Easter 7
June 2, 2019
John 17: 20-26
“Jesus prays for you”
In this
morning’s Gospel lesson, Jesus prays for you. This prayer is the only long,
continuous prayer of Jesus recorded in the four gospels. In this prayer, Jesus
prays for Himself, (Vv.1-5) for the welfare of the disciples after His
departure (Vv.6-19) and for all believers (Vv.20-26). As He prayed, Jesus was thinking of you. Let
us pray to the Lord,
O King of
glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above the heavens, leave us not
without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the
Father. To that end, bless the words which comes from these lips and all the
meditations which take place in these hearts, our strength and our Redeemer.
Amen
Notice, Jesus is not exhorting the church here. He is
not instructing. He is not preaching, teaching, or rallying the troops. Jesus
is praying. He is not setting out a list of expectations for us to meet. He is
not giving us a "to do" list for the church to manage. Rather He goes
to the Father as He prays for you.
How do you feel when someone prays out-loud for you? Do
you feel comforted, vulnerable, grateful, honored, humbled, awkward but
appreciative? Possibly, it feels like
someone really cares for you. How do you know Jesus cares for you? He cares for
you as He prays for you. He invites you
into His family the Church.
To be a follower of Jesus is to be a part of a greater
whole. According to Jesus there are to be no isolated Christians or spiritual
“Lone Rangers.” This prayer of Jesus is a prayer for community. Jesus prays
that, “all may be one.” To become a
part of Christ is to become a part of the community; a part of the one.
It is important for us to understand that this unity
for which Christ prays is not an organic union of religious bodies but the
inner unity that consists in the bond of faith in Jesus as the Son of God our
Savior. There is a difference between unity and uniformity. We are one because
we are one in Christ.
Christ prays for unity because unity in the church
declares His love. Says Jesus, “…that
they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and
loved them even as you loved me.’ (v.23) The world will be attracted by the
love of Christians and will be moved to look into it. Then we can answer; “We love Him because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
John will begin his gospel reminding us that, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Jesus’ entry into time and space is that God desired unity with us so much
Jesus became one of us.
The mystery of the incarnation teaches us that God is
a man. God is human. God was born of a woman. God ate and drank, slept and
awoke, prayed and worked, taught and shared, died and rose.
All for you. If you want to know what God looks like,
what He acts like, what He thinks, then look no further than Jesus. Everything
you need to know about God is in Him. If you have other questions, don’t bother
asking them. He’s the only answer you’re going to get. [2]
Today we recognized our high school seniors. In just
a few hours, you will receive your diploma. On one occasion, when there were a large
number of graduates, the principal said to each of the graduating seniors walking
across the stage as he shook their hand: “Congratulations! Keep moving!” To each
of you we say, “Congratulations! Keep moving!” Keep moving in the power and strength
of Christ! Be a witness! Gossip the Gospel! Be a sermon in shoes! Remember this
unity, which is yours in Christ.
The Father has given you to Christ. This He did when
He brought you to faith through the working of the Holy Spirit. The reason why
He did this was simply this;”That you may
be His own and love under Him in His kingdom.” Jesus prays that you may be with Him where He
is, that you may behold that glory the Father has given Jesus.
Today we are in the time between the Ascension and the
gift of the Spirit at Pentecost. We are in the time between the first and
second coming of Jesus Christ. May we rejoice in the assurance that Christ is
with us, continuing to pray for our oneness, and our unity. This prayer sets the tone for Christian unity
and your eternal destiny.
Words- 805
Passive Sentences-2%
Readability- 77.4%
Reading Level -5.6
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