadly, we see this today. History and current events show us how easily we weaponize religion to create insiders and outsiders, to punish differences, and to claim God for our own agendas. We see this in acts of war and violence, in genocides that continue, and in governmental decisions for women’s bodies.  

But Jesus is not praying for that.  He’s not asking God to make everyone the same. He’s not trying to build an empire or monoculture. He’s praying for unity grounded in love. It’s the kind of love and oneness that comes from love that listens, love that bears witness, love that holds fast through the strain of misunderstanding and the ache of difference.  

This is the kind of oneness that reflects the very heart of God.  It is a vision of unity of love, rooted in relationship with God, with each other, and even with the truest parts of our own contradictions, and the differences of others. As we carry on our way, may we live as answers to the prayer that we may ALL be one, united in love.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Rev. Christina Schoenwetter is the Associate Pastor of Engagement at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Monroe.