SANCTIFIED IN TRUTH
First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa
Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
May 24, 2009
Today’s reading is taken from John’s Gospel. It is a continuation of the prayer of Jesus, which took place after he had washed the feet of his disciples, and just before he was arrested. This passage, from John 17:6-19, is often called the Farewell Discourse, or The Priestly Prayer of Jesus:
”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. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 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. 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. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 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. While 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. 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. I 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. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
The Word of God according to John’s Gospel.
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Today’s Gospel passage is dense. There is a lot packed into it. The author of John’s Gospel wants to present the mind of Jesus for us. So often we want to get into the mind of another. We want to know what our loved ones are thinking. Our spouses. Our friends. Our children. Even our co-workers and bosses. The early church chose this Gospel to be part of the New Testament for a significant part of it serves as a summary of Jesus’ thoughts and prayers. In this intense passage we are brought into how Jesus’ prayed, which gives us an insight into his relationship with His Father.
The Gospel of John makes it clear from the very beginning, in Chapter 1, Verse 1, that Jesus is the Word of God [8 and 14] when he announces that: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [1:1] And in verse 14 of the same Chapter 1: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” [1:14] As the Word of God, during his life, Jesus continually spoke of the Kingdom of God. Because he lived the Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” Jesus was an active witness to His Father.
Jesus preached – but his best ‘preaching’ is by how he lived. Jesus lived in the total presence of His Father – morning, noon, and night. We do so with our loved ones. Picture the parents of a new born infant who leave the baby with a sitter for the first time to go to dinner and a movie. They can’t enjoy themselves. Mom sneaks from the table to the ladies room four times during the meal to use her cell phone to call the sitter – and while Dad remains at the table, he is texting the sitter! The baby is in their hearts and minds – they can’t get the baby out of their consciousness.
That’s the way it was with Jesus—Abba was always there in his heart and mind. Because of that conscious loving presence of His Father, Jesus wants to share that unity with us – that identity he had with His Father. For it was in his identify, his unity, with His Father that Jesus healed, forgave, taught, [8] and died – and was resurrected!
So, when Jesus testifies to His Father in this prayer, that He has made God’s name known to all those he met, [6] we realize that the breath of God remains alive in this world. I want to talk about the use of the word ‘world’ in this passage; because it is often misunderstood for this passage refers to ‘world’ [1] as where we live – but also [2] as to something different from the Kingdom of God. There are many who interpret the world as evil based upon this passage only in that second meaning. But I don’t agree with that singular interpretation.
First of all, God created the world. Genesis tells us that all God created is good. [Gen 1] Jesus was born into this God’s created good world. Just as Jesus lived, worked, and preached in many cities and towns in Israel; we live and work in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee, Shorewood, - Franklin. We part of and “from the world.” [6] In short, our world is good because God created it, and because Jesus walked this world and redeemed it. Yet, because of our freedom, we can choose good, or choose to sin. So, we, in one sense, make our own world! Jesus realizes that we live in this world – a world of good and where evil is also present. Evil creates suffering. Jesus, as he walked among us, suffered many times during his life. Many people hated him for what he taught, or because of the miracles he performed, or because of the people he ate with, and because he raised Lazarus, and because he attracted a lot of attention, and because he cleared out the moneychangers from the Temple. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way -- simply because he did His Father’s will! That is why when Jesus prayed to His Father he recognized that he did not belong to the ‘world.’ Jesus asserted that the “world hates [his followers] because [his followers] do not belong to the world.” [14] What is that ‘world’ that Jesus spoke of? The ‘world’ that Jesus has in mind is the world that hates the truth. The world that wants everything its own way. A world, which is selfish, and mean, and cynical. A world, which finds fault, and looks for excuses. The world, which forgets even the ten commandments: Forgetting Sabbath, which is gifting some time for God. By greed, coveting the possessions of others. Or Stealing. By lust, coveting the spouse in another marriage.
The goals of ‘the world’ are different from the goals of Jesus, who brings us the word of God – because he is the Word of God. Jesus tells us that people who seek the Kingdom of God seek God’s will, which often means that we have to forgo our own will. For God wants us to be better and nobler. To be saints. To take what God has given us and give it back to him, and therefore to worship. We become servants; we witness and work to build up the Kingdom of God. Jesus knew of evil. When Jesus walked among us he daily saw sin and evil in our world. Thus Jesus prays to His Father to “protect [us] from the evil one;” [15] and that His Father guard us in God’s holy “name.” [11] There is always a dispute as to who, or what, an ‘evil one’ is, or whether a satanic devil exists. But what is clear is that, because of our freedom, we can sin. Therefore Jesus implores His Father, as we did so this morning in the Lord’s Prayer, that God “. . . deliver us from evil.”
