Lectionary for Easter 7 B

Lectionary for Easter 7 B

Opening sentence. God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1 John 5:11

Collect. O God, the inexhaustible fount of life, you accepted the offering of your Son, sacrificed for the salvation of the world. Consecrate us in that unity which is your Spirit’s gift, that we may abide always in your love and become witnesses of the resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Reading. 1 John 5:9-13. It is important to remember the context of this short passage that we read today. John was the last remaining apostle and by the time of writing is an old man. More than a generation has passed since Jesus ascended to his Father and the Christian faith has spread over a wide area. John is writing in Ephesus which is a city in Asia. Scholars tell us that John’s gospel and his letters were in circulation around the churches that he had either established or had begun to care for them as their pastor. In much the same way as Paul felt a responsibility for the churches that he pastured so also John writes to keep his flock faithful to the Lord Jesus. In both his gospel and in the letters John’s major purpose of writing is so that his readers will believe that Jesus is the Son of God and by believing they will be assured of forgiveness and eternal life.

Themed through the whole of this letter is the implication that false teachers are beginning to lead people away from the truth that Jesus was both truly human and also divine. (Anyone who reads John’s gospel and compares that writing with the other three gospels can see that John has a greater emphasis on the divinity of Jesus. For John Jesus is the Word made flesh.) So John is saying we receive the testimony of human (false) teachers but the testimony of God is greater. God has testified to his son Jesus in many ways that the believers would have understood. Not least of these testimonies was that Jesus died an innocent death on behalf of humanity and then God called Jesus back from death, restoring him to a greater and more glorious life. At the very beginning of this letter John reminds his readers that he along with all the other apostles had not only seen and heard the resurrected Jesus but they also touched him. In other words John was witness to Jesus as a physical presence, a true human being who had passed through death and returned. There is something mystical in this resurrection action but there is also something substantial and bodily as well.

In John’s understanding to deny that Jesus returned physically is to deny the very testimony of God, furthermore by doing so they are calling God a liar. However John is also making it quite clear that those who do believe that Jesus rose again from the dead have the testimony of God. It is this testimony that gives to each believer the assurance of eternal life with God. John’s focus is on the risen Jesus for in him and only in him comes the godly life that relates us eternally with God.

Prayer. Gracious Lord we bow in humility before your awesome ministry, for you have broken the power of sin and death by raising our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grant that by your mercy we will always keep the faith and, trusting in his saving grace live out our lives in true fellowship with you and with all who believe in the truth that Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life. This we ask in his most precious name. Amen

Reading. John 17:6-19. One of John’s emphases is the glorification of Jesus through his death on the cross. In many of the churches dedicated in honour of St. John somewhere in the building will often be a stained glass widow depicting the glorification of Jesus on the cross. For John, Jesus’ crucifixion is his coronation!

In the beginning of this seventeenth chapter John has described a summing up of Jesus’ death on the cross as the glory of the Father who in turn glorifies the Son. It is out of that sense of glory that Jesus stated what has traditionally been called, ‘Jesus high priestly prayer’.

Jesus came to conduct a ministry which showed believers the truth about God. He revealed God’s true nature to them. Jesus has already reminded the disciples that he chose them to be his followers. (John 15:16). Here Jesus is now praying for the disciples for he knows that after he has returned to the Father it is the disciples themselves who will be persecuted by those who oppose the truth about God. Though the disciples had been slow to learn and had made many mistakes they had still held onto the belief that Jesus did come from God and was in a true relationship with God and he was indeed the Messiah, God’s Son. It is with this in mind that Jesus prayed for them. He did not pray for the world but did pray that while the disciples remained in the world they would continue to hold fast to their faith in him and so not become linked to the world and its values.

The word of Jesus was also the power of Jesus for as long as they were true to Jesus’ word they would remain in him. It was the power of Jesus that had protected the disciples while he was on earth, now as he leaves he is praying that God will provide that guardianship over them. In recognising his protection he also notes the loss of one disciple, (Judas). Declaring that Judas’ loss was destined to happen does not imply that this loss was inevitable. Rather it implies that the choices Judas made turned him away from Jesus and over to the world’s standards and values: Thus he was lost.

Just as Jesus does not belong to this world, neither do the disciples belong to this world; their destiny is to be with God in life and service. Jesus prayed that they would be set apart in the truth. He had set himself apart for God and prayed that the disciples also would be set apart for God. By being set apart they would be able to continue the work that Jesus began, namely drawing together all those who had been called by God.

Jesus is praying for the disciples and all those who will follow on. He prays that together they will form a godly community which stands against the values and principles of the world. This has long been the challenge of the community we call the church, to live not in harmony with the world but to live in obedience to the word of Jesus Christ and in harmony with the truths of God.

Prayer. Lord as we read how Jesus prayed for a unity for believers to stand with you against the values of the world it is with humility that once more we turn in prayer to you. Forgive us that we so often follow the easy path, failing to uphold the truth of your word. Forgive us that our eyes are more often on our needs than on your call to serve. In your mercy grant us a new enthusiasm to walk in obedience and love, staying close to Jesus and rejoicing in the life and joy that comes from service in his Name: Grant us the courage to trust in you alone that we may be both salt and light in the community in which we live and work. May we never be ashamed to lift high the Name of Jesus: always honouring his will and way as we live our lives, in the world but not of the world. This we ask through Jesus our Lord. Amen

Collect. God, holy Father, you gather us together in Christ’s name, and you send us out as people of good news to announce your word; give us courage, and strengthen us in your Spirit; we ask this for the sake of Jesus our Saviour. Amen.