Easter 7 C: For Us!
Dear Partner in Preaching,
The first verse in this week’s passage is one of my favorites in John’s Gospel, and maybe even in all of the Scriptures.
I know, I know, there are so many other great verses from John’s remarkable story: “In the beginning was the Word….”, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” “For God so loved the world…,” “In my house are many mansions…,” and more. Why, then, do I love this verse? Simply because in it we hear Jesus praying for us. Yes. Jesus…nearly two thousand years ago…is praying…for us – incredible!
Let’s set the scene. It’s Thursday evening, the night on which Jesus will be betrayed, handed over to his enemies, deserted by his friends, tried, convicted, and ultimately crucified. And knowing all that is to come, he gathers his closest friends, offers them parting words of encouragement and hope, and then prays for them. He prays that they may endure the challenges that come their way. He prays that they may discover strength in their unity. He prays that they will be drawn together as one as Jesus and the heavenly Father are one. And then he prays not only for them, but for all for who will believe in Jesus because of their testimony.
And that’s where we come in, Dear Partner. Because we are now in church because someone told us about Jesus. Whether it was a parent, friend, grandparent, pastor or whomever, someone told us about the good news that in Jesus we see that God loves us all, and inspired by this promise and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we came to believe.
But here’s the thing: someone told the person who told us. And someone else told that person. And someone told that person as well…and so on and so on, all the way back to the testimony of these disciples who, despite their fear – both this evening and on Easter morning – nevertheless moved out of the closed room in the promise of resurrection and began to share the good news of Jesus with others.
And so when Jesus prays not only for these disciples but for those who believe because of them, he’s praying for John’s original audience and for all Christians ever since, all the way up to you and me and the people to whom we will preach this Sunday.
All too often, I think, Scripture can seem like a story told about people living such a long time ago that we may wonder what it has to say to us today. But in a few passages – especially in John’s Gospel – there are what I think of as little doors that open up to invite us into the story itself to be active participants in the ongoing drama of God’s love for all the world. We got one of those doors a few weeks ago when Jesus, in his encounter with Thomas, blessed all those who believed in Jesus even though they/we hadn’t seen him. And that included John’s community and us. And now we get another, as we hear Jesus on this significant night take time from everything else he was doing and had to say to take time to pray for us.
What difference might that make this week to our people, Dear Partner, as they struggle with challenges at work, home or school; as they deal with set backs in their profession or personal lives; as they deal with stress and illness; or as they face an uncertain future? Our opportunity this week, I think, is to let them know that whatever they may face, they do not face it alone, because Jesus was praying for them back then and promises to accompany them through the Holy Spirit even now, all these years later.
Tell them that this week, Dear Partner. That on the eve of his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for them. That Jesus continues to walk with them. That Jesus will accompany them through all that may come, holding onto them through the highs and lows of this life, even through death to new life. This is the promise of resurrection, one we so desperately need to hear. Thank you for offering this simple but profound word of promise and grace, Dear Partner. What you do and say matters, now more than ever.
Yours in Christ,
David
And, for what does Jesus pray on our behalf? That we may be one as He and His Father are one. And, that brings to mind, Dr. Lose, your commentary on denominations as passe. I spent the better part of two hours conversing with a Methodist pastor this afternoon, and both of us believe we just cannot play the denominational card any more…and for many of the reasons you outlined in your commentary four years ago. On this forthcoming Mother’s Day, might we consider our Mother Church in light of the fact that, even so many years ago, even on the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord was praying for us, that we may be one?
This text has disturbed me and I can’t stop thinking about it. The prayer, the message is so simple and yet we’ve made such a mess of things.
He’s praying for us to be in complete unity, to be as one so the world will know that God sent him and that he loves us.
The disciples didn’t believe the women who ran excitedly to tell them Jesus was not in the tomb. They didn’t listen, they didn’t believe what the women were telling them. When some of the the disciples saw Jesus on the road after he died and told Thomas what they experienced, Thomas didn’t believe them, he didn’t listen to what they were telling him. He needed proof.
