Seventh Sunday of Easter 5-20-07 Text: John 17:20-26 Title: I will pray for you.
Seventh Sunday of Easter
5/20/2007
Text: John 17:20-26
Title: “I will pray for you."
Please join me in prayer. Loving God, just as you opened the tomb and raised Jesus to new life, so open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today so that we can in confidence go forth to live in faith what you show us. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
In today’s Gospel text we read the last part of Jesus’ high priestly prayer. It has a tone of finality since Jesus knows that his death is near. The prayer while being divided into three parts shows a wholeness that cannot be missed.
In the first part of the prayer Jesus is telling God the Father that he has done all that he was to do and that by doing so he has glorified him. He then asks that the Father now glorify him with the glory he had before the world existed.
In the second part of the prayer Jesus is no longer praying for himself, but for his disciples. He acknowledges that it was only through the Father that the disciples were chosen. He then tells the Father that he has taught the disciples everything the Father wants them to know. He finishes this part of the prayer by asking the Father to keep the disciples in the faith, just as he has kept them safe while he was with them.
In the third and last part of the prayer Jesus prays for all those who will come to faith because of the disciple’s testimony. In other words, those who read the Bible and are brought to faith by the Holy Spirit.
You might have noticed that Jesus’ entire prayer is about unity. In the first part he prays about his and the Father’s unity. In the second part he prays about the disciples, his, and the Father’s unity. In the last part of the prayer he prays that all believers will be kept in the same unity that he and the Father have.
Now this unity or oneness is not the unity that so many talk of today, the unity that comes about by different Christian denominations agreeing that disagreement over basic Christian doctrines is not important enough to keep from them from being united. To those church bodies what is of utmost importance is the show of unity.
While the idea is admirable, what they are doing is not really being in unity, for the unity that they are trying to achieve is a false unity. It is a unity based on compromise, a giving up of one’s beliefs, for the so called common good of all. That can never bring about true unity.
I say that because true unity in the Christian community can never be achieved by the giving up of beliefs. True unity can only be found when all are united as one in Jesus and the Father. This type of unity is stated in the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. Without this common belief and confession there can be no true unity.
Jesus’ prayer is at its core, not a prayer about superficial unity, but unity that connects his church with the God the Father, just as he is connected with him. It is a unity that can not be undone. Let me read a part of the prayer again so that you will see what I mean. Verse 20, “I do not ask for these only (that is the disciples) but also for those (that is all true Christians) who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one (be sure and catch this) just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world, that is unbelievers, may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me.”
It is through that oneness, I in them and you in me, that we have unity. We can never become one through our efforts..
This is important so let me state it again. We can never become one through our efforts. It is only from the unity that we have in Jesus and the Father that outward unity can be achieved. It is that unity that Jesus is praying for, the unity that can only come from the Father. It is not a visible unity, but a spiritual unity and it should be the topic of our prayers too.
The kind of unity that Jesus prays that we may have is not based on us doing the same outward things, but on having within us the unity of God, a unity that has a present glory and a purpose: the glory of Christ who gave himself for us and the purpose of God who gave himself in Christ to us.
In a way we could say that what Jesus is praying for is that we be unified in the same way that the persons of the Trinity are unified.
In the beginning we see the creative power of God as he shaped and formed the universe. God did not stop there for he continued to care for his creation as he told his people how to live. Live this way and I will care for you. Live as you want and you will bear the punishment.
His human creation refused his help, preferring to stay in their sin, so God came to this earth as the God man Jesus to redeem them. Jesus tore down the walls that divided the fallen human creation from God. Jesus did perfectly the will of the Father, for he was one with the Father.
When Jesus’ job so to speak was finished on this earth, he physically ascended into heaven. That is when the Holy Spirit arrived on the scene to bring us to faith, to encourage us, to help us to be God’s hands, feet, and mouth in the world.
Now that is not to say that there are three Gods, or three different modes of God, but that all that is needed for creation, redemption and sustaining of the world is contained in one Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, they are perfectly unified.
The same isn't true for us human beings: we don't individually have all that it takes to do God's work in the world. Some of us are good at some things and others are good at other things. Some believe the Bible says one thing about a certain subject, while others believe the Bible says something different about the same subject. This brings trouble to the church and the church is not unified as God would want it to be.
It is essential if we are to be united in the way that Jesus talks about, if we are to be united in a way that causes the world to believe that Jesus was sent by God, that our unity arise from the God whom Jesus prays may dwell within us, the God who has given him the glory that he gives us and wants us to see.
Sin causes us to be separated from one another and from God, sin in the form of jealousy, sin in the form of resentment, sin in the form of pride, sin in the form of being self seeking, and in the form of caring too much about too little.
That all belongs to those in the world, not those of God, for the one who conquers sin is within us and among us! When we do what Jesus calls us to do without comparing or contrasting what it is others are doing or failing to do. When we catch the vision and let the one who gives the vision catch us. When we subjugate ourselves to the one who gave himself for the good of everyone, the one who came to save us from our sin, then the unity that Christ speaks of, and prays for is ours and the world will see it.
I praise God for Jesus’ continuing prayer, for without it we would be like the world, prideful, and self-centered. We would want to have everything our way and the world would not see our unity.
I praise God for helping us to love one another even as Christ loves us.
