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Sunday May 16, 1999 ~ Fifth Sunday of Easter
Sermon Text:  John 17: 1-11

1 Peter 4: 12-14; 5:6-11   *  Acts 1:6-14  *  Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35

In The World

Can you remember the day you took your first child to Kindergarten?

Amazing day wasn't it?  The feelings are really mixed. Here's your "baby" leaving the security and comfort of home for the great big world out there.

Is she ready?

Will he be okay?

During those "terrible" twos, the "clingy" threes, and "whiny" fours, you wonder if the day will ever come when they will be off to school.  And now as you watch them walk into that very first classroom, you are suddenly grabbed by a thought...  "In a heartbeat I'll be wiping away the tears as she walks across the stage to collect her high school diploma.

The journey from delivery room to classroom turned out to be a blink of the eye.  Ready or not -- your child is suddenly, "in the world."

There's a "flip side" to this picture.   It is the perspective of the child who is going off to kindergarten and is possessed by feelings of excitement and apprehension all at once.  That kindergarten child will remain with us throughout our lives in one form or another.  During times of anxiety and stress, our inner child will wish it could return to the safety and security of home.

Have you ever watched an infant child sleeping in its mother's or father's arms and thought to yourself something along the line of, "Boy would that be nice!"  No worries, no stress... no wondering what tomorrow might bring.  It's a feeling that comes sometimes (or lots of the time!) when we wish we didn't have to be, "in the world."

Some years ago, a friend was getting ready to defend his Ph.D. dissertation in New Testament.  He was a bit anxious and I asked, "How are you feeling about it?"

"Actually," he replied, "I'm feeling a little bit like I want my mommy."

The world can be a scary place sometimes.   For moms and dads --  and for kids.

***

The feelings we have about our children being "in the world" and about the difficulties we sometimes have "in the world" can help us understand something of the power and passion of our Gospel reading for today.

This reading takes place at the end of Jesus' time with his disciples in the Upper Room.  The things he has taught and shared with them represent the last conversation they will have before Jesus' crucifixion.  The feeling level must have been high.  These disciples were on the verge of being scattered like a frightened flock of sheep and Jesus is about to leave them -- "in the world."

Jesus turns his heart toward heaven and begins to pray. What an amazing range of emotions are represented in this prayer! There is a sense of absolute fulfillment and joy.  It's time to return to heaven! And yet, there is an undeniable awareness of the danger that lay ahead for his beloved disciples. These two elements are at the heart of his prayer. It's time to leave his followers in the world.

The two dimensions of Jesus' prayer in our reading have to do with PURPOSE and PROTECTION.  Jesus points to the reason for his being in the world   -- and then he makes a request for his followers who must remain in the world.   In order to fully grasp the meaning of this prayer, we need to take a brief look at what the Gospel of John means by "the world."  Then we can look further at the two dimensions of Jesus' prayer.

The Meaning of "The World"

Throughout the Gospel of John the way the words "the world" are used could be expressed as "the world system."  It is not the world in the sense of creation as in the beauty of a sunset or the brilliance of a star lit night sky.  From the first chapter, there is a sense of conflict between Jesus and the world. ["He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him."  John 1:10]

Three times the phrase "ruler of this world" is used with the sense that the Evil One is in control of this world system. [12:31, 14:30, 16:11] The world will hate Jesus and his followers [15:18-19] and it will rejoice when Jesus is executed. [16:20]   In other words, "the world system" is a pretty grim reality.  Jesus is glad to be "out of here", and at the same time he is concerned for those he must leave behind.

Just before he begins the prayer in our scripture, Jesus says to the disciples, "In this world you will have trouble...  but take heart!   I have overcome the world." [NIV]

When you and I are concerned for the people we love -- especially our children -- as they move about out there in what we call the "cold, cruel world", our uneasiness is justified. Jesus was right.  In the world, we will have trouble!

That's why we are concerned when they don't call home and it's late.  That's why parent's buy their children -- especially their daughters -- cell phones to take to college. That's why we want to know who our children are "hanging around" with. In this "world system", there is plenty of trouble just waiting, it seems to pounce on unsuspecting and vulnerable people.

Some people may think that this is a negative view, but the exact opposite is the case.  To acknowledge the "trouble" in the "world system" is simply to be realistic -- does that mean we are disheartened and down on life?  Absolutely not!  Jesus said, "I have overcome the world!"  And because he has overcome the world, we have also overcome the world.   Jesus' prayer opens up a window to heaven's purpose "in the world".

Purpose - Jesus' Reason for Being in the World

As much as I would have liked to turn the car around and take my little boy home that day I took him to his first day of school -- I knew I couldn't really do that.  There was a task to do, a life to live and maturity to gain.   So I sent him off.  Into the world.  And I went home and prayed through a few tears.

