Sunday's Message - Leaving Easter

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the First United Presbyterian Church of Brilliant, Ohio and First United Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, May 16, 2021.

John 17:6-19 [Contemporary English Version]

You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. They know that you gave me everything I have. I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know that I came from you, and they believe that you are the one who sent me. I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.

I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.

Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours. I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.

Leaving Easter

Now, I recognize that the title for the sermon this morning might be a little confusing. I mean, “Leaving Easter,” man, didn’t we do that over a month ago? And let’s get real, a lot of water has passed under that bridge since then. I mean, not only have we made that transition from shoveling snow to mowing grass, we celebrated maybe one of the most days in the entire year, at least it was for my mom and is for my wife, and of course, I’m talking about...the NFL draft. You see, Debbie bleeds royal blue and white and my mom was a huge fan of that currently unnamed team in Washington. But be that as it may, I can certainly understand how you might find the title, “Leaving Easter,” kind of confusing.

But I’ll tell you, if you do, you may not realize that, according to the church calendar, during this next week, we’re moving from the Season of Easter to Pentecost. You see, this will be our last white Sunday. Next week, we’ll be red, and then we’ll be in that marathon season of green until just after Thanksgiving, at least for the most part. And so, in an ecclesiastical sense, today we really are leaving Easter. 

But you know, even if you’re not thinking about the official “Calendar of the Church Year,” it’s pretty easy to see this as sort of a transitional time, you know, as we leave the cold, slow moving time of winter and enter all the heat and activity of summer. I mean, outside of our brothers and sisters who go down to the Florida every year, now’s the time to get out and to start doing things we weren’t able to do a couple of months ago. You see, instead of staying inside, drinking hot chocolate and complaining about the snow, now’s the time to get outside and to work in the yard and of course, to complain about both the heat and all the stuff we have to do.

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s particularly true this year. I know for my family, we’re looking at moving three times, with Maggie moving into her new apartment down in Morgantown and me moving into a rented house in Sligo, Pennsylvania and Debbie joining me out there sometime in September, I hope. And along with the moving, of course comes the packing and the cleaning and the repairing and the selling. Let’s just say, our dance cards are full this summer. But you know, it’s not just us. Man, we’re coming out of over fifteen months of quarantine and social distancing. I don’t know about y’all, but I feel like we just heard from the governor and the pardon came through. And soon the only words we’ll hear coming from a guy wearing a mask is, “put the money in a bag.” You see, we’ve been set free. Free at last; thank God almighty, we’re free at last. But what’s the good of freedom if you don’t use it. And when you combine that with all the stuff we need to do anyway, well, let’s just say, the summer of 2021 may be pretty hectic. And because of that, I think we can expect that, sometime in early June, we’re probably going to start feeling a little stress. And then by mid-July, we may be experiