The other reading I reference is 1 John 5:9-13.
The holy gospel according to John 17:6-19.
Jesus
prayed:
6”I
have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.
They
were yours,
and
you gave them to me,
and
they have kept your word.
7Now
they know that everything you have given me is from you;
8for
the words that you gave to me I have given to them,
and
they have received them
and
know in truth that I came from you;
and
they have believed that you sent me.
9I
am asking on their behalf;
I
am not asking on behalf of the world,
but
on behalf of those whom you gave me,
because
they are yours.
10All
mine are yours,
and
yours are mine;
and
I have been glorified in them.
11And
now I am no longer in the world,
but
they are in the world,
and
I am coming to you.
Holy
Father, protect them in your name that you have given me,
so
that they may be one, as we are one.
12While
I was with them,
I
protected them in your name that you have given me.
I
guarded them,
and
not one of them was lost
except
the one destined to be lost,
so
that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13But
now I am coming to you,
and
I speak these things in the world
so
that they may have my joy
made
complete in themselves.
14I
have given them your word,
and
the world has hated them
because
they do not belong to the world,
just
as I do not belong to the world.
15I
am not asking you to take them out of the world,
but
I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
16They
do not belong to the world,
just
as I do not belong to the world.
17Sanctify
them in the truth;
your
word is truth.
18As
you have sent me into the world,
so
I have sent them into the world.
19And
for their sakes I sanctify myself,
so
that they also may be sanctified in truth.
The gospel of the Lord.
-----
When I was in my second year of college, one of my friends
from high school died in a car accident and, before I headed home for the
memorial service, my roommate wrote different Bible verses on note cards to
send with me. Those cards continue
to go with me as I’ve traveled and moved.
Right now they are sitting on my desk in my office. They keep me grounded and remind me of
the God who loves me and the comfort and refuge that God is.
One passage that she wrote out for me comes right after
today’s gospel reading. As Jesus
prays for his followers, my roommate Stefanie, changed the “them”s to my
name. Now generally I don’t advocate
changing what is communal, or group-oriented, to individualize it, because it
was probably written that way for a reason, but here in this context of our
faith community, naming ourselves and being named can be so valuable. To hear yourself within Jesus’ final
prayer before heading into the night and crucifixion brings a new meaning and
depth to the prayer. Listen as I
read from the gospel of John again,
(fill in the blanks with your name and the names of those in your faith community)
Jesus
prayed:
6”I
have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world.
__________
was yours,
and
you gave __________ to me,
and they have kept your word.
7Now they know that everything you have given me
is
from you;
8for
the words that you gave to me I have given to __________,
and
__________ has received them
and
knows in truth that I came from you;
and they have believed that you sent me.
9I
am asking on __________ ‘s behalf;
I
am not asking on behalf of the world,
but
on behalf of __________ whom you gave me,
because
__________ is yours.
10All
mine are yours,
and
yours are mine;
and
I have been glorified in them.
11And
now I am no longer in the world,
but
__________ is in the world,
and
I am coming to you.
Holy
Father, protect __________ in your name that you have given me,
so
that they may be one, as we are one.
12While
I was with __________,
I
protected __________ in your name that you have given me.
I
guarded __________,
and
not one of them was lost
except
the one destined to be lost,
so
that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13But
now I am coming to you,
and
I speak these things in the world
so
that __________ may have my joy
made
complete in themselves/themselves.
14I
have given __________ your word,
and
the world has hated them
because
__________ does not belong to the world,
just
as I do not belong to the world.
15I
am not asking you to take __________ out
of the world,
but
I ask you to protect __________ from
the evil one.
16__________ does not belong to the world,
just
as I do not belong to the world.
17Sanctify
__________ in the truth;
your
word is truth.
18As
you have sent me into the world,
so
I have sent __________ into the world.
19And
for their sakes I sanctify myself,
so
that __________ also may be sanctified in truth.
Jesus prays for us, his followers. He prays that we may have his joy made complete in
ourselves. Jesus’ prayer and words
for us are assurance that as we come together to pray, to study scripture, to
share in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus manifests his joy in us.
This
prayer is for those of us who are already here. Those of us seeking to follow Jesus in our lives. The message is clear: “10All mine are yours, and yours
are mine; and I have been glorified in them.” Jesus’ hope for us, his followers, is that we trust and live
in the world as God’s beloved children, because that is who we are. Jesus comes to us and knows us in our
entirety. In the things we do
trust, or believe, and in the things we struggle with.
The
gift of that is that belief is not about knowledge. Faith involves—even necessitates—doubt. Many of you have heard me say that if
we didn’t doubt, it would be knowledge, not faith. In fact, the Greek word for believe, pisteuo, means trust—trust in God, trust in Jesus, trust in the
Holy Spirit, trust in each other.
Trust. And you have it! At least enough to get you to show up
here today. And that is
enough. It is enough because 1 John assures us that “the testimony
of God is greater”—because God is greater and God makes it enough, because God
is enough.
God’s
love is poured out again and again, as we gather in trust to worship, to be
fed, and to be loved. So God loves
us. Jesus makes his joy complete
in us and we are God’s, as Jesus says, “10All
mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.”
Because
sometimes trust is just showing up—letting someone else hold the faith for us
when we are caught up in doubt. At
our evening worship, during our prayer space, trust can be lighting a candle in
prayer, writing out a prayer to hang up or fold into an origami paper
crane. In spending time with God,
in spending our energy and our resources and money with and for God, we are
choosing to put our trust in God.
What
do you need for trust?
It
is not always easy and that is why we come together. So that friends can send you to memorial services with
assurances of God’s loving presence.
So that we can hold the faith together for and with each other. So that God’s love can be made real in our
lives. So that we are never in it
alone.
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