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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

John 17:22–23, LSB

Jesus came as the Christ with one mission: to build the Church. This isn’t about grand cathedrals or giant monuments to God and His glory. One only needs to look at all of Creation and see a testament to our Lord’s glory. Ultimately, Christ came for you. The Church is the people who are united in faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Church shines best as we shine out our Lord’s love to one another and the world. The monuments that we are called to build in honor of God are the people who have been snatched from the darkness and brought into Christ’s light.  The gift of Christ’s love reveals to us the Father, and we can only fully know this through the power of the Holy Spirit, who reveals all of this to us. This love shines brightest when we stand united in faith, and this is the greatest challenge of humanity. What does unity look like? We see it in the early Church as all came together and had all things in common. It isn’t uniformity, but seeing the value in the gifts that we all bring to the table and working for the mission of building up Christ’s Church and living together in His peace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.