The sense of "unity" in the Gospel of John: practice in Christian spirtuality

Abstract

This essay investigates the sacrality (origin, the nature) and the materiality of the unity concept, which forms the matrix of Johannine spirituality. For the author of this Gospel the unity between Jesus and his disciples is founded on the unity that exists between Jesus and the Father. In other words the unity between Jesus and the Father is the example (the blue print) for the unity to be constituted between Jesus and his disciples. This then obviously necessitates an investigation into the nature of this unity. Such a nature is defined in the vine-metaphor (John 15) and consists of “to abide in one another,” “to love one another,” “to be obedient to the one greater” which culminates in “the glorification of the Father.” For the author such a unity has to materialize in the lived experience of the unity among the disciples mutually. In John 13 Jesus explains and sets an example for this unity when he, in an act of service, washes the feet of his disciples.