The Gospel passage is part of Jesus' great prayer made during the Last Supper as recorded by John. It is the latter part of the prayer where Jesus prays especially not only for His immediate disciples but for all those who believe in Him as Lord and Saviour. The prayer is for the unity of all Jesus' followers with Him in imitation of the deep unity that exists between Jesus and His Father. "May they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you." But it is also a prayer for unity among Jesus' followers themselves. It is through this unity of unconditional love that people will recognise them as true followers of Jesus. An essential element of our being Christian is that we be active members of a community. We do not go to God as individuals although we often tend to do that. If we are to belong to the Body of Christ we have to act and inter-relate as members of that Body. That is the essence of being Church and the way in which Jesus' message is communicated to the world.