The Gospel passage for the seventh Sunday of Easter is actually the last part of the “priestly prayer” of Jesus after the Last Supper. This chapter of John’s Gospel has been called “The Testament of Jesus.” During this long prayer, Jesus prayed first for Himself - for His own glorification…as He faced the cross...then, He prayed for his disciples that they might be unified and protected in the face of opposition from the world…and finally He prayed for those in distant lands and far-off ages (US) who would enter the Christian faith. SO…this is Jesus’ prayer for each one of us. Generally, Jesus is encouraging us toward UNITY in this Gospel passage. Unfortunately, as human beings we tend to look for ways that we are different from our brothers and sisters. In this Gospel, Jesus says “look rather on the ways that you are alike!” It’s important as Christians that we pray for unity and highlight the similarities we share with others…as well as our differences. Along with prayer, we should strive to put the words of our prayer into action. Simply put, this means that we need to serve one another and to love one another (just as Jesus did) as brothers and sisters in the Lord. What unites us is certainly greater than what divides us. As we move nearer to Jesus Christ we move nearer in Him to one another. Such unity is ultimately a gift of God’s Spirit and of His grace. Fingerprints have long been recognized as a form of personal identification. As far back as the reign of the Babylonian King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BCE), convicts were fingerprinted. In China as early as 246 BCE, fingerprints were used to “sign” legal contracts. In 1788 a German anatomist, Johann Mayer, proved and published that fingerprints are unique to each individual. The idea caught on so fast that by the mid-nineteenth century, data banks of fingerprints were being collected all over the world for identification purposes. You know micro-processors race and run at breakneck speed through millions of fingerprints in order to catch the bad guys or exonerate the good guys. Science has revealed other ways we are unique and singular. Our DNA is our own. Each cell of our body is genetically coded just for us. God made us in many ways wholly and totally different from one another. Yet, as Jesus offers up to the Father his own personal “Lord’s Prayer,” as given in today’s Gospel, he closes by praying for “oneness” among all those who follow him as his disciples. Does this mean that Jesus prays for us all to be the same? Is this a call for “cloned Christians”? Is every follower of Jesus expected to keep the same pace, have the same stride, and move to the same rhythm? Jesus was praying for generations of believers. The “oneness” that Jesus prayed for is a oneness of heart and a oneness of love. As Christians, our DNA reads the same: we are all part of the Body of Christ. GOSPEL QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Have you checked lately to see if the Spirit IS dwelling within you?