Daily Devotions
Today’s Reading: John 17:20-26 & Psalm 133
“I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You.” John 17:20-21
Our Lord prays for oneness among Christians. As the Father and the Son are one with each other and with the Holy Spirit, so we—sons and daughters, brothers and sisters in Him—see that unity and reflect it to one another. As you hear Him praying for the oneness of God’s family, listen well, for you hear the very voice of our Savior, who soon goes to the cross to secure our oneness through His suffering and death.
Is such oneness possible? It is, if we focus our eyes of faith on His Table—the Sacrament of Holy Communion—and upon Jesus Christ, Host at His Table. “Take and eat; this is My body. …Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood” (Matthew 26:26, 28). We come to His Table aware we receive His body and His blood broken and shed for us. And as we kneel at His Table, let’s look across and around His table and become aware of our fellow believers. He gave us our redemption and salvation, not to be lived out by us in isolation, but rather in fellowship with one another.
As we gather around His Table, we express and display our oneness—oneness with the Father and with one another, made so by His body and His blood. What better place to express this blessed gift of oneness than at His Table? What finer way to continue in expressing that oneness than by repeatedly and frequently returning to His Table?
Prayer
Almighty God, pour upon us the gift of oneness in You so that we may be united together under Him who poured out His body and blood for us, and in whose name we pray. Amen.
Response
As we approach Holy Week, prayerfully consider your preparation for and your presence at His Table.