Seventh Sunday of Easter
Year A, RCL
May 24, 2020
North Fork Ministries
Gospel:
John 17:1-11
Jesus looked up to heaven and said, "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. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
"I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. "
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At the end of this prayer, Jesus’ last prayer, according to the Gospel of John, the High Priestly prayer, it’s called, “Jesus prays for protection for those he is leaving behind, “so that they may be one, as we are one.” What does it mean to be “one”, as Jesus and God are one?
It’s a little disconcerting to recognize that Jesus’ prayer for “oneness” among his followers still hasn’t been answered. Christianity, even before it acquired that label, quickly faced division along lines of doctrine and personality and culture. And today, Jesus’ followers are more scattered and divided than ever. Despite Jesus’ fervent prayer that it may be so, we are hardly one.
The High Priestly prayer of John has Jesus praying, “Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you…” and “glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence”… “All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.” That’s the kind of poetic, but obtuse language from the Gospel of John that makes me want to run to the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke so that I can read the earthy language found in Jesus’ parables, “You are the salt of the earth” or “The kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great price, or a mustard seed, or a net cast into the sea.” Jesus’ parables compel me to sit at his feet asking him to tell me more. John’s gospel, with all this talk about glorification, often just makes my head hurt. John’s gospel requires that we do the work of unpacking meaning, but it’s usually worth it.
Consider this word “glory”. In the Greek in which John was first written, the word we read as glory, “doxa”, is also translated, honor, greatness, brightness and is often used to translate the Hebrew YHWH, “the presence of the Lord.” This talk of glory, in Jesus’ last prayer, can then be thought of as recognition of the presence of the Lord. In his prayer, Jesus prayed for the glorification of his work on earth, that is, that the presence of God be conveyed through his teachings, his example, his life and ministry.
And then Jesus asks, on behalf of those who have received God’s word, on our behalf, that the presence of God be known in our work as well. And lastly, Jesus prays for our protection, that we all may be one, just as he is one with the Father.
These ruminations on Jesus’ last prayer, prayed at the Last Supper, have caused me to wonder about the last prayers we are likely to pray as we anticipate death. If death arrives suddenly, like it sometimes does for those stricken with COVID-19, we may not have the luxury that Jesus had, after having supped with his disciples, of taking the opportunity to collect his thoughts, reflect on his life, gaze upon the faces of those who loved him – and then ask for the glorification of his work, their work, and to issue a request that all will be one.
Yet even without the opportunity to calmly collect their thoughts, I suspect that the prayers of those who are secure in their faith, aren’t so very different from the prayer of Jesus. I don’t imagine that many of us will pray specifically for glorification, but I bet that most everyone of us, when we think of the prayer we will pray as we face death, imagines that we will pray that God be with us and with those we love.
The nearness of death and destruction has a way of distilling our prayers to their essence. With death knocking at our door, “God be with us,” we would surely pray.
The question I pose for us today is this: How can the last prayer we expect to breathe before passing out of this world, become the first prayer we utter when we wake up each morning. How may a “seeking after the presence of God”, the glorification of all that we do, become not just a way of dying, but a way of living?
The good news is that we are already in relationship with God. Jesus prayed, "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me.” We are God’s own, already, even before we plea that God be with us. That is the starting point.
The hard part, for us, is at the end of the prayer. We are not just called into relationship with God, but into relationship with each other. Whether we like each other, whether we agree with one another, we are the objects of Jesus’ prayer that we may all be one, as Jesus and the Father are one.
I used to be a chess player. And after reading chess Grand Master, Jonathan Rowson’s recent book, The Moves That Matter, I’m thinking of taking it up again. Although Rowson, talks a lot about chess, his book is much more about how to play the game of life than it is about playing the game of chess. Much of his focus is on the need for both concentration and compassion. While the need for focus, for concentration, is an elemental component in the chess player’s arsenal, the role of interdependence and the need for community is a vital element of the game also. Loving, thinking, and caring deeply for others will enable us to rise above the political morass we find ourselves in today. Think of your capacity for concentration and compassion as two sides of a well-lived life, and imagine which side has more potential for development and thus requires more of your attention.
I can’t end this sermon without reference to the reading from 1 Peter, because it is so relevant to our anxiety-ridden times.
“Cast all your anxiety on God, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour” (That roaring lion, looking to devour you, that’s anxiety)
Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. (In the season of Corona, throughout the world, we are indeed suffering together.)
And then there is this promise that the Season of Corona will pass.
“And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.” Amen