Beef stew may not be your first choice for a food image. If it is, then stay with the image. If it is not, then pick another food image and go with that one. Now, imagine if someone poured the beef stew into a blender (or your preferred food image) and hit the purée button. So much for the complexity and joy of that beef stew (or your preferred food image).
When our kids had their wisdom teeth out, we had to purée a few things on that first day to make chewing a little easier. So, there may be exceptions and needs for the purée option. The point I am making is that we prefer the choice for the delicious complexity of something like beef stew. The meat, potatoes, carrots, broth, spices, all of it interacts and enriches each bite. On a cold, rainy night, beef stew with some sourdough bread is pure comfort food for me.
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus prays that we all be one. Jesus prays for unity. Here is where the food image is helpful. Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is about the complexity, interdependence, and complementary nature of unity, yes, like beef stew. Jesus’ vision is not about hitting purée. God has made the world with a remarkable diversity of stories, visions, and hopes, embodied in every one of the eight billion of us on this planet. Oneness is possible. A oneness rich in diversity, interdependence, and mutuality. Jesus prays for us to be one. May it be a prayer we join and work to bring to fulfillment.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Peter