In our technological word; we like data; we like to be able
to google something and find all there is to know on the subject. We find it
odd if a person or business does not have a web presence of some kind whether
it be a web page or a social media account and heaven forbid if they do not
have an e-mail address. Just as an aside;
I cannot imagine doing a sermon without the Internet and its wealth of resources
and I share my sermons on the Internet; just check out my blog. However, our Gospel passage from John this
morning existed orally long before it
was written down on papyrus. It is more
like the person or business who is operating below the technological
radar. This passage of scripture
requires faith and a willingness to be a Christ-follower. For the writer of John 17; the facts about a
historical Jesus or the actual events do not matter. The writer is referring us back to the
Prologue John where it is written, “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was
with God and the Word was God.” Christ
is the Word or as expressed by Dr. Alexander Shaia; “the Way of Love”, has
existed since the beginning and will continue to be forever. The Word or as
expressed by Dr. Alexander Shaia; author
of This text points us to eternal life through Christ and being one in Christ;
the path of love. While it is the path
of love, it is also a path of suffering.
As the commentary for Preaching God’s Justice says, “These tensions show
that the Christian life is neither absent of pain nor comfortable.”
Jesus has eaten his last meal and washed his disciples’ feet
in the Upper Room. This prayer is a part
of his final discourse before he is arrested and crucified. It is not only part of the final discourse
but it is his final priestly prayer before being nailed to the cross. Jesus begins by acknowledging that the time
has come and prays for himself. However,
Jesus is not asking for circumstances to be changed but for God; the Father, to
be honored and be known to all of Jesus’ followers. In the second part of the prayer, Jesus is
praying for his followers. He
demonstrates his love by asking the Father to protect them and to unite them as
one.
Two major principles
for us in this passage:
(1) Following Jesus’ example of praying for our mission as Christ-followers
both individually and corporately to be fulfilled – not for things to be made
simple or less painful but for God to be glorified and all to be led to experience eternal life not in the future but now meaning
that
“And this is the really real life across all time – that The
Source of All is the deepest truth of the cosmos, and Jesus the Christ (the
full teaching of The Way of Love) teaches us that matter and spirit, death and
life, light and dark, time and eternity, earth and heaven and all people are
One as The Source of All and The Way are One.” – © Dr. Alexander Shaia, Heart and Mind: The Four Gospel Journey for Transformation
(2) Unity – we are to be One not a group of individuals but
One – but what does unity look like, it does not mean agreeing on every single
doctrinal point or every single interpretation of scripture; but it does mean loving each other as Christ
followers. We often are very good at
building houses together or feeding the hungry or handing out clothing but what
about how we treat people outside of those service opportunities? I remember one Sunday as teenager when our
family had to leave church immediately following the last hymn so we sat in the
very last row; while some people arrived after us and said it was their pew and
then proceeded sit down in front of us and act miffed during the entire
service. Alternatively, perhaps we are
nice to be people when we see them at church and then act as if we do not know then
outside of the church. This is not unity either. Compassion is to be practiced both inside and
outside of the Christian community.
Practicing compassion is refraining from judgment or advice
giving or trying to figure why this
happening to that person before you decide to help but rather being present and
letting them know Christ is with them and that suffering is a part of living. Sometimes it is the direct result of sin or
consequences of sin, however; it is not our job to point out other people’s sin
but to care for them. Compassion is also not criticizing or making fun of other
Christians with whom we disagree. We
hurt Christ’s mission more by our own infighting within the local church and
within the universal church. Because we as Christians are composed of so many
different groups; most of the time the world sees conflict and not love.
Believing that we are under the Father’s protection means we
have no need to fear or to understand all of life. Christ is asking us to
accept whatever comes our way and to work with all those who follow Christ as
well as those who do not. This is a tall order, which is why we cannot be
Christians by ourselves because in our sufferings, our doubts, our joys and our
celebrations we need community. So where
do we begin? Jesus’ prayer this morning
offers for us an example of humility and obedience second to none. It also emphasizes how trust is key in all
relationships. Jesus trusted the Father;
the Father protects us and as we will hear next Sunday; the Father gave us the
Holy Spirit as our advocate. Regardless
of our knowledge or lack of knowledge of why God has done or not done certain
things in the world; the Bible provides us with a picture of God who since the
beginning of time has desired relationship with us. Now have we always thought that God got it
right or did we always respond to God appropriately probably not but again the
past is not important. What is important
is us trusting in God. We show God our
trust by being honest with Him. We
cannot experience the redemption and love of Christ unless we tell God that we
are scared; angry, fearful, excited or remorseful etc. Trust is the first step in identifying with
the Way of Love.; from there we can seek to glorify God and to become united
with other Christ Followers as one.
