Lent Reflection: Ecclesial Unity

John 17:20-26

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,  
²¹ 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.  
²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,  
²³ 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.  
²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  
²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.  
²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

There are many reasons why I am an advocate of Lenten practices in church. Jesus' prayer, located in John's gospel, ranks supreme on such a hypothetical list.  By partaking in Lent, and other seasons on the church calendar, we are reminded that the local congregation participates in the holy, apostolic, catholic, and orthodox Church. Administratively and doctrinally we may remain separated in too many ways, but in faith we claim and seek the unity of Christ's body. Engaging in the traditions of the Church, including Lent, is one practical aid in helping us to realize Jesus' prayer.