Northwood United Church

Let Us Pray

John 17: 1-11
May 4, 2008
Rev. Cindy Terry

This week I had the great privilege of exploring, unearthing and reflecting upon this passage. This is the first opportunity I have had to spend significant time with this piece of scripture and I have been blessed beyond measure. My hope is that I can offer you some of the joy I experienced as I prepared for this morning. There is so much power and such depth in these eleven verses.

In the book of John there is no Garden of Gethsemane, no agony, no prayer for the cup to pass. Rather John presents Jesus' last act, before he is betrayed and taken away by soldiers, an act of prayer for his followers. Before he leaves he wants God to bless the disciples. Jesus begins by saying that the hour has come for him to be glorified and for him to glorify God. He is ready. To glorify is to make visible the presence of God. In Jesus' death and resurrection God's love and power is revealed. Remember Jesus has a choice. He can say no to the suffering and cross but instead he chooses to show God's love. If Jesus had stopped short of the cross, it would have said to the world that God's love has limits. There are places and suffering that God is not willing to face. By going to the cross Jesus shows that there is nothing that the love of God is not prepared to do for humanity. There is literally no limit to God's love. Jesus' actions and faithfulness make known for certain and for all time the boundless love of God.

Jesus says that he has given eternal life to his disciples. John is very clear that the meaning of eternal life is to know God and to know Jesus Christ whom God sent. Eternal life is a quality of life that is lived here on earth as one comes to know God, through Jesus, ever more deeply, ever more intimately. Eternal life means the life of God. There is a common misconception that eternal life means a gift of immortality or a future in heaven, yet John is clear that eternal life is a life shaped by the knowledge of God and a relationship with God as revealed in Jesus the Christ. Theologian, William Barclay says, "to possess eternal life or to enter into eternal life is to experience here and now, something of the splendour, the majesty, the joy, the peace and the holiness which are the characteristics of the life of God." He reminds us of two tiny verses of scripture which support John's proclamation. Prov. 3:6 says, "Know Him and He shall direct your paths." And Amos 5:4 "Thus says the Lord, 'Seek me and you will live." To know what God is like makes a tremendous difference to our lives. We enter into a new life. We discover what God is like when we examine the life and work of Jesus. It is eternal life, God's life, to know what God is like. But to know God is not merely an intellectual knowledge, not just a thorough study of the living Word of the Bible. To know God involves developing an intimate personal relationship with God…the nearest and dearest and most intimate relationship we can have is with God. Without Jesus we would not know God and would not be able to enter into this intimate relationship with God. To know God is to know what God is like and to be on the most intimate terms of friendship with God.

Jesus prays that his disciples will be faithful to their call to carry out the ministry which he began. He has complete confidence in their willingness and ability to do this as they will be empowered with God's Spirit which will gift them and strengthen them. To be a disciple of Christ one must be obedient and submissive to God's call. These can be tough words to say and accept in today's society when most want to be totally independent, self made. The truth is that God has plans for us as individuals and as communities of faith. The tremendous responsibility of being human is that we can accept or reject God's destiny for us.

It gives me great comfort, increases my confidence and decreases my fear to know that Jesus prayed for the disciples and that he prays for us. Jesus has belief in God and belief in humanity. He knows the disciples are not perfect, that they don't fully understand, yet he believes that they can be trusted and they will be led by God. We too are called to move forward with Jesus' confident belief in God and humanity. With God and the faithful following God, the possibilities are infinite!

John Wesley talks about prevenient grace. He says that we were made in such a way that the Spirit of God which is within us moves our hearts to respond to the appeal of Jesus. I think of it like a homing device. Our hearts long to be at home with God and Jesus. When our hearts reach out in love and devotion to Jesus it is the Spirit of God working in us. (William Barclay) As disciples of Jesus we glorify him and God each time we offer love and compassion to another, each time we say yes to the task God sets before us. Our actions and our words as individuals and as faith communities can reveal the presence of God in so many ways. Jesus sends his disciples out into the world. Disciples are not to hide behind closed doors but rather to live in the ordinariness of life, with all of its ups and downs, bumps and scrapes, sickness and loss, revealing the love of Christ simply by how we live at home, at work, at play. We are to make the world aware of God and what God can do in the world.

Christianity equips us for life as we are alive with the Living God. Christianity does not offer us a release from problems but offers guidance and help to work through them. We also know that we are not alone in times of trouble, God is with us always. Jesus calls his disciples to a life of contemplation, prayer and living out Christ's love in the world.

In the last verse of today's passage Jesus prays for God to protect the disciples. He prays that they be one or have unity as he and his Father are one. In his life and work Jesus welcomed everyone and offered them the love of God. He ate with Pharisees, peasants and prostitutes, the religious and the so called sinners. He commands us to love one another just as he has loved us. Barclay says, "Where there is exclusiveness, competition, disunity the cause of Christianity is harmed and hindered - the prayer of Jesus is frustrated. If we really loved each other and really loved Christ no one would ever be excluded from any church and no church would exclude any person who was Christ's disciple."

Jesus prays for the believing community and prays for us. Jesus entrusts the community to God's care. Jesus prays for the followers, for us, to embody God's love in the world. He prays that communities of faith will know the intimacy of relationship that Jesus enjoys with God. He knows that if God's love is to be seen in the world it will be through our witness…through the words and actions of this community of faith…of you and me and other communities of faith around the globe.

This passage is filled with joy and hope. Our hope and our strength comes from our ever deepening intimate relationship with the Divine and with the mission that Jesus set before us- to truly love others so that they might know the love of God. As we hear God's call, we have a choice; we can follow or turn the other way. Even if we turn the other way God does not abandon us. God's voice keeps coming to us, drawing us near and offering us love. As we accept God's call upon our lives and pray for guidance we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission of God. To be a community of faith is to be a Community of Prayer.

Let us pray. Holy and Awesome God we pray that you will help us to cling to you, to ever desire to deepen our relationship with you. We thank you for the joy, deep peace and assurance that you give us. Help us as a community of faith and as individuals to come to you in prayer for guidance and insight, for strength and empowerment. Lead us into the world to be witnesses of your amazing inclusive love. In the name of your risen Son we pray, Amen.

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