So does trusting Jesus ensure that I will be happy probably
not because even our modern psychologists have stated that If anything, pure happiness is linked to not helping
others in need. “ which is contrary to Jesus’ teaching.
After surviving the Holocaust; the famed Austrian
psychiatrist and neurologist, Victor Frankl wrote a book entitled; Man’s Search for Meaning that was published
in 1959; and in it he writes ,
“This uniqueness and singleness which distinguishes each
individual and gives a meaning to his existence has a bearing on creative work
as much as it does on human love. When the impossibility of replacing a person
is realized, it allows the responsibility, which a man has for his existence
and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude. A man who becomes conscious
of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits
for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life.
He knows the "why" for his existence, and will be able to bear almost
any "how."
In another words, when we know our purpose then we can
endure any kind of suffering. Jesus knew
his purpose and desires us to find our purpose in Him. Even in our great technological age; a group
of psychological scientists have just finished a study that will be published
later this year in the Journal of Positive Psychology concluding that “Meaning
is not only about transcending the self, but also about transcending the
present moment”. They go on to say that
“While happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades
away, just as all emotions do; positive affect and feelings of pleasure are
fleeting. The amount of time people report feeling good or bad correlates with
happiness but not at all with meaning. “
Atlantic Monthly,
further quotes this study in their article, “There is more to life than
happiness”, by stating that: “Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It
connects the past to the present to the future. "Thinking beyond the
present moment, into the past or future, was a sign of the relatively
meaningful but unhappy life," the researchers write. "Happiness is
not generally found in contemplating the past or future." That is, people
who thought more about the present were happier, but people who spent more time
thinking about the future or about past struggles and sufferings felt more
meaning in their lives, though they were less happy. “
So how we do carry out Christ’s mission and discover meaning
in our lives?
(1) Identifying with Jesus as the Way of Love - the
website Living Space says –“To know the Father and Jesus is to have as full as
possible an understanding of Jesus’ message and to have assimilated it into
one’s whole life. It is not just a knowledge of recognition but a mutual
identification of vision and values. Further
As the Jerusalem Bible states: “In biblical language, ‘knowledge’ is not
merely the conclusion of an intellectual process but the fruit of an
‘experience’, a personal contact. When
it matures, it is love.” (Jerusalem Bible, loc. cit.)”
(2) Commit to praying – follow Jesus’ example – praying for
ourselves(to glorify God in all things and that our hearts and minds may be
united in one purpose) so that we can pray for and be in unity with other
Christ followers.
(3) Commit to being a part of a faith community not just in
name or by occupying a pew but by being
immersed in it by praying, serving and fellowshipping with other Christ
followers. Find others in your own church and beyond to
encourage and share in your spiritual growth and service-(Facebook and Twitter
are great ways to connect with other people; I have friends now from around the
world who pray for me and we share in each other’s lives as Christ-followers
some of them I don’t even know what church they go to or what there theology is; we simply share
and support each other as Christians).
(4) As a Christ follower take responsibility for your own
personal growth through regular study of scripture and spiritual reading; be
willing to share your journey and help equip others.
(5) Serve and reflect Christ’s love in the world, which is
sorely needed, as at least a quarter of Americans do not have a strong sense of
what makes their lives meaningful according to Atlantic Monthly.
This is where our focus needs to be. Jesus is not concerned with what happened in
the past or what might happen but what we are doing together in this moment to
be united together as One in Him that the world sees his love from us.
I close now with a
prayer from Michelle Francl-Donnay’s Homily written for this Sunday and
published in the book, Naked. And you Clothed me. “May we have
ears to hear the poor. May we have eyes to see the root of injustice. May we have the courage to bear the crosses
placed upon us. May we have the will and the strength to take up the crosses
that are not ours. And may we ever bear
with joy and hope the weight of glory.” ©2013 Clear Faith Publishing, Homilists
for the Homeless series
In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Amen.
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