So far I have talked of Jesus as the living word of God and how he lived in the total presence of His Father. And of how Jesus is asking that we be protected against evil. We can’t lose sight of the fact that when Jesus prays, His Father hears his prayer, for the Word of God is God! What Jesus wills, must come about! Therefore, we expect that what Jesus hopes for in this prayer, that his will shall be fulfilled.
There are three main points that I believe apply to us as we reflect on this passage from Jesus’ prayer. First, Jesus shows us his oneness with His Father.
In this prayer Jesus clearly states that He and His Father are one, and he asks that those who believe in Him “be one, as [he and His Father] are one.” [11] This oneness, this unity, means that Jesus identifies with His Father. In unity, Jesus wants each of us to identify with Him. This is the unity of a relationship; a mutuality; a bonding. This is what Jesus is praying for when we “be one.” Jesus’ prays that we have a common mind with him and each other – just as he and His Father have a common mind. Common mind is shown by a common purpose. Our unity is shown by mutuality in mission – a Covenant that binds people together! So my first point is that Jesus wants us to identify ourselves with him as he identifies himself with His Father. We show our desire that his prayer come about when we live and work that “God’s Kingdom come and God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Once we make this prayer from our heart, and mind, and soul, it becomes our supreme act of identifying ourselves with the living God!
The second point is that Jesus prays that we, his followers, be sanctified in the truth. In his prayer he confirms that His Father’s “word is truth.” [17] Truth is God’s love shown by His care for us – often simply by the air we breath; by the truth that is God’s creation; and by the truth that is Jesus. To be sanctified means that we consecrate ourselves to God as Jesus did. To dedicate ourselves to God as Jesus did. To work to be holy – to be saints. To ask God to bless us. To become holy is a lifelong process. Some of us still really, really try! To be holy is to strive to be closer to God in relationship. The opposite of holy is to give in to the influences of evil, of sin. We grow in holiness in our attitudes, our thoughts, and in what we do. Our self-test of our continual, day-by-day, dedication to God is what we believe, what we think and say, and how we live. The witness of sanctification that we look to is Jesus. He was pure in everything. Put another way, he was not false. So God does not test us by our virtue – but He does test us by how we behave to those around us. Are we mean, cynical, and selfish? Or do we follow Jesus example and behave the way that he did? For He behaved well with those who were mean, and cynical, and selfish!
My second point is based on Jesus’ prayer that we be “sanctified . . . in the truth; [for God’s] word is truth.” [17] We show our desire that his prayer come about when we work at living a holy life; as we consecrate our attitudes to God, and we dedicate our time to God’s Kingdom, no matter the task; and as we bless all those around us as Jesus did.
The third, and last, point that we can take from Jesus’ prayer is joy. In Verse 13, Jesus prays this: “But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that [those who believe in me] may have my joy made complete in themselves.” In his prayer Jesus declares his joy. Jesus had just washed the feet of his apostles and disciples. And even though Jesus knew he was going to be arrested, and would suffer terribly and be crucified, yet he declared his joy.
Throughout his entire life Jesus dedicated himself to His Father. The result is that His Father blessed him, and all that he did. By his prayer Jesus shows his divine will that we be blessed also. Jesus’ blessing for us is that we be close to God; that we identify with God; that we work to be holy; and, like Jesus, be sanctified. For Jesus was sanctified when he poured out his life for us. Our sanctification comes about when we pour out our lives for God and neighbor. What we see in the Gospel is that whatever happens in this world, we are able to share in the joy, which Jesus has with His Father. Jesus wants us each of us to be a joy-filled person. Jesus wants us to be a people who take delight in the blessings, which God gives us. Jesus wants us to be a people who are elated to know that a relationship with God is not only possible, but that we are invited to a deep and close friendship with our God!
The third point I want to bring out is that Jesus prayed that we be a joy-filled people as he was filled with joy. We show that we share in what Jesus prays for by our enjoyment of the life which God has given to us in this world: our thrill of a sunset or sunrise, our pleasure in our friendships, our peace at bedtime, our delight in children, the joy-filled wonder of creation, the beauty around us, and the ability to identify with Jesus, the Word made flesh.
Let’s close with the prayer of the Psalmist as we earlier prayed this morning: Let us pray, Lord, we pray that we our happiness be in our delight of the Lord; We pray that we be happy as we meditate on your divine law. May we be like trees planted by streams of water, which yield fruit in your Kingdom, We pray that in all that we do, we do so in your name, that your Kingdom come and prosper. Lord, protect us and watch over us so that we may, in joy, stand upright before you as we witness you in this world. Amen.
Acts 1:15-26
15In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, 16“Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” . . . 21So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.” 23So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24Then they prayed and said, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 25to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.
Psalm1
1Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
3They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
4The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
1 John 5:9-13
9If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son.
10Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.