I pray that our love for each other, our unity may be shown not only to each member of the family of God that walks through these doors but to those outside these doors as well, so that all might come to believe in Jesus and his saving work. Amen
5/20/2007
Text: John 17:20-26
Title: “I will pray for you."
Please join me in prayer. Loving God, just as you opened the tomb and raised Jesus to new life, so open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that as your Word is proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today so that we can in confidence go forth to live in faith what you show us. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
In today’s Gospel text we read the last part of Jesus’ high priestly prayer. It has a tone of finality since Jesus knows that his death is near. The prayer while being divided into three parts shows a wholeness that cannot be missed.
In the first part of the prayer Jesus is telling God the Father that he has done all that he was to do and that by doing so he has glorified him. He then asks that the Father now glorify him with the glory he had before the world existed.
In the second part of the prayer Jesus is no longer praying for himself, but for his disciples. He acknowledges that it was only through the Father that the disciples were chosen. He then tells the Father that he has taught the disciples everything the Father wants them to know. He finishes this part of the prayer by asking the Father to keep the disciples in the faith, just as he has kept them safe while he was with them.
In the third and last part of the prayer Jesus prays for all those who will come to faith because of the disciple’s testimony. In other words, those who read the Bible and are brought to faith by the Holy Spirit.
You might have noticed that Jesus’ entire prayer is about unity. In the first part he prays about his and the Father’s unity. In the second part he prays about the disciples, his, and the Father’s unity. In the last part of the prayer he prays that all believers will be kept in the same unity that he and the Father have.
Now this unity or oneness is not the unity that so many talk of today, the unity that comes about by different Christian denominations agreeing that disagreement over basic Christian doctrines is not important enough to keep from them from being united. To those church bodies what is of utmost importance is the show of unity.
While the idea is admirable, what they are doing is not really being in unity, for the unity that they are trying to achieve is a false unity. It is a unity based on compromise, a giving up of one’s beliefs, for the so called common good of all. That can never bring about true unity.
I say that because true unity in the Christian community can never be achieved by the giving up of beliefs. True unity can only be found when all are united as one in Jesus and the Father. This type of unity is stated in the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. Without this common belief and confession there can be no true unity.
Jesus’ prayer is at its core, not a prayer about superficial unity, but unity that connects his church with the God the Father, just as he is connected with him. It is a unity that can not be undone. Let me read a part of the prayer again so that you will see what I mean. Verse 20, “I do not ask for these only (that is the disciples) but also for those (that is all true Christians) who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one (be sure and catch this) just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world, that is unbelievers, may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me.”
It is through that oneness, I in them and you in me, that we have unity. We can never become one through our efforts..
This is important so let me state it again. We can never become one through our efforts. It is only from the unity that we have in Jesus and the Father that outward unity can be achieved. It is that unity that Jesus is praying for, the unity that can only come from the Father. It is not a visible unity, but a spiritual unity and it should be the topic of our prayers too.
The kind of unity that Jesus prays that we may have is not based on us doing the same outward things, but on having within us the unity of God, a unity that has a present glory and a purpose: the glory of Christ who gave himself for us and the purpose of God who gave himself in Christ to us.
In a way we could say that what Jesus is praying for is that we be unified in the same way that the persons of the Trinity are unified.
In the beginning we see the creative power of God as he shaped and formed the universe. God did not stop there for he continued to care for his creation as he told his people how to live. Live this way and I will care for you. Live as you want and you will bear the punishment.
His human creation refused his help, preferring to stay in their sin, so God came to this earth as the God man Jesus to redeem them. Jesus tore down the walls that divided the fallen human creation from God. Jesus did perfectly the will of the Father, for he was one with the Father.
When Jesus’ job so to speak was finished on this earth, he physically ascended into heaven. That is when the Holy Spirit arrived on the scene to bring us to faith, to encourage us, to help us to be God’s hands, feet, and mouth in the world.
Now that is not to say that there are three Gods, or three different modes of God, but that all that is needed for creation, redemption and sustaining of the world is contained in one Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, they are perfectly unified.
The same isn't true for us human beings: we don't individually have all that it takes to do God's work in the world. Some of us are good at some things and others are good at other things. Some believe the Bible says one thing about a certain subject, while others believe the Bible says something different about the same subject. This brings trouble to the church and the church is not unified as God would want it to be.
It is essential if we are to be united in the way that Jesus talks about, if we are to be united in a way that causes the world to believe that Jesus was sent by God, that our unity arise from the God whom Jesus prays may dwell within us, the God who has given him the glory that he gives us and wants us to see.
Sin causes us to be separated from one another and from God, sin in the form of jealousy, sin in the form of resentment, sin in the form of pride, sin in the form of being self seeking, and in the form of caring too much about too little.
That all belongs to those in the world, not those of God, for the one who conquers sin is within us and among us! When we do what Jesus calls us to do without comparing or contrasting what it is others are doing or failing to do. When we catch the vision and let the one who gives the vision catch us. When we subjugate ourselves to the one who gave himself for the good of everyone, the one who came to save us from our sin, then the unity that Christ speaks of, and prays for is ours and the world will see it.
I praise God for Jesus’ continuing prayer, for without it we would be like the world, prideful, and self-centered. We would want to have everything our way and the world would not see our unity.
I praise God for helping us to love one another even as Christ loves us.
I pray that our love for each other, our unity may be shown not only to each member of the family of God that walks through these doors but to those outside these doors as well, so that all might come to believe in Jesus and his saving work. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 4:38 PM
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