May the God of peace hold me by my right hand and guide me. Who is a shepherd to shepherds, and a guide to guides. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Good evening/morning. The past month has been full of memorable events here at Redeemer and in our parish’s community. Youth Sunday was fantastic, we had a great bishop’s visit, and of course we had celebration for Fr. Robinson’s 20th anniversary as rector. Now, there’s no need to make a big deal out of this or anything, but maybe it’s worth pointing out that today is my first anniversary on staff at Redeemer. Now, I know it’s nineteen fewer than the bossman, I do feel like I won the record for fastest year ever. Beka and I want to thank you for your patience and encouragement over the past year; it has been truly great to serve with you over the past 365 days and we look forward to many more days to come.
Now If I could list my favorite things of the year it would be:
1. Our remarkable community of young people, especially when they humor me and play Thuriball.
2. The amount of pizza I get to eat as a youth minister, which is significant.
3) Working in a parish that takes the liturgical year seriously as a part of Christian life.
We can talk about the first two later. For now, consider what a blessing it is to be able walk in the path of Jesus’ life, having his story become our own by laying the schedule of our Lord’s life over the pattern of everyday life in the 21st Century. In essence, the Church year is meant to be a bridge to Jesus so that we can learn more about him, worship him as Lord, and of course, follow his commands.
So why am I going on about the Church year when we have such a lovely passage from John 17 to work through?
Mostly because I have been puzzling what to do with this little 10 day period between Ascension Day and Pentecost next week. It’s this little “in between time” and it has a little bit of expectation like Advent, a little bit of confusion like Holy Saturday, but since it’s in the Easter season its overall tone is super joyous in light of the resurrection of Jesus.
Well, as it turns out, all these ideas can help us to work through our Gospel reading. Jesus’ prayer to the Father as recorded in John 17 can be seen as the climax of a long set of teachings done while at table with the disciples. Some of those feelings I just referred to, expectation and confusion, were certainly present at that table: Remember that a few chapters earlier Jesus was saying some strange things about Judas, he was cleaning people’s feet and talking about being glorified, and something about a Counselor who would come. I think it’s fair to say that the disciples were probably pretty excited when they heard about a Spirit of Truth who would come and clarify some of the opaque things Jesus was talking about.
So when Jesus begins his prayer, he throws down some big theological cards, namely the ones that read “Eternal” and “life.” And in this prayer he remarks about how the Father’s authority is vested in the Son especially as evidenced by the fact that the Son was present with the Father prior to the world, and that eternal life was now available to people by the introduction that Jesus has made. Jesus is talking about being a bridge to the Father, who offers Eternal Life.
Maybe it’s obvious but I’ll say it anyway: Eternal Life are two words that when put together, start the human spiritual mind racing. And there is a lot of confusion out there as to how to understand them. Some think that it refers to the extra innings after we die, or maybe how we’ll be floating around wearing togas like a really lame version of a college party in an 80’s movie. To some, the idea of eternal life is abandoned as an oxymoron because eternality is defined as infinite and life is inherently limited. To the Church, Life with God after death is our expected ultimate end and joy, but its really only part of the equation. Jesus actually notes what Eternal life consists of in vs. 3:
And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Jesus, in showing God to the world, in revealing God’s love for it, introduced the world to a life in God. Eternal life, put simply, is life in the Triune God. The complexity comes in the implications, therefore, because a life in God, especially after coming to know Jesus is remarkably different than the status quo for the world. Eternal living is not habitually selfish, or capricious, or callous. Eternal living is living for the other, faithfully, with regard to the inner workings of humanity and to the mysteries of God. Eternal living is, like God, known by love that reaches out in true kindness and is marked by the things that God cares about: namely humility, mercy, and justice.
Eternal life, with its implications for the present, and of course with its attendant promise of a perpetual life in God’s presence in the end, can leave us startlingly confused in our expectation of it, even as we recognize the joy of our life of service to God. Which is why, conceptually speaking, the church year is such a great thing. When we are aware of, and live into, Jesus’ story and all the neat theological bits and pieces that run alongside, I think we have a chance to dive deep into what Jesus’ describes as Eternal Life. That is, we get to know Jesus more fully. And, as is his prayer in John 17, in doing that we enter into a greater contemplation and knowledge of God, moving our present lives into better alignment with his Eternal designs for us. If there is anything that may mark our time until Pentecost, then, perhaps it would be fitting to follow the example of the disciples after ascension, and before the coming of the Holy Spirit 10 days later, for as Luke reports in his gospel and in Acts, they used that time as a time for worship and prayer.
Thanks again for an amazing year, then, and giving Beka and me the opportunity to get to know Jesus more with you through the seasons of the Church, to hopefully do some eternal living with you. To that end, I pray that we would all keep each other in our prayers.
Amen.
Sermon preached by the Rev. David S. Bumsted
the church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
7th Sunday of Easter
1 June 2014