Together is Always Better

 

SERMON May 17, 2026

John 17:1-11

 

TOGETHER IS ALWAYS BETTER

Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me,

so that they may be one, as we are one.” John 17:11 

“…so that they may be one, as we are one.” 

In the February 9, 2026 edition of the New Yorker magazine, the Talk of the Town section included an article entitled Minneapolis Postcard: Mutual Aid. It was a brief but stunningly powerful piece that told the story of an elementary school in the heart of Minneapolis that launched a small but powerful workforce in the face of three thousand federal agents who had descended as instruments of the tragically terrifying deportation operation: Operation Metro Surge. 

Minneapolis Postcard recounted the story of an assembly of teachers and parents whose goal was to respond to the impact of this violent and frightening intrusion into their community. An impact that directly affected the school’s many Hispanic children and their families. This committed band of volunteers day after day delivered essential aid to the students and families who had bunkered down in their homes as street raids and deportation focused arrests intensified. The families were “in hiding” hoping that they might escape notice and evade the likelihood of arrest and deportation.

For over a month the school became a distribution warehouse for food, jugs of milk, toys, bedding, hygiene kits, and other items necessary for these families to function while living in the isolated confines of their homes, terrified of stepping outside for even the briefest period of time. Daily, teachers and volunteer parents surreptitiously delivered needed supplies and amazingly in this short period of time an abbreviated in-home schooling program was developed and tablets for the children were provided by an unsuspecting and generous donor.

As the days and weeks grew longer and the events of Operation Metro Surge became increasingly dangerous and grim, volunteers began to exhibit signs and symptoms of fatigue and despair. Fewer and fewer were able to keep up the pace, yet the need persisted. 

It was on such a day of lagging enthusiasm that the students who were still attending school and helping with the home delivery project got busy and lined the hallways with colorful art and the slogan: TOGETHER IS ALWAYS BETTER. 

Together is always better.

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and an incredibly wise and compassionate human being wrote frequently of a concept called ubuntu. In defining ubuntu he offered “Ubuntu speaks of the very essence of being human. You know when it is there and when it is absent. It speaks about humaneness, gentleness, hospitality, putting yourself out on behalf of others, being vulnerable. It embraces compassion and toughness.  It is to say, "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours." We belong in a bundle of life. We say, "A person is a person through other persons."

Together is always better.

Editors of a recently published collection of essays entitled The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology amid Gaza examine the role of martyrdom in scripture. They define martyrdom as bearing witness and write “Jesus’ call is not centered on numbers of followers or physically/financially surviving as a community but bearing witness to the Kingdom of God…the call to bear witness is not an individual one alone, but always in community. Witness is to be practiced in and through deep relationships with others, as the whole body of Christ together. We are called to be salt and light as a community, even at a high price.” (The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology amid Gaza. Eds Munayer, John S & Munayer, Samuel S. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, 2025, p124) 

Together is always better.

The people of Minneapolis, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and the editors of the Cross and the Olive Tree all agree, as do many others, together is always better.

I begin with these brief examples as a prelude to discussing how togetherness is demonstrated and brought to fruition so beautifully in the Book of Ruth, a book that a group of us have reflected on over the course of past three weeks. A book perhaps best known for Ruth’s stunningly beautiful vow to courageously accompany her mother-in-law on her return from Moab to Bethlehem.

Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” (Ruth 1:16-17)

Because of this quote, which is frequently used at weddings, the Book of Ruth is often simplistically perceived as the romantic story of a young, beautiful woman fallen on hard times who meets a good man, falls in love, gets married, and has a child. However, as we probe beneath the surface of the narrative of this “love” story a more complex set of issues becomes apparent: the mystery of relationships between women; the trauma of surviving one’s children; the pain of childlessness; the challenge of marriage and patriarchy; and the courage needed to cross borders and become a stranger in a foreign land.

As the story begins, we learn that Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons have departed their home in Bethlehem because of famine and moved across the border to the country of their fierce enemy, Moab. They settle there and their sons find wives. Elimelech dies an early death, followed by both of his sons, and the story now focuses on the three widows. 

