Sermon précis  – 21 May 2023, Easter 7 –  Rev Dr Barry T Brown

‘Jesus Prays for His Disciples’ – John 17: 1 – 10. 20 – 24 (NRSV)

A Brief Introduction to the Gospel Reading.

The Revised Common Lectionary prescribes John chapter 17 in its entirety only by dividing it into three parts and reading it in successive years on the Seventh Sunday of Easter: Year A (1 – 11), Year B (6 or 11 – 19), Year C (20 – 26). I have chosen a slightly expanded selection of verses for this Sunday (17:1 – 10, 20 – 24) and I encourage you to read the chapter as a whole at home. I will attend to some key matters in the selected passages.

John chapter 17 concludes the rather long section comprising five chapters – The Farewell Meal and Discourse (chapters 13- 17). From this section John’s Gospel turns immediately to the Passion story.

Lutheran New Testament theologian Ernst Kӓsemann (1906-1998) argued that chapter 17, as a whole, is a summing up of John’s Gospel. [The Testament of Jesus: A Study of the Gospel of John in the light of Chapter 17. New Testament Library, SCM Press, 1970].

You will note that some of the key words in John’s Gospel also feature in Jesus’ prayer. Father, Eternal Life, and World. In John’s Gospel ‘World’ does not mean The Earth, nor the entirety of our known perceived existence. It sometimes means all that stands for enmity with God and is yet the object of God’s saving love (“God so loved the world…”).

A Prayer of Illumination (inspired by John Calvin).

God and Father of Jesus Christ, and through Jesus, our Father,

in you alone dwells fullness of light and wisdom;

illumine our minds by the Holy Spirit in true understanding of your Word.

 

Give us grace that we may receive it with sincerity, reverence and humility.

May it lead us to put our whole trust in you alone,

and so to serve and honour you that we may glorify your name

and encourage others by the good example of a holy life.

Through Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.   [based on Uniting in Worship PB, 18 p220]

 

Proclamation

About 25 years ago I was part of a group of people planning for a family union. I was given the task of writing an account of our family history dating back to our forebears arrival in Australia in 1857. I asked other members to provide me with any material that might be useful in my task. The oldest member of our group was reasonably frail and was sight impaired. So he sent me a tape recording. It was a very valuable source and related to memories of his grandparents (my great grandparents), their family and the farm on which they lived in central Victoria. The interesting thing was that his oral account moved seamlessly from narrative, to conversation with others, and to prayer. It was something like ‘prayerful telling.’

When we celebrate Holy Communion the presiding minister leads The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, also known as the Eucharist Prayer. This prayer includes telling, remembering, giving thanks and singing the Holy, holy, holy. All these components comprise together an act of praise and thanksgiving.

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 is similar. It is an act of prayer and is also a summary of some of the key themes in John’s Gospel. It is also instructive and exhorting. As well as this it provides important examples of relationships – of the Father with the Son, of Jesus and his disciples, and of Jesus and later Christians and their communities, including us.

Jesus’ prayer is complex and multi-facetted. However, I will attend rather briefly to only two key words; and then to prayer, and being prayed for

GLORY.

I admit to being somewhat uneasy about the word ‘glory.’ In our culture it is often used in sport and other human endeavours as the reward for effort and a prize for achievement. Glory is often held up as a goal to aim for. In John’s Gospel (and in this prayer in particular), ‘glory’ is reserved for God and God’s sovereignty; the glory that belongs uniquely to God, Father, Son and Spirit. One hymn we sometimes sing is particularly good at expressing this:

Christ is the world’s light, he and none other;

born in our darkness, he became our brother.

If we have seen him, we have seen the Father:

Glory to God on high.

 

Give God the glory, God and none other;

give God the glory, Spirit, Son and Father;

give God the glory, God in man my brother:

Glory to God on high.  (TiS 246) alt

When we gather for worship as a Christian community our primary purpose is to Glorify God, and we do this in many ways. However, we constantly need to remind ourselves of this primary purpose.

Some of you will be aware that I live with facial palsy. There are times when I need to refrain from singing to rest my face muscles. However, I make a special effort to sing those verses (usually the final verse) that are in the form of a doxology – a verse or hymn in praise of God. This keeps me in mind of that central focus which our worship services are primarily about.

UNITY.

It is important to note that unity is a key aspect of Jesus’ prayer. Jesus reflects upon the unity of himself, the Son, with the Father. He also prays that those who follow him may live in that unity inspired by, and derived from, a shared participation in the Father-Son unity as enabled by the Spirit.

Christian unity is not firstly the result of human achievement as it is about living out of the gift of union inspired and enabled by God.

I am deeply saddened that the movement for Christian unity so alive in the second half of the previous century has, on many levels, diminished greatly over recent decades. There are many reasons for this, and it is not the time to mention them now. However, it is a matter of considerable lament that this is our present reality in Australia and elsewhere in the Western world.

I can recall vividly attending the opening session of the UCA Assembly in Sydney in June 1977, and the Inaugural Gathering in the Sydney Town Hall. A voice that still rings in my ears is that of the then General Secretary of the World Council of Church, Dr Phillip Potter. He spoke from John 17:20-21 and emphasized one phrase:

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me…      so that the world may believe !!!!

To live by and out of this prayer of Jesus continues to be God’s will, and God’s gift, and it continues to be a challenge to all of God’s people, including us.

PRAYER, AND BEING PRAYED FOR.

Some years ago I was in London in order to learn more about the healing ministry of Saint Marylebone Parish Church. I was somewhat taken back when the Vicar, Christopher Hamel Cooke, started his address by stating that “Prayer is Not a Useful thing”. Then he then went on to qualify this by saying “Rightly understood, prayer is not a means to an end. It is primarily and end in itself and is directed at communion with God”. He then pointed out that The Lord’s Prayer does not start off with petitions and supplications, but with ‘hallowing’ (praising, glorifying) God; and this is the model prayer given to us by Jesus.

I was very fortunate that as a small boy I was taught to pray, and was prayed for by my maternal grandmother. I knew that she and my parents prayed for me. As a young boy I knew that two retired Salvation Army officers who lived near us in Kilmore prayed for me. And a Catholic neighbour told my parents that she said many a Hail Mary for me – but I think this had to do with some of the dangerous activities she witnessed me attempting as a youngster.

Learning to pray, and to know I was prayed for, has played an important part in my life and ministry, including my ordination. When I became minister to the congregation of Wesley Church Melbourne in 1978 I was invited to play a leading role in the weekly ‘Healing Hour’ on Sunday afternoons. The Rev Andrew Pearce, then chaplain at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, was the leader and was about to step down from his part-time role at Wesley Church. I soon found myself devoting a lot of my time to this ministry, and to meeting with people in the vestry during the week for pastoral conversation and prayer. I don’t recall any occasion when someone said No when I asked if they would like me to pray with them, or for them. I am still amazed at how this pattern of ministry continued in the years that followed – yet being aware also that sometimes it is not appropriate to offer this ministration.

CLOSE.

Jesus prayed for his first disciples during his final hours with them. Remember this – he also prayed for you and me:

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me… (John 17:20-21).