The Seventh Sunday after Easter --- 24 May 2020

Acts 1:6-14

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 9 When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. 11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.

5: 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.

John 17:1-11

1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. 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. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for 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. 9 I 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. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And 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.

Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

·        Before we begin, I’d like to ask… who’s tired of staying home and doing stay-at-home things?

·        I’m pretty much a home-body and I don’t mind staying home… some. Right now, I am tired of it and I’d enjoy seeing some of my friends. However, I know the reasons for staying home and I agree with them. We’ll touch on this again soon.

·        Today we hear Jesus’ words on unity, on being one – so that they may be one, as we are one. Of course he is referring to oneness with the Father. He prays (not just speaks about but prays) that his disciples might be one as he and the Father are one. This oneness is for the good of the disciples and it is also for the good of the world, the world he says he is leaving. The disciples remain in the world for the good of the world through the message of grace and salvation they are to share. (For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. – John 3:16)

·        Does it seem odd that John speaks of “the world” in both positive and negative terms? On the plus side, he says God so loved the world and then later on the minus side, as in today’s reading, he says the world does not hear him, although his disciples do. John appears to say the world is good and something created by God and loved by God and all who love God even while saying at the same time that it is the place of struggle and rebellion, the place of opposition to God. This can get confusing. It’s true that John’s Gospel can be confusing at times in both theme and wording. Yet, this Gospel maintains that God loves the world so much that God sent his only son and continues to send the Son’s disciples to continually reconnect the world and its inhabitants to God.

·        Here’s where our weariness with “social distancing” and the COVID-19 virus comes in. We may in fact feel exhausted, tired, cranky, and even lost and aimless because of our circumstances. What is our mission while we look out the window and maybe wait for someone to call us on the phone.

·        In times like that and in all other times, the Gospel tells us that Jesus has prayed for us and continues to pray for us even now. His prayer at the table of the Last Supper asked the Father to make us all one – one with each other and one with him. In living out the love of Jesus in the world as we find it, we experience that oneness - with Jesus, with the Father, with each other, and with the world that God loves. This is what Jesus’ prayer in today’s Gospel is all about. We are called not to simply be one with each other, as difficult as that may be, especially now; we are also called to know and live out our oneness with the rest of humanity and with all the created world.

·        How is this possible? By God’s grace and the gift of faith. Whether we’re alone, in small groups, or in larger bunches, opportunities to show and share the love of God will come our way. Really, it is only by the grace of God, a grace that will not fail us in doing what we need to do and being who we need to be… for the sake of the Kingdom of God, a kingdom that is much wider than we could ever imagine.

·        After all, this is what Jesus himself prayed for

Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.