These are the people who knew each other well and experienced Jesus up close and personal. They heard what Jesus had been telling them but they didn’t understand what he’d been saying. They couldn’t take in what he was saying even though they heard it from his mouth. It wasn’t until they each had a personal experience could they truly believe.
We still don’t listen to one another today. The Catholic church tossed Martin Luther out when he saw words in scripture…..he excitedly told the church what he had seen and they didn’t believe him, they didn’t listen.
It happens in our churches today when someone sees something in scripture a little differently than others. They excitedly go to tell their friends and are met with blank stares and furrowed brows.
This simple prayer is that we be one in unity with each other so the world will know that God loves them. The world has not seen or heard this message. The world only sees the divisiveness and the in-fighting….people who are insisting they are right and wanting their own way. People within the church aren’t listening. The world sees the Lutheran Church and cannot understand it. If we can’t be in unity with one another and condemn another synod for it’s beliefs, don’t even speak to one another or allow each other at the Lord’s Table to break bread, we’ve made a fine mess of things, Ollie.
Our ELCA church parking lot is next to a Wisconsin Synod school and playground. One day, I parked my car and began walking toward the doors. I saw three boys standing by the fence and said hello. Do you know what they did? They looked at me and said “look! She’s one of THEM” and began picking up and throwing stones at me. They threw stones at me because I was one of THEM. I was “the other.” True story.
Sometimes, colleagues within our own denomination are people we simply cannot work with for one reason or another. I’ve pursued unity elsewhere, including the local ministerial association. I swallow hard when the prayer begins, “Father God, I just wanna…” and when, as the prayer is offered, there’s an ongoing chorus of “Thank you, Jesus.” I swallow harder when something other than the grace of God in Jesus Christ is being proclaimed and promoted. They swallow hard when the leader of the group calls on me to close with prayer; they know sooner or later, I’m going to get to the Lord’s Prayer, which some of them consider to be a “crutch.” Yet, we learn from one another, we persevere with one another…we even laugh with one another and tend to enjoy one another’s company…for the most part! My best joke with the group is that Lutherans don’t generally raise their hands when they pray; we trust the Lord, but our deodorant? Not so much.
Fifty years ago, I (a) figured how old I’d be and (b) wondered if I would live long enough to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Well, the first answer is 64, and the jury’s out on the second part. But, as for “celebrating,” I’ve discovered that, while there’s a lot to commemorate, there’s not a lot to celebrate…except in the last fifty years. I thoroughly enjoy a Lutheran-Roman Catholic clergy dialogue of which I’ve been part now for several years. Fifty years ago, I would never have guessed I’d have Catholic priests and lay leaders as friends and colleagues.
No, it’s true that no one has thrown rocks at me, but there have been words thrown at me by my own colleagues at times that have been pretty painful…especially given the source.
Unity is where one finds it, and one should be thankful when one does. On the other hand, can we find it in ourselves to forgive, and even discover within ourselves at times the need to be forgiven for failing in the unity our Lord seeks for us with the Father?
A senior pastor under whom I toiled for more than three miserable years nonetheless spoke wisdom when, in the midst of disunity within our congregation, he told me, “No one said it was going to be easy.” For me, it wasn’t then, and on many occasions, it hasn’t been since.
And, I guess that brings us back to Dr. Lose’s opening premise: how cool it is that, in the night in which He was betrayed, our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for His disciples…those then…and us here and now. Peace, sister.
I would like to echo what Phil Gardner has written. Some of my best learning and spiritual experiences have been in local ministerial associations. As I came to appreciate what each member and the denomination they represented brought to the table, I realized that we were indeed, “becoming one” – however tentatively. We had some lively VBS weeks, planned and led by clergy and laypeople from the Methodist, UCC, Covenant, UU, Roman Catholic and ELCA parishes in the neighborhood. (As an aside, the Augsburg Fortress VBS materials were hands down the favorites).
And one comment: many years ago, one of my mentors said that he did not like to “celebrate” the Reformation because it was like celebrating a divorce. I am glad that, because of long and patient work on the part of people in both denominations, we are actually able to look upon this occasion as a chance to indeed celebrate our commonalities and continue to be open to each other.