St. George's Episcopal Church |
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Acts 1:6-14
Psalm 68:1-10; 32-35
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
John 17:1-11
The Collect of the Day
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74th General Convention of the ECUSA
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 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. 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. (John 17:1-11)
Mother Jesus
A sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop, Rector
Have you ever been a teacher? I think all of us are teachers. Some of us are paid to be teachers, but all of us, nonetheless, are teachers, unless, perhaps you live in a cave, and don't interact with other people. People are like sponges. We observe and soak up all sorts of things consciously and unconsciously.
One Easter Sunday, a family had gathered at the home of the Great Grandmother, and while the men folk were in the living room lying to one another about fish and talking about other guy stuff, the women were in the kitchen preparing supper. The youngest daughter watched as her Mother cut off the end of the ham before she put it in the roasting pan.
"Mom, why do you always cut off the end of the ham like that?" she asked.
"Because my Mother always did it that way" she explained.
"But why did she do that?" the daughter persisted.
"Why don't you ask her when she comes back?" her mother replied.
When the girl's Grandmother came in the girl asked her why she cut of the end of the ham before cooking it. The grandmother thought for a while and then said, "Well, because my mother always did it that way."
Finally when the girl's Great Grandmother came into the kitchen, the young girl asked her the question. "I don't know why they cut off the end." she answered, "I did it because I never had a roasting pan big enough!"
Do you remember learning something from your mother – perhaps like how to fry chicken or how to bake a cake – and then having her tell you that it was time for you to do it by yourself? Watching and helping a little was one thing; it was entirely another to do the whole thing by yourself, knowing that you would be judged by her and the rest of your family. Remember your nervousness when you cooked that first Thanksgiving turkey for your parents and your in-laws?
In today's Gospel lesson, we hear Jesus' prayer and best wishes for his students, the disciples. "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world." Jesus says. "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." The disciples know everything! Put another way, Jesus is confident that they know the reason to cut the end off the ham, and how to make the perfect cake.
But I wonder how they felt?! Last Thursday the Church celebrated the Ascension of Jesus into heaven – and here locally we observed this Feast with the
Were they confident as they went forth from that hill to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit? Did they really trust their own knowledge enough to proclaim Jesus as the messiah?
Jesus apparently felt so. In this chapter of John, John uses the word "known" ten times to refer to the knowledge given to the disciples through Jesus' life and ministry. The Old Testament regularly uses the word "known" for personal intimacy. For example, Adam knew Eve, and bore Abel, their son. The conception of a child is not the important thing here, but rather the intimate knowledge shared between two people that can give rise to feelings of deep love, profound trust, great hope, and tremendous confidence.
The kind of knowledge Jesus prays about is not just intellectual knowledge of God, or a conceptual understanding of the relationship between Jesus and God. But rather, Jesus prays that his disciples will feel deep, intimate relationship with God, like the friendship and love Jesus has for his disciples. Jesus taught his disciples something very important about the real presence of God in their lives, and how life giving an intimate, personal relationship with God can be. In three short years of Jesus' ministry, he opened up the disciples' eyes to a whole new inclusive and generous view of God's infinite love.
The other day I was at the mall, and I watched a young mother help her young child learn to walk. The child was at that "almost, but not yet" stage of ambulation, and the mother was on her knees encouraging her child to take a few steps toward her. And with each wobbly attempt that ended with baby sitting on his diaper, Mom would cheer, and clap her hands, and heap praise on her baby. And then it happened, and I was there to see it. The child walked three or four steps into his Mother's arms under his own power, and without holding onto anything. And she whisked him off the floor into the air above her head as she cooed and praised his achievement.
I saw in that instant, an image of the kind of love and intimacy that existed between Jesus and his disciples and between Jesus and God; an intimacy that fosters achievement. As mother praised her son and looked at him with sparkling, joyous eyes, her son bubbled with excitement.
Today is mother's day, a time when we honor all mothers – living and dead. Among the many reasons to pay tribute to our Moms is that they are among the most influential teachers we have – for good or ill. I think that one reason perhaps our mothers – and our fathers for that matter – exert such authority over us has to do with the depth of intimacy we can share with them and that they can offer us. This is the kind of knowledge that Jesus referred to when he spoke of God's love for him, and his love of the disciples.
For many of us, the intimacy we experience with our mother and father is our first glimpse of the kind of heavenly love and wholeness we can experience with God and in God. And that kind of intimacy is what makes possible a degree of teaching and learning that is not readily obtained in other learning situations or in other relationships. The knowledge obtained is more penetrating and pervasive than nearly any other.
The level of intimacy associated with motherhood, is what makes motherhood a vocation and not just a biological phenomenon. A vocation is something that is more than craft, art, career, or task. It is something that may arise out of a deep seated biological urge, or out of a personal sense of call, as any mother of an adopted child will tell you. The vocation of motherhood is self sacrificing, nurturing, and giving. It is a vocation that at its very best understands the commandment to love one another with a profound and perhaps godly level of intensity and sense of intimacy.
It is a vocation that indeed has the capacity to empower children and other people to achieve things with confidence. And to be honest, it is also a vocation that if mishandled, can do irreparable harm to another human being.
Jesus had taught the disciples all he could about being intimate with God, and, after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension, the disciples were alone. Were they confident, or were they scratching their heads, wondering what to do next? I think that in time, they knew exactly what to do. They could recall the intimate knowing of Jesus and God together in their very souls. And they went forth in confidence taking little steps at first, followed by bigger and bolder ones as time went on, and their spiritual trust grew. The nurturing, intimate, very maternal qualities of Jesus served to empower them, and the Holy Spirit sustained them after Jesus was no longer with them.
It is a remarkable story. And it is our story, too. Happy Mother's Day.
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So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to
1 Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee before him.
2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3 But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds --
his name is the LORD --
be exultant before him.
5 Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.
7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, [Selah]
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10 your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord, [Selah]
33 O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of
he gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 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. 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.
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
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Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2005, William G. Stroop - All Rights Reserved.
6 May 2005
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