7th Sunday of Easter
John 17:6-19
"Filling A Vacuum"
6* “I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world; thine they were, and thou gavest them to me, and they have kept thy word.
7* Now they know that everything that thou hast given me is from thee;
8* for I have given them the words which thou gavest me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from thee; and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9* I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine;
10* all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.
11* And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
12* While I was with them, I kept them in thy name, which thou hast given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13* But now I am coming to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14* I have given them thy word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15* I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one.
16* They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17* Sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth.
18 As thou didst send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
19* And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our risen Lord. Amen
"One day a small boy was trying to lift a heavy stone, but he couldn’t budge it. His father passing by, stopped to watch his efforts. Finally the father asked his son, "Are you using all your strength?"
"Yes, I am," the boy yelled,"I am using every lost bit of energy and strength I have. As the boy talked he sounded exasperated and worn out."
The father turned to the boy and said, "No, you are not using all of your strength, you haven’t asked me to help you.
So the boy asked the father to help, but still that stone couldn’t be moved. So, the father asked his older sort to help, but still they couldn’t move it. Then a neighbor was asked to help, then another neighbor, and another, and finally with each one giving all their energy and strength to the project, the stone was moved!
After everyone had left, the father turned to his son and said, "You see, when we all work together, when we use our strength together, then we can accomplish some things that any of us by ourselves could not accomplish. Unity, togetherness, working together can add greater strength to any project."
I would like to tell you a story about an imaginary man, but maybe he isn’t so imaginary.
"There once was a happy man who w born in the city of Regeneration and attended the church of Repentance Unto Life. He was educated at the school of Obedience, where he also learned, kindness, love, forgiveness and patience.
He has a large estate in the country of Christian Contentment, where he gives Generously of all that he has, but never does he look to acquire more and more. Many times he does jobs of Self Denial. He wears the garment or Humility and has another suit to put on when he goes to Court, the Robe of Christ’s Righteousness.
Each morning and evening he Partakes of Spiritual Power, through Prayer. Each Sunday he eats the Bread of Life and drinks from the Cup of Eternal life.
Each Sunday he adds to his assurance of eternal life by listening again and again to the promises of God in the Word and preaching. He falls asleep each evening with a smile on his face, because he knows no matter where he may wake, he will be a Happy man."
The two stories I just told you illustrate the kind of person Jesus is praying for in our gospel lesson this morning. The lesson is part of Jesus’ High Priestly prayer.
As we heard in the story about the little boy, there is strength in unity as Jesus is praying for his disciples. In the story of the happy man we see that being a Christian means that somehow you and I are different from the rest of the world. We live our lives in the world, but not of the world. We live in truth which allows us to view life differently from others who do not know Christ.
Today in the church year is a day of waiting, a time for reflection, a time to stop, to ponder, to listen quietly, to pray, to feel, to experience, to wait and to wonder.
In the sequence of things, last Thursday was Ascension Day, the day Jesus rose into heaven, and next Sunday is Pentecost, the day the spirit of Jesus, His Holy Spirit visits the disciples with power, it is the birthday of the church.
Today, is a waiting day, a day to reflect upon all that Jesus had said, all that he had taught, all that he had done.
I imagine the disciples at this moment felt confused, felt alone, felt lost, were wondering what was going to happen next, were wondering if this was the end or just a beginning as Jesus had promised. They probably felt frightened, alone, insecure, amazed, and perplexed.
They had just seen Jesus rise into heaven, they had just seen their friend, their teacher, their Lord go away from them. This was a glorious event, for now they were certain that Jesus was with the Father, now they knew for sure that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, now they knew for sure that Jesus and the Father were really one.
But on the other hand, now they were alone, without their friend, without their leader, without their companion. Yes, today in the lives of the disciples was a day that was really in between times, in between the time when they had Jesus with them, and before the time when they would be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, this was a awkward time for the disciples. It was a time for them to think about the words of Jesus, to dwell on his teaching, to recall his promises for them.
And I think it is very appropriate that this text from John’s gospel has been chosen for today. For if the disciples were to think about this text, if they could recall this conservation with Jesus, if they could remember these words, this in between time wouldn’t seem so frightening, nor would they seem so alone.
This was Jesus’ high priestly prayer. The prayer that Jesus prayed with his disciples before the events of Holy Week. He prayed this to comfort the disciples who could not understand this prayer then, but now following the death and resurrection of Jesus’,following his ascension, now they could really appreciate the words of this prayer, now they could understand what Jesus was saying, what he meant.
