The Prayer - John 17:11b-19 - Seventh Sunday of Easter

 

John 17:11b-19 NIV

^11b Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

¹³ “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. ¹⁴ I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

The Prayer

Once again, this week we hear all the words of Jesus. The words of Jesus as he prays for his disciples. Hear his words and listen carefully to what Jesus has to say in this prayer. This is a time in Jesus’ life just before his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, his betrayal, his suffering, his denial and abandonment by his disciples. This is a time before the crucifixion and death he was to suffer. Yes, this was a time prior to Jesus’ time in the tomb and the time before his resurrection. This was the time before the resurrected Jesus appears before many witnesses to his new life in God. And this was a time before his ascension from this earth to heaven. But for this moment, Jesus, aware of how mankind is trapped in sin, Jesus, prays for his disciples, who will remain in this world. A world that is influenced by sin, death and evil.  And Jesus prays for joy, protection, and sanctification of his disciples.

This prayer is a contrast of heavenly joy and worldly hatred.  It is a contrast of unity verses the confusion of the hatred of one faction against another faction. Jesus prays for the oneness of mind, purpose, and mission of his disciples in Him and God’s mission of love, forgiveness and salvation.

Yes, even as the disciples are on the cusp of betrayal, denial, abandonment, and sloth, before Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection; Jesus is loyal to THEM! Jesus is thankful for THEM! Jesus loves THEM! For--- God has given THEM, me, you, and all people, to Jesus! Jesus regards US as His amazing gift from God the Father.

Jesus’ only advantage that He reaps from all of this, is that we are saved through God’s plan of salvation. Wow! His advantage is OUR salvation! What a thought! What a friend we have in Jesus! For sure… without a doubt… rejoice!

What about me and you? What does God desire for us in all of this?

Thank God for all those wonderful people He places in our lives each and every day. Thank God for the friends we are given. Thank God and love all of those placed in your life daily… the ones easy to love and those that are difficult to love. Thank God to be able to tell of God’s wonderful gift of salvation. Thank God for the opportunity to serve and love them each and every day.

As Jesus makes clear in his prayer; we must continue to live in this world. So, we also are called to pray for our friend’s protection, love and salvation. We are to hold together in this world. We are called to feed from the Vine of Life which is Jesus.

Yes, Jesus means for us to live in this world. We are to live in this world although not of this world. We are called to take life in its fullness as a gift from God to use to His glory.

Don’t neglect the “goodness of life in this world.” Rather we are to use life in the here and now to God’s service. Live and use this world to God’s glory… Yet… don’t bow down to this world.

Just in the past couple of months, I have been given awesome displays of God’s glory and power in His creation. I have witnessed a full eclipse of the sun, last night, I witnessed the sky light up in colors of red, white and streaks of green that appeared and disappeared, as energy from the sun interacted with the earth’s ionosphere. Every week I witness amazing sounds and communications as I send morse code and bounce signals off of ionospheric layers to friends near and far. I see flowers bloom, grass grow, trees come to new life. Yes, this world is amazing, and what God has created is a gift to us and a witness to the life that God creates and continues to give to each and all of us.

But there is more in store. As Jesus tells us in this prayer, we are not of this world just as Jesus is not of this world. We are in the world, but God has more in store for us. God has prepared a heavenly home for us to be with Him in eternity.

But that time is not yet. We are to remain here in this world. And, Jesus prays that God will sanctify us by the truth. This “sanctify” is a little bit more than just the usually being set apart as holy. In this “sanctify” we are dedicated and now equipped through the Word (Jesus the Word made flesh) for the service of God. We are called to continue the mission of God, in this world, here and now.

This mission is to witness to all those God gives to us each and every day, of the Truth from the Father. The Truth is Jesus, God’s Son. Jesus is the Truth we are to tell of to counter the evil of hatred and death in this world in which we live.

In this world, we, Jesus’ disciples, are to remain, to go tell, to go save, to go change all that we can change, to point to the love of Jesus. To point to forgiveness and new life in God for all. Yes, in this world, we serve God as Jesus served His life to us and as we serve our lives to our friends in love for God and each other.

Witness to the resurrection of Jesus. Delight in the joy and happiness in God and keep in mind, whoever has the Son--- Jesus--- has life.

Pray for one another as Jesus prays for all of us, that Joy may be complete in the gift of life that God freely gives…. today… tomorrow… and forever.

Thanks be to God!

How could I not but leave you with this song from Hillsong --- “The Lord’s Prayer”

Hillsong --- "The Lord's Prayer"

God bless you as you walk this earth this week with The Friend in Jesus and all the friends God gives to you each and every day.

He Chooses Me To Be His Friend! - John 15:9-17 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

 

John 15:9-17 NIV

⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

He Chooses Me To Be His Friend!

