May 16, 2021
“Being in the World”
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer. AMEN
OK, so I have a true confession. There are days when I dream of completely escaping the real world and the pressures of life.
I envision maybe living in a small cabin on a cliff overlooking the ocean, with minimal belongings, where there is no TV news or social media, and so I am not constantly bombarded with all the misery and suffering in the world – the racial and social injustice, the political bickering, the bad news that floods our senses on a daily basis.
I have not travelled anywhere since before the pandemic began, but I am told by friends that the airports are currently packed with travelers. After a year of struggle and hardship for many, people are so anxious for escape. We want relief, we want relaxation, we want joy.
It is a nice fantasy to imagine escaping from the world – and I enjoy having the opportunity to take vacations as much as the next person. But vacation escapes are temporary.
And the reality is that many people don’t have the means or opportunity to escape, even briefly, from the pressures of day-to day-living. Being in the world, therefore, means somehow finding ways to experience peace within that day-to-day space.
This issue of being and existing in the world is one of the centerpieces of today’s Gospel lesson from John.
In our Gospel passage, Jesus delivers an intercessory prayer, on behalf of the disciples. This takes place at the Last Supper, just prior to Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, and in this prayer, Jesus prays for God’s protection for the disciples. Jesus prays these words, saying, “protect them in your name.”
OK, here’s the thing. In the months and years following Jesus’ prayer of protection on behalf of the disciples, horrible things happen to them. They face persecution and threats and imprisonment, and in some cases, death.
What then are we to make of Jesus’ prayer for protection, knowing everything the disciples went on to face?
Allow me to share some thoughts I have about this. In verse 15 Jesus prays, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.”
In other words, what this verse says to me is that God’s protection does not mean that bad things won’t happen. On the contrary, bad things will, and do happen all the time.
Rather, God’s protection is protection of our hearts and our souls – regardless of what we may face in this life.
The disciples faced much hardship, and yet they found the strength to continue on. They found a way of being in the world, knowing and believing that God was the keeper of their hearts and souls.
In his prayer on behalf of the disciples, Jesus also prays these words to God. He says, “But 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.”
Joy made complete. Jesus, of course, is not talking about happiness here – happiness is a feeling and happiness can be fleeting.
I believe that joy is something much deeper. Joy has to do with the belief that God is indeed the protector and comforter of our hearts and souls despite anything else that might be going on.
This past year, as we all know, has been a year like no other. And yet here we are, more than a year after the lockdown began, together again.
OK, I know that not everyone is able to be physically present this morning, but thanks to some very generous donations of money, time, and talent, we are now able to live-stream this service so that all may have a chance to at least be a part of it, virtually.
So, what, then, has sustained us as a community of faith through the events of this past year? What has kept us united?
I have to believe that it is our shared commitment to the work and word of Jesus Christ that has sustained us. One example is the way in which this church continued to support the food pantry when its needs were at an all-time high.
It is the joy that comes with being a part of a community that holds one another close in prayer, even when being physically together was not possible.
It is a way of being in the world that celebrates the belief that it is God who is the protector of our hearts and souls even when life is overwhelming and difficult and challenging.
And although I may still at times dream of escaping to that cabin by the ocean, I am so grateful for this community of faith that is consistently there to lift up one another.
In the intercessory prayer that Jesus prays, on behalf of the disciples – and on behalf of all of us, Jesus says these words: “Protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
Friends, both here and at home, it is so good to be one in this space once again.
AMEN.