And so also, as much as it might have brought pain to all of heaven, there was no way the Word could not become flesh. There was a world to reach, a mission to undertake and the glory of God to be revealed. Glorify God he did.  Lives had been touched, healing had come to many, God was restored to the center of people's hearts, followers had been gathered and the time for consummation was upon them.

As Jesus prayed, he knew that the road to glory was paved with anguish and suffering, but right now the destination was in sight.  The last few hours were underway and the bright light of God's glory was beginning to shine through the cracks in the dark world's crumbling facade.  Hope was briefly hidden in the shadow of a cross, but the full glory of heaven would break out of a grave emptied of its power!

The first few phrases of Jesus' prayer are filled with the distant strains of a victory song.

Protection - Jesus' Request for Those Who Stayed Behind

Then the heart of Christ turns to those who must stay behind.   How he loved them and how he might have wished he could take them with him.   But they had to stay.  There was a mission to complete. A world to reach.   His purpose would become their purpose.

The last verse of our reading is really touching.   "I am coming home to you," Jesus says, "but they have to stay in the world.  Watch over them and protect them so that they may be one as we are one."

The central thought on Jesus' heart is that there be a deep seated, unbreakable oneness at the center of the disciples life together.  If we look at Christian history, it is clear that the concern was well founded. We are not talking here about a shallow, surface unity of good cheer and back slapping congeniality. This unity is central to the mission of Christ.

In the beginning of his prayer, Jesus said, "I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do."  Without oneness with the Father, the Son could never have completed the work -- God could not have been glorified.  So also, without the oneness of the community of Christ, the glory of God can not be manifested in the world -- the work of Christ can not be completed.

There were certainly dangers enough in the world in terms of outward threat to the lives of Jesus' followers.  The earliest years of the church would be filled with persecution and suffering.

Yet, no danger is a greater threat to the work and witness of the people of Christ than the destruction of the oneness Jesus prayed for here.  May God protect us from schism and keep us from losing our purpose as we journey in the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Discussion and Reflection on the Texts

Connections in the Texts

Dependency upon the power of God is one thread that runs through the Gospel reading,  and the Acts and 1 Peter readings.  In John 17, Jesus asks the Father to "protect" the disciples and then tells the disciples that they will receive power from God  to be his witnesses.  Peter urges the early Christian community to gives their anxieties to God who will "restore, support, strengthen and establish" them.

All of the texts have to do with the vulnerability of Jesus' followers in the world.  Yet, they are given a mission and a message  --   "Go into the world" and "be my witnesses".   But his is all a precarious balance.  They will need God's protection to remain united (John 17:11), the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out their mission and message (Acts 1:8), and when they face the persecution of the world because of their faith -- God's grace will give them strength (1 Peter 5:10).

Thus, we are dependent upon God for our Christian life and witness.  In a time when most Western cultures emphasize independence and self-sufficiency, a "Declaration of Dependence" upon the grace and power of God might be in order.

The Psalm of the day is a joyful affirmation of the distant victory that encourages the people of God in their present mission and message.  Though we are "in the world" --  our hope and help is "out of this world!" (Psalm 68:35)

 

John 17:1-11

* The prayer of John 17, which has been called Jesus' "High Priestly" prayer, points to John's uniqueness.  The synoptic gospels all record Jesus' prayer and struggle in the Garden of Gesthemane but do not record this prayer in the Upper Room.  John, on the other hand  does not record the prayer in Gesthemane.  The Gospel of John is characterized by this theme:   John writes with his eye on heaven while the synoptics write with an eye on the world.  For instance, while Matthew and Luke talk about how Jesus was born "in the world", John focuses on how it was that the Word came to us from "out of this world." This is not a matter of different facts, but of perspective.

* There may be an alternate sermon idea here -- "Out Of This World" -- instead of "In The World."

* There is a significant theme in John with respect to the "Glory" of God.  Run a concordance check on "glory -- glorify -- glorified".  There is considerable tension in the gospel between the "glory" of God and the "darkness" of this world.

* There is a sermon seed in John 17:4.   "I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do."  This gives me pause -- "Have I brought glory to God by finishing the work I have been given to do?"  To go a bit further...  "What is the work God has given me to do?"  "How does that fit in with the work I am now doing?"  "Is not the final measure of my life going to be the glory I have brought to God and not the glory I have brought to myself?"

1 Peter 4: 12-14; 5:6-11

* The beginning of this text is wonderful!  "Don't think it's strange that you take some heat because you are a faithful Christian person!"  There are all kinds of examples of people who do the right thing and don't get rewarded at all.  Peter is addressing a much worse situation, of course.  Christians are being hunted down and killed for faithfulness to their "mission and message".  Nevertheless -- it applies.  Don't expect congratulations for following Christ

* Think about this phrase in verse 9, "...your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."  The world is immensely different for us today.   Most of us are not going through any suffering at all because of our faith.   But some are!  Give some thought to how the scripture from 1 Peter might be more powerful for a small Christian community where persecution of Christians is normative -- than it is for the rest of us.

