Acts 1:(1-7)8-14
1 Peter 4:12-19
John 17:1-11
Psalm 68:1-20 or 47
Four years ago, Thad Rich fell from a ladder and hit his head on pure concrete. He was rushed to Region's Hospital in St. Paul where he was in a coma for over a month. The medical team at one point throughout this long period of anxiety and emotional upheaval for the family advised that all life support systems should be pulled. Thad was 26 years old, was recently married with one child, another on the way and had a promising career.
His mother, a Nurse, and his stepfather were determined to see Thad through this struggle for his very own life.
They had gathered around them a supportive group of family and friends. They were in daily contact with one of the canons from St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. A prayer group was begun back in their home parish, St. John's in St. Cloud. Other churches prayed for Thad. Many people all over the world were praying for Thad in his time of suffering and closeness to death.
In today's Gospel, Christ is praying to God the Father in front of his own disciples. His prayer concludes the farewell dinner (the Last Supper) before his own death. It is commonly called the High Priestly Prayer for two reasons. 1st - Jesus is preparing to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Second, he intercedes for his disciples in the same way that Moses interceded for the people of Israel.
Jesus is preparing to die but he prays, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the son may glorify you…"
There is an urgent and concerned tone in his prayer because Jesus knows he is going to die and that he has to leave his disciples. He is leaving them in a very hostile world with a critical mission. He prays that God will protect them and then he prays for their unity which will be necessary for their mission.
"Although the prayer is set within the ministry of the historical Jesus, the perspective of prayer is also that of the glorified Christ looking pastorally on his church in the world… The prayer seems, then, to hang between heaven and earth, between the historical and glorified Christ." (Fred R. Craddock, Preaching Through the Christian Year A, 291).
What does this prayer say to your and me today - May 12, 2002? Aside from all the heavy theological commentary and interpretations that I read, I believe Jesus is giving us a glimpse of how he prayed to the Father for us and the church. This prayer is different from the the Lord's Prayer in that it contained petitions which Jesus could not offer for Himself. In this prayer there are petitions which only Christ could present.
"So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world…
I am asking on their behalf because they are yours. All mine are yours and yours are mine. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one."
Jesus is talking about his disciples - about us - the Father has entrusted them to Jesus' care and Jesus has made the Father's name known to them. These disciples certainly aren't prominent or outstanding in any way - "they didn't really get it" - yet Jesus speaks about them as a treasure whom the Father gave him.
Jesus reveals the Father in his teachings but he also reveals the Father in his own person.
Jesus prays on behalf of the disciples - he is actually proud of them - "I have been glorified in them."
He also knows they will be in the world just as we are today and he asks God to protect them and to make them one.
Jesus is saying to you and me that we are His and we are always under his care and protection. He tells us he's coming to us and he will be with us throughout times of sorrow and struggle and times of great happiness in our lives.
Jesus was with Thad Rich four years ago. Thad eventually came of out of his coma, has fully recovered, has another baby girl and is a successful realtor in the Stillwater area. What a testament to the power of prayer and unity of purpose!
Prayer can change life's direction, peoples' lives and hearts, and purpose. Are you (we) praying every day - are we feeding ourselves spiritually through prayer and praying not just for ourselves and our own needs but also for the growth and continued presence of St. Stephen's in Paynesville, or Good Samaritan in Sauk Centre? Are we praying too for the ongoing transformation of our lives so that we may know God and Jesus Christ more fully and go out and set the world afire with his love and redeeming grace with each and every person we meet?
I hope you and I can say at the end of our lives - Yes, God - "we are yours, you gave us to Jesus and we kept your word."
We wouldn't want it to be any other way now - would we?
Amen