Christ Prays for the Unity of the Church

Christ prays for the unity of the church.
John 17:20-23
"That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in you."

One of the mysteries within the Bible is the wonder of the unity within the Triune God. While three distinct persons, they share in one divine essence. From eternity past, The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have shared an organic unity that goes beyond merely mutually loving and relating with one another. Consequently, while we can speak of the Father being distinct from the Son and the Son being distinct from the Holy Spirit, we can also speak of only one God (Deut. 6:4).
When Jesus prays that his followers will demonstrate the unity and diversity within the Trinity, he radically shifts our understanding of the church. The church is not just a gathering of people who sit in different pews while being in the same building for an hour and then go their separate ways to their respective worlds. Instead, the church is an organic body where our lives and existence are bound inseparably with the rest of the body.  
Just as Jesus is distinct from the Father, we are distinct from one another. Yet, when we are brought into the church, we do not lose our individual identity and personhood. The unity of the church is not mindless uniformity.
Nevertheless, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit share the same essence, we also become one with other believers. The church together becomes the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ.
 In our age of individualism, this is what has been lost in the church today. We sit in a sanctuary with people we do not know. The only time when there is any semblance of unity is when we join together in singing a few songs. Yet this is not Christ's intent. He prays that we will express the mutual unity within the triune God. While we are distinct persons, we are united in purpose and mutual love for one another (Phil. 2:2). So intertwined are we to be within the church that the spiritual well-being of one affects the well-being of the whole group. If one suffers, then every part of the church suffers (1 Corinthians 12:26). There is a mutual need for one another (1 Cor 12).  
The idea that we can be a disciple of Jesus and disconnected from the church is not only foreign to scripture, but a violation of Jesus' prayer. When we receive Christ, we are baptized into one Body (1 Corinthians 12:13). Can a person be saved and not go to church? Absolutely.  Can a person be a growing and healthy Christian and not go to church? Absolutely Not! To live independently from the church is to disobey God's command (Hebrew 10:25) and fail to fulfill Christ's desire for us. In his prayer for the church, he prays that we might be united as one just as the Triune Godhead are united.
When the church becomes one, then the world will take notice. In a divided and hostile world, where people are depersonalized and relationships marred by mutual antagonism, the church is unique.   When the church demonstrates mutual love for one another, we reveal the triune God to the world. When we love others within the church, despite our differences in personality and background, we experience and express the mutual love within the Trinity (vs. 23). The pathway to enjoying and experiencing the love of God is a pathway that takes us to the church. The church is not just a place we attend for an hour on Sunday; it is a community we participate in so that it becomes a part of our identity.