How many of you like to do puzzles? Which kind of puzzles - crossword, sudoku, mahjong or jigsaw? Let’s focus on jigsaw or multi piece puzzles, like the ones I have here. Made up of many individual, usually multi-colored pieces that fit together to make a picture.
Each piece, while unique, is necessary for the complete picture. If a piece is missing the picture will not be completed. It’s quite maddening when that piece can not be placed in the almost completed puzzle.
My daughter and I used to do jigsaw puzzles together when she was young. She thought it great fun to squirrel away a piece as soon as we dumped out the box. She would hide that piece somewhere, in her pocket or underneath the couch cushion. Oftentimes she would be sitting on it.
She took great pleasure in retrieving the “missing piece” so she would be the one to complete the puzzle. That one little piece completed the picture. Now such joy that so many little, unique colorful bits of wood or cardboard put back together become a beautiful image.
Puzzles, you see, show the importance of unity. Each piece is necessary for success. Jesus prayed that we may be one as he and the Father are one. He didn't pray for us to be tolerant or to be nice to each other.
He didn’t pray for us to be the same so that we are a homogenized or blended up people. He prayed that we would be united, not untied or separated. To be united we reflect the glory of God’s presence in the world.
“We are many yet we are one. We are separate yet bound in His love and together we are all His hands and His feet bringing mercy and peace to this world. We are many but one. We have fallen but we are forgiven. Broken and scattered but being made whole by our redeemer, one Lord and Redeemer. One Shepherd who gathers us all Gathers us all” (Steve Angrsano - Many and One”
We were created as individuals, each of us having our own identities. Unity in God and Jesus doesn’t take that away. Just like a jigsaw puzzle where each piece is unique, yet every piece is essential to the whole, so too, is it in God’s plan for us to complete creation and bring about heaven in the here and now.
We as followers of Jesus, now united with him, celebrate the interdependence we share with each other. While we each have different and unique gifts and roles, each person is needed to complete God’s puzzle. These gifts are given by God for the purpose of building up the church and fulfilling His plan.
Oneness or Unity is a quality of life – God’s life in the world. Jesus’ prayer for oneness is that we will come to be and live like God, and to love like God. Unity or oneness is not about eliminating differences.
It’s about the power of love, the only thing that can conquer division or disunity. Jesus throughout his ministry told us to love God, love others both friend and foe and to love oneself. When we love God, our enemies and our friends and ourselves, we revel in the oneness of God’s grace. No longer will we experience division, dissension or discord..
Where might we show this unity in the world in which we live? As followers of Jesus, we walk together, and come together as church, the body of Christ.
Hopefully we are like a puzzle where each person is like a piece of that puzzle, unique and vital to the community. A place where each puzzle piece has its own shape and place, in the picture. Completeness depends on all the pieces. A puzzle isn't complete without all its pieces, and the church isn't complete without every member fulfilling their role.
“We are many yet we are one. We are separate yet bound in His love and together we are all His hands and His feet bringing mercy and peace to this world. We are many but one. We are different as morning and evening. Each of us living as we have been called. All of us seeking, each of us reaching to A Shepherd who gathers us all. Gathers us all” (Steve Angrisano - Many and One)
So, if we are the Body of Christ, the church, then we are like an "interlocking" puzzle, where each of us supports and strengthens each other, rather than "non-interlocking" pieces that easily fall apart.
This unity is part and parcel of God’s master plan for our lives and for the world.even if we can’t see the full picture. Working, witnessing and praying together, we reflect the oneness of God which helps us build a stronger community.
Jesus makes the puzzle whole, he completes the picture we can;t fully see. He is the puzzle piece that has been “hidden under the couch cushion.” He is the final crucial piece that brings clarity and purpose to our lives.
His puzzle piece is in the shape of love, the love that knows no boundaries. Jesus reflected the Father’s love for all , – male and female, rich and poor, gay and straight, conservative and progressive, educated and uneducated, young and old, sinner and saved, Christian and Muslim, orthodox and heretic, citizen or undocumented. All are loved, fully, completely and unconditionally.
God loves you the same as he loves Jesus. Think about that for a minute. God values you and loves you just as much as God loves Jesus. You are precious, you are loved
“We are many yet we are one. We are separate yet bound in His love and together we are all His hands and His feet bringing mercy and peace to this world. We are many but one .We are brothers and sisters in spirit. Found in all nations that are near to the Lord. Each one belonging, together now longing for The Shepherd who gathers us all. Who gathers us all. We are many yet we are one. We are separate yet bound in His love and together we are all His hands and His feet bringing mercy and peace to this world. We are many and one. We are one.”” (Steve Angrisano - Many and One}
So we have found the “hidden” or last piece of our spiritual puzzle. It is love, the love that Jesus prayed we would be given. The love that Jesus and Father share with each other and with us.
Blessings on your day.
Notes: Preached (Delivered) June 1, 2025, at Grace Lutheran Church, Sandstone, Minnesota and Emmanuel Lutheran Church of Dell Grove, Sandstone, Minnesota
Seventh Sunday in Easter Year C Readings: Acts 16:16-34, Psalm 97, Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21, John 17:20-26