Sermon May 4

OK, so this one feels really rough. I'm hoping that I will be inspired and spirit filled when I give it. I had a total block, but this is what I came up with. I felt a bit better when Pastor John said "oh, yeah, that's a hard text. I think I would have gone with the first lesson myself instead of the gospel." Well, here it is...the Gospel of John, chapter 17.

Each week, we as a congregation pray the prayers of the people, or maybe better said, the prayers for the people. We pray for the church, the world and all people according to their needs. We believe that prayer makes a difference, don’t we? We believe that prayer is communication and communion with our God, sharing our deepest, most personal thoughts with our Lord. This act isn’t one sided, as we can also hear the voice of God come to us as we pray—for some this is an actual voice, for others they receive a feeling or answer to prayer. Prayer is an act that connects the earthly and the heavenly.
That’s why John 17 is such a powerful text. Jesus spends John 13-17 saying goodbye to his disciples, He knows that he will soon be arrested and killed. Then, Jesus prays in the garden, and we have the chance to read this prayer. We already know that Jesus is God. Now, we know that God is praying for Himself. God is praying for US, praying to be in relationship, longing to be with us. What a truly loving, human act. Jesus knows that His work on earth is about to be completed, his purpose fulfilled. As Jesus prays, and takes time before His death, He knows that we are on the verge of the most earth shattering and radical event in human history. God and humanity are about to be joined together forever, in heaven and on earth with the mission to spread the Gospel to all people.
With Jesus on the verge of death, knowing that the world is about to change and purpose fulfilled, Jesus asks that He may bring glory to God, that others will know God through Him. (invite to look at v 1-5) That people may have eternal life. And, He defines eternal life “to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom God sent.” All of Jesus’ sermons, miracles and actions in the world have been for this moment, and to fulfill this promise, Jesus has to suffer, to die so that all people may know God. It all seems too big to comprehend, doesn’t it? At least it does for me. I can’t begin to wrap my mind around Christ praying, let alone praying for me. But, hearing that Christ has to pray for Himself shows me the human side of God. I begin to think, why would GOD have to pray? Then, I’m reminded that God is HUMAN, like me, and, like me, needs the guidance and support of God the Father on a daily basis. Maybe all that Christ was about to experience was overwhelming to Him too. He had the weight of the world on His shoulders, and everything was about to change.
As Jesus continues to pray, He begins to pray for His disciples. Knowing He is about to die, He takes time to pray for his closest friends, who will continue the mission in our world, long after He is gone. This shows the deep human love He has for us, that in the midst of this earth shattering time, he takes time to remember his dearest friends. The disciples are more than companions along the journey of Jesus’ life, they are gifts from God to help in along the way. Jesus says “you gave them to me” They will continue the mission in the world forever “they knew with certainty that I came from you.”
Christ doesn’t stop with His disciples, He continues by praying for all believers and shows His love for all peoples. “I pray that they are brought in complete unity.” Jesus knows that this unity will not be easy or absolute. There is never a time in Christian history where people are not being divided in the name of Jesus. But still, Jesus prays for unity, that, one day, we may be fully joined with God in heaven. That the separation between the earthly and the heavenly will disappear.
Perhaps the separation between heaven and earth will always feel present in our lives. We may feel that the “way things are” and the “way things ought to be” are miles apart. But I believe the separation will lessen if we follow Jesus’ model—prayer for self, prayer for community of disciples, prayer for all believers. We remember that we have been given gifts, and individual missions on earth. Just as Jesus prayed for His individual mission, we can open ourselves to God in prayer, considering how each of us can glorify God through our gifts. What are your gifts? How have you used the Word of God in your life to spread God’s message of salvation?
We can pray for our immediate community of believers, that we will experience the unity Christ prayed for among his disciples. That we are protected, and our collective gifts can share God’s message with all those in the world. We can pray for all believers around the world—that in the midst of persecution, in the midst of our differences, we can begin to live out the radical promise Jesus gave to us on the cross.
Jesus ends his prayer by saying “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” On the verge of death, Jesus demonstrated his deep love for the world. May we, who are living a redeemed life as a result of Christ’s death be able to grow in relationship with our Lord through prayer for ourselves, our community, and the world of believers.