Easter 7 – 8 May 2016 – Year C
Grace to you and peace from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me
through their word, 21 that
they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they
also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be
one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may
become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved
them even as you loved me. 24 Father,
I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to
see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation
of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world
does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known,
that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Did you know you are
mentioned in the Gospel reading for today? You are. Jesus is talking about
you–in fact, he is praying for you–in the passage known as his “High Priestly
Prayer” in John 17. In the first part of that chapter, Jesus has been praying
for his disciples, the ones he would be sending out soon as his apostles. You
know, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Matthew–there were twelve of them. But then
as verse 20 of John 17 progresses, Jesus shifts his prayer to include others,
as well. He says: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will
believe in me through their word. . . .”
Have no doubt that
when Jesus says “these only,” he’s referring to the disciples he’s just been
praying for, those who would be his apostles. But then he goes on to say: “but
also for those who will believe in me through their word.” - and it’s here he
is talking about we (and me). Yes, you. For you are among those who have
believed in Jesus through the apostles’ word–the inspired witness of the
apostles that we find in the New Testament Scriptures. Through the gospel that
has been preached to us, through the apostles’ teaching, through the sacraments
the apostles were commissioned to pass on to the church from generation to
generation–through the apostolic ministry of Word and Sacrament, you and I have
come to believe in, trust in, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This means
that you and I are included in this prayer of Jesus when he prays for “those
who will believe in me through their word.” Here in his High Priestly Prayer,
“Jesus Prays for Us.”
Now what are the
things that our Lord prays for us? What does he want for us, what is his will
for us? Several things. The first thing he asks for us is this: “that they may all be one, just as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world
may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have
given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in
me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you
sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
This is the unity
of the church Jesus is praying for here, a unity not based on warm
fuzzy emotions or in holding hands and singing Kumbaya, but more than that, it
is a unity created by God’s own work of binding us to himself, giving us the
gift of faith, his work of uniting us in the life of the triune God. Notice how
Jesus describes this unity: “just as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us,” and again, “that they may be one even as we are one, I
in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one.” In theology,
this is what we call the “mystical union,” that all believers in Christ are
one, incorporated into the life of the one true God, in the one true church.
You know how we say in the Nicene Creed, “I believe in one holy catholic (or Christian)
and apostolic church”? Well, we believe in it, that is, we believe there to be
but one church, because that is what God has created and what Christ here is
praying for. This is the “una sancta
catholica et apostolica ecclesia,” the “one holy catholic”–“catholic” in
the best sense, meaning “universal”–the one “in all times and all places”
church, consisting of all believers made holy by the blood of the Lamb and
trusting in him, the church built on the foundation of the holy apostles. This
is the unity that Jesus is praying for–praying for us–here in his High Priestly
Prayer.
Thank God that he has
brought us into his one church! The Holy Spirit has given us faith to believe
in Christ our Saviour, and now we know the Father’s love. We all believe in one
true God, and we all have been baptised in the name of the triune God, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. This is a God-established unity that cannot fail. This
unity exists even now, in spite of all the divisions and fractures and errors
we see in visible Christendom. Friends, this unity will last forever, when by
God’s grace those warts and flaws in the church will no longer be seen, when
they will be healed–when Christ will present the church to himself as a bride
radiant and beautiful, holy and without blemish.
Now of course we want
to do everything we can to walk in the oneness God has given his church. We
want to make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. Speaking the truth in love, the church will be built up and grow strong,
not being blown around by every wind of doctrine, but rather holding to the
faith once delivered to the saints. We will work for accord in the church,
seeking consensus in the pure doctrine and striving for a God-pleasing
uniformity in church practice. This is a fitting follow-up to what Jesus is
praying for us.
There is an outcome
that will follow, as we dwell in God and he in us and we are built up in the
one apostolic faith. Our oneness in God results in mission, as Jesus says: “so that the world may believe that you have
sent me,” and again, “so that the
world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” More
and more people will come to faith in Christ as the church lives in, and
manifests, and testifies to, the love of God in Christ. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This is the love
of God we have received and experienced, and that love then shines through us
out into a sin-darkened world, drawing more and more people from every nation
into the one holy church.
It’s happening all
around the world today. What Jesus is praying for in this prayer is coming to
pass as the church grows and the gospel goes into every corner of the world. In
Africa, In Asia, in South America, the church is growing by leaps and bounds.
In Ethiopia, in Kenya, in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, in Argentina and
Peru, we see the church expanding and new beachheads for the kingdom being
established on every shore.
This is the same
gospel that has saved us, my brothers and sisters. It speaks of God’s own Son
coming down from heaven and being made incarnate here on earth. It is the good
news of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, bearing the sins of the world in
his body on the cross. He is the one and only our Saviour God has given for all
people everywhere, the only one we need. In him we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins. Christ won this for us on the cross, purchasing our salvation
with his precious blood; and then he rose, victorious in the strife, defeating
all our foes for us – death, the devil, the grave, the condemnation that you
and I deserve by our sins. These all are overcome by the death and resurrection
of God’s Son, Christ our Saviour. Now ascended into heaven, he sits at God’s
right hand, ever living to make intercession for us as our own High Priest. Jesus
promises that he will come again at the last day, to take us home to be with
him forever.
The other thing Jesus
prays for us in this prayer of his in John 17. Jesus prays to his Father as
follows: “Father, I desire that they
also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that
you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
Jesus prays this as
he is about to go to the cross, to complete the saving mission for which he was
sent. Then will come his resurrection and, forty days after that, his ascension
into heaven. So when Jesus prays that we may be with him where he is, to see
his glory, this is talking about our eternal life in heaven in the age to come.
There we will see his glory, undimmed and undiminished. There we will be with
him, and we will see him face to face. What a glorious day that will be! An
endless, joyful eternity with our Lord and with all his people, in a paradise
restored and made even better!
It’s what we see
described in the reading from Revelation 22
(12-22). The new Jerusalem, the holy city. The river of the water of
life, flowing through the city, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
The tree of life–that tree we were barred from, when we were driven out of the
garden after our fall into sin. When the new day comes, when Christ returns and
takes us home to be with him forever, then we will have access to the tree of
life, eternal life, ours as a gift. “Blessed
are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of
life.” That’s us. We have had our robes washed white in the blood of the
Lamb, our sins washed away in the waters of Holy Baptism. Therefore, in Christ,
we will have the right to the tree of life.
Friends, this is
paradise restored–creation restored, and made even better. No more sin or
sorrow or death. Only life and abundance and joy. The blessed vision of seeing
our Lord Jesus in his glory. The joy of worship around the throne with the
whole company of heaven. The heavenly banquet feast. This is what we have to
look forward to. This is our hope, our lively hope that animates all our days.
We look forward to that day with great expectation. “Come, Lord Jesus!” is the
church’s fervent cry. And, dear ones, this will be the ultimate fulfilment of
Jesus’ own prayer, his High Priestly Prayer, the prayer he prays for us, that
we may be with him where he is. God grant it, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
The peace and love of
our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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