This is another week where I look back. I look back and reflect on my studies of last week. I look back and think of what I heard and observed in the sermon, the presence of Jesus at sacrament, and the worship and praise of God together with friends and neighbors. Looking back, yet looking forward in hope and love.

Notice again, all the letters above are in the “red” of Jesus words to his disciples. Words given to them just before Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. These words, in particular seem to point me to reflect on the resurrection. Words to prepare both the disciples then, and for us today.

Jesus speaks of joy. The joy of self-sacrifice in love for another. Sacrifice doesn’t sound like joy in today’s world. Sacrifice sounds like giving up and giving in. But as we sit and listen to the words of Jesus and see the actions of Jesus self-sacrifice; he ends it all with joy.

Jesus gives full joy. Jesus gives us the free love of the Good News of the Gospel. Jesus freely grants forgiveness and resurrection. Turn your thinking from your own selfish needs and catch the infection of real joy from Jesus. This wonderful infection is free. Accept this infection with joy.

Yes… Joy!

2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Yes! This is real Joy displayed in the face of Christ. Joy that brings light into our hearts and gives free, warm, wonderful Light. Joy that grants us to see the face of our laughing, resurrected, Jesus. Joyful, loving, Jesus! Full of life Jesus! This is resurrection and joy!

This wonderful Joy makes me remember Luther’s Rose…

This is my explanation based on Luther’s original words… (mine is shorter!)

I look to the cross and see death and pain yet salvation.

The cross is centered in my heart of faith.

The cross and heart are enveloped by a rose of JOY caused by faith.

The heart and the rose are surrounded by a blue sky, which is the beginning of the heavenly JOY to come.

Everything, the cross, the heart, the rose and the sky are encompassed by the ring of endless JOY through the gift of grace.

Black cross of death

Red heart of Jesus life giving blood

White rose of all the angels and blessed saints of God

Blue sky of hope

Gold of Jesus, my most precious gift

Thanks be to God!

Jesus freely gives us joy! A joy professed by many disciples throughout time…

1 John 1:4 NIV

⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

2 John 12 NIV

¹² I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

3 John 4 NIV

⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Yes! Jesus brings joy in sacrifice and resurrection.

As we see in the Gospel lesson, God the Father and God the Son love one another. Sure! But then Jesus loves me, you and all people. How? I’m not like Jesus. I’m dirty and sinful. How does Jesus love me, my neighbor or any of us sinful beings on this planet? Wow! That is hard to do!

Let alone that I may love my neighbor! Hard, hard, hard to do! Impossible?

As I sit and ponder the love of God in Jesus, I see that it is through Jesus love that the impossible becomes possible. As I sit in the glory of Jesus resurrection and forgiveness, I see and turn to Jesus. It’s through Jesus, not me that this love becomes possible for my neighbor. This love of others like Jesus loves me, is possible as Jesus moves in and through me. This love is not something I can force or do with my own effort. No! Jesus’ love flowing through me, from heaven to earth is possible and real, without any of my efforts. It’s not me… It’s the love of Jesus!

This love Jesus commands us to let flow through us to our world…

A love proclaimed once again through Jesus’ disciples.

1 John 3:11 NIV

¹¹ For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

1 John 3:23 NIV

²³ And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

1 John 4:21 NIV

²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

John 13:34 NIV

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

It’s a command. A command that comes through us, from Jesus. A command that bears the JOY of friendship. This friendship is in the loving. It’s not in the being loved. A friendship from Jesus that produces honesty of heart to another. A friendship to see strength and trust in Jesus.

Friends are loyal. And Jesus calls us his friends! Jesus chooses to be our friend.

We are no longer servants… we are friends. Jesus’ friend! Servants serve, and friends share love for one another. As friends we now know, Jesus’ life-giving love for us. Yes, we are friends who go and bear the fruit of love and forgiveness from God. Jesus chooses you and me to be friends into eternity. Everything Jesus has he gives to me, His friend.

Why?

Because Jesus wants his friends to bear the fruit of love to our friends, and to all people. Jesus moving in and through us. Jesus gave his body and his blood to choose me as His friend, to become in me and fill me with His love for me and for all people; that I may bear His fruit of love and forgiveness to all the world.

Yes, Jesus chose me! Jesus chose you. Dirty and sinful as we are; Jesus chooses us anyway! Stinky me! That’s amazing!

Go! Choose to love your stinky brother, sister, neighbor in this world and freely give the gift of love, service, life, Gospel and forgiveness, that Jesus has freely filled you with.

Join hands in the dance of life. Pass into the eternity of Jesus meeting in love, feast and dance. This is Jesus’ resurrection JOY… today…. tomorrow… and forever.

Love one another!

Mark 12:31 NIV

³¹ … ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Matthew 22:39-40 NIV

³⁹ … ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

Romans 5:6-10 NIV

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Yes! Jesus chooses me and you to be His friend.

Thanks be to God!

I leave you with this song from Chris Tomlin

Jesus

God bless you this week and always…