In her grief Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem and does so in the company of one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, who has refused to stay behind in her own country. Now it is Ruth who crosses a border and becomes a stranger in a land with a long history of antagonism towards Moab. Ruth is an ethnic stranger in a country that has traditionally rejected Moabites, a widow in a family-based culture, childless in a society that places high value on male children, and poor in a community that lacked a comprehensive safety net for widows without children.

She is utterly vulnerable and is referred to throughout the story as Ruth the Moabite. Without cease she is identified publicly as a Moabite, an unwelcome widow and childless stranger from a despised country. 

Despite these grim realities, Ruth never wavers from her vow to not abandon her beloved mother-in-law. Propelled by lovingkindness she refuses to be intimidated by stereotyping and discrimination. Propelled by lovingkindness Ruth perseveres in the face of multiple obstacles, challenges, and hardships. Through her courage and lovingkindness she succeeds in creating the lineage that gave birth to our Lord, Jesus Christ.

“…Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” 

The Book of Ruth encourages us to consider the power of lovingkindness as we face the critical issues of national identity and belonging. Issues that are so tragically evident in a world that continues to develop harsh stereotypes. Stereotypes that erect challenges, indeed barriers, to belonging. Stereotypes and challenges that punish those who look to us for safety and welcome. Stereotypes and challenges which prevent us from putting into action words so easily spoken. Words such as “love your neighbor as yourself,” and “all are welcome.” Stereotypes and challenges that run counter to the words of Jesus in Matthew 25: “I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

The Book of Ruth challenges us to consider our responsibility towards the stranger. The Book of Ruth empowers us to lift our voice in the public square where decisions that affect the lives of millions are being made. The Book of Ruth brings the need for serious consideration to the words of the Minneapolis school children: “Together is always better.”

In today’s reading from the Gospel of John Jesus, just moments before his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, offers an incredibly loving and compassionate final prayer for his disciples.

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent… Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” 

This prayer brings to mind another quote from John: For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

God loves us, all of us, unconditionally and always – forever. And through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, God has not only shown us his love but more importantly he has instilled that love in us. We as Christ’s disciples are called to love the world with God’s love. The love that has been instilled in us through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ; through Christ’s love for us.

A tall order indeed. Especially in these times of extreme discrimination, brutally destructive violence, and wars that destroy the lives of so many innocent men, women, and children. Despite all the violence and hatred, we are called to love – love our neighbor, welcome the stranger, chose lovingkindness over laws that mandate violence and discrimination. We are called by our advocate the Holy Spirit to tread firmly on the hazardously narrow and challenging path that follows Jesus. The path that is witness to God’s love for the world.

Our love is the love of everlasting life. Love that we pass on to all those whom we encounter; to all those to whom we offer compassion and love. To all those whom God has placed before us to love.

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe concluded his Easter message with these very same thoughts. He wrote, “we are called to be faithful in the face of grief, injustice, and anguish—even when the world is groaning with despair, and even when we cannot recognize Jesus standing right before our eyes. We believe, against all odds, that God has the power to turn death into life and despair into hope.  

This Easter, our world badly needs to hear this message. As we embrace our vocation to proclaim the resurrection, I pray that God gives us the courage to withstand the sin and violence in our midst and the grace to watch for Jesus in the most unlikely places.”

Ruth’s story is a story that reminds us that compassion and lovingkindness are powerful ways of bringing about healing and peace.

The Minneapolis school children compassionately and lovingly organizing aid for those who were isolated and suffering know that “Together is always better.” 

The editors of the Cross and the Olive Tree believe that “Witness is to be practiced in and through deep relationships with others, as the whole body of Christ together. We are called to be salt and light as a community, even at a high price.”

Jesus prays, “[Father] I made your name known to them, and I will l make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them… Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.””

That we may be one, unconditionally offering God’s unconditional love to the world. This is a powerful directive – can we face its challenge?