At the Heart of Everything

“The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” — John 17:22–23

In these warm days of spring, a group of Trinity parishioners are visiting the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, where we have come for a pilgrimage. Iona is a deeply spiritual place, where for hundreds of years many have journeyed to find solace and pursue a deeper relationship to God.

Upon arriving at Iona Abbey, one is welcomed by a replica of the magnificent 8th-century St. John’s Cross (the original is in a museum), a unique symbol that enshrines the theological priority of St. John’s Gospel in this sacred landscape of Celtic spirituality. Standing before this ancient cross, one is drawn into the church beyond — perched beside the island waters as a place of prayer and silence — where time seems to stand still, and the soft voice of the Holy Spirit draws us closer to God’s abiding presence.

In our Gospel reading for this Sunday, John also invites us into the deeper places. Our verses reflect the very center of the fourth Gospel. Jesus, knowing that he is about to die on a cross — not of stone, but of wood — speaks with intimacy to his Father, with whom he is One.

His prayer is a tender supplication on behalf of the disciples and followers who have walked with him in friendship and in joy, who he knows will now suffer for his sake. He asks that these companions might be in unity with him, as he is in unity with the Father, not only for their own sakes but also so that all “who will believe in [Jesus] through their word” might be swept up into the abiding, familial love of the Trinity.

This is a profound, world-altering request, for Jesus declares that “the glory” that has been given to him is now being given to those he loves, so that the oneness he shares with God might be reflected in the love his disciples share with one another.

Like the interlocking, labyrinthine spirals and curves on the ancient crosses of Iona, Jesus speaks of an eternal union — the grand weave of humanity swept up into the mystical life of the Trinity itself. This Oneness is at the heart of everything — beyond time and founded on an overflowing love, without beginning or end.

John therefore asks all pilgrims to look inward, to seek closeness with God in the recesses of our being, and to journey deeper in. This is the place, the pastoral island, where God’s love might abide and reside within us. We do not have to travel far. God is here already.

— Summerlee Staten

Summerlee Staten is executive director, Faith Formation and Education.

Read all of Sunday’s Scriptures

Step Into the Story

Learn more about the sacred island of Iona.

Visual Art

Surviving in fragments on display at the Iona Abbey Museum, the ornate St. John’s Cross represents Christ’s victory over death. Its serpentine design is typical of Celtic art.

Poetry

English poet William Wordsworth famously wrote about the Isle of Iona: What can she afford / To ‘us’ save matter for a thoughtful sigh, / Heaved over ruin with stability / In urgent contrast?

Travel

Journey to Iona with travel guide Rick Steves. Take in the sea views and hear his overview of the isle’s Celtic Christian history.