* I've always loved the sermon idea in 1 Peter 5:8  -- "... Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour."  The answer to this horrible situation, of course, is Colossians 3:3 -- "... for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  If your life is "hidden" in Christ, the Adversary can not find you!  In other words, as I grow closer to Christ, I become less vulnerable to the machinations of the Evil One.  All of this simply reinforces the idea of dependency upon God.  A Sermon Title:  "The Hiding Place"

Acts 1:6-14

* Verse six is amazing!   How hard is it to truly understand the intent of Jesus?  Clearly, the disciples did not "get it" at this point.  There is enough here to discourage the most optimistic of us.  Jesus has gone through his entire ministry, crucifixion, resurrection and post-resurrection teaching ministry. Now his disciples still want to know if there is going to be a return to the "glory" days of King David!   They still don't get it.  Most of us would give up at this point.  The idea here is that God never gives up on us.  Yet, the question remains -- "Do I understand what it is that Jesus wants of me?"  Thankfully -- Christ is patient while I grow into who he wants me to be!

* There's a sermon in the words, "You will!"  Jesus tells his disciples "You will receive power..."  and "You will be my witnesses..."  As verse six points to our inadequacy, verse eight points to our sufficiency in Christ.  The Spirit "gives power" and "we become".  Combine this with the previous note and you have a sermon title:  "I Did It His Way!"

* Verse 11 is a warning to all those who are spending inordinate amounts of time worrying about or projecting about the "Second Millenium".  Y2K.   Y1K might have been worse.  The following comes from Rev. Martin R. Fors of Bradford, VT, USA:

An Article from a London Newspaper (circa 999 A.D.)

Canterbury, England. A.D. 999.
An atmosphere close to panic prevails today throughout Europe as the
millennial year 1000 approaches, bringing with it the so-called "Y1K Bug," a
menace which, until recently, hardly anyone had ever heard of.  Prophets of
doom are warning that the entire fabric of Western Civilization, based as it
now is upon monastic computations, could collapse, and that there is simply
not enough time left to fix the problem.

Just how did this disaster-in-the-making ever arise?  Why did no one
anticipate that a change from a three-digit to a four-digit year would throw
into total disarray all liturgical chants and all metrical verse in which any
date is mentioned?  Every formulaic hymn, prayer, ceremony and incantation
dealing with dated events will have to be re-written to accommodate three
extra syllables.  All tabular chronologies with three-space year columns,
maintained for generations by scribes using carefully hand-ruled lines on
vellum sheets, will now have to be converted to four-space columns, at
enormous cost. In the meantime, the validity of every official event, from
baptisms to burials, from confirmations to coronations, may be called into
question.

"We should have seen it coming ," says Brother Cedric of St. Michael Abbey,
here in Canterbury. "What worries me most is that THOUSAND contains the word
THOU, which occurs in nearly all our prayers, and of course always refers to
God.  Using it now in the name of the year will seem almost blasphemous, and
is bound to cause terrible confusion.  Of course, we could always use Latin,
but that might be even worse -- The Latin word for Thousand is Mille which is
the same as the Latin for mile.  We won't know whether we are talking about
time or distance!"

Stonemasons are already reported threatening to demand a proportional pay
increase for having to carve an extra numeral in all dates on tombstones,
cornerstones and monuments. Together with its inevitable ripple effects, this
alone could plunge the hitherto-stable medieval economy into chaos.

A conference of clerics has been called at Winchester to discuss the entire
issue, but doomsayers are convinced that the matter is now one of personal
survival.  Many families, in expectation of the worst, are stocking up on holy
water and indulgences.

It is likely obvious, but a sermon title here is "Y Worry?"

Worship Helps

A Call To Worship (Based on Psalm 68 )

Leader:   Let us be joyful; let us rejoice in the presence of God;
People:  Let us be filled with joy and sing praises to God!
Leader:   Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
People:  Sing praises to the Lord.
Leader:   Awesome is God in the universe,
People:  For God gives power and strength to his people.
All:          Blessed be the Lord our Savior!  Amen!

A Prayer Of Dedication

As we come before you today, O Lord, our hearts are filled with gratitude
for the bounty of your love toward us.  We can not imagine our lives
without you. Our earnest prayer this day is that these gifts may bring
something of your amazing love and grace to searching hearts.  Amen.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

O Lord of life and love and living, may the power of your Holy Spirit fill this
place today. We can do nothing less than rejoice at the wonder of your love
and the miracle of the gift of life.  Mere mortal words could never capture the
gladness that dwells within the hearts of those who have come to sing your
praises on this day.  How it enlivens our spirits to know that you take joy in
the praises of your people.

O God of all who live -- take joy in our worship today!  Amen!