As we look at this prayer of Jesus, we can see that the disciples could have drawn strength from it. They could draw power, they could draw assurance that indeed they would be with Jesus again somehow.
Jesus says: "Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."
Jesus praying that the disciples would remain in faith, remain in the name of the Father, remain true to the teaching that he had taught them.
Jesus prays that the disciples will remain together. For Jesus knew that in the unity of the disciples they would be stronger than if each went their separate way. Remember the story of the boy and the rock. As more and more gathered, they could move the rock. As the disciples stay together, they can remember Jesus teaching. In unity there is strength.
And Jesus prays that the disciples should be in the world. As he says:" I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one."
Jesus is saying that the disciples will remain in the world for He has a task which they are to preform.
Jesus says in Matthew 28 19* Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20* teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
As Jesus ascends into heaven, He leaves the disciples with a task. They are to go out into the world and Baptize. But the time has not yet come for the disciples, because the Pentecost even has not happened.
In Luke 24 Jesus says: 49* And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Jesus tells the disciples to stay in the city and wait. Wait for the power from the Father. Wait and the Spirit will come. Wait!
During this time of waiting a vacuum has formed. The power of Christ has left the world, but the power of the Spirit has not yet entered the disciples. But as they are waiting. He knew they needed to stay together so when the Spirit came they could fill the vacuum.They might have recalled this prayer of Jesus. They might have recalled the great commission of Jesus. They were getting ready to fill that vacuum with the power of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
The disciples are like the boat in the following:
A sail boat bobbed up and down in the waves as the brisk wind made the tree tops dance. The sailboat was clean and smooth, yet it hovered helplessly next to the dock.
The sails danced playfully in the power of the wind, but the boat did not move. Other ships cut across the lake with glee in the wind’s silent grace, but the boat at the dock did not move. Its sails shook in the wasted breeze. Its hardware rattled and banged with eagerness to be used, but the ship drifted helplessly in the windswept water.
All the power was at hand, The wind drenched the boat with its force. The boat was ready.
But the boat did not move because the person at the tiller did not have the wisdom to use either the power nor the equipment. He did not have the knowledge to set the rigging, and did not even know how to direct the craft to receive all the glorious power around it."
The disciples were exactly like that. They had all the power from Jesus, they had the mission spelled out, they had the tools at hand, but they didn’t know how to use them, they didn’t know how to set sail.
They needed the Pentecost experience, they needed the guidance of the Spirit, they needed the power of the spirit to get their boat sailing in the breeze. Jesus prayed that while they waited for all this, they would be drawn together. While they waited to get started in their mission, they would not loose faith, but they would remain in the Father.
But unlike the disciples, we do not have to wait to fill the vacuum. We have the power of the Spirit to go into the world.
We have been brought together into a church, into the body of Christ for unity and strength. We have been reared with the blessings of that Happy man in our story. We are primed and ready.
An example of one who was not afraid to let the Spirit work in him and through him is seen in the following story:
Bob, a new convert to Jesus worked one summer as a bartender in New York City. He reports that he had misgivings about taking the job. But he needed the money to help pay his way through college and reason it just a summer job. Besides, he thought, he just might find the opportunity to help turn some lives around. After all did not Jesus Christ go out to the highways and hedges and mix with sinners?
Of this experience, Bob writes: "Never in my wildest imagination did I dream I would have all the opportunities I had to witness for Christ. People came in who just needed someone to talk with them. Some were on drugs, some were prostitutes, and occasionally someone
would come in who had simply given up on society and on life in genera!."
One young lady, despondent be. cause her live-in boyfriend had left her, confided to Bob that she was thinking of suicide. Bob listened and took the opportunity to talk with her about Jesus Christ.
Later, he received this note: "Dear Bob, you may not remember me but I am the young lady you helped late one Friday night last summer. I had almost given up hope. You listened and convinced me that you cared. And, oh how desperately I needed that from someone. Sunday morning I went to church for the first time in five years. God willing, I will be going again this Sunday. Thank you for caring. Karen"
Christ calls us to be In the world, not of it. The world needs more Bobs, helping to lift people up out of the world and pointing them to Jesus Christ.
Jesus says: "Holy Father, keep them in thy name which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one."
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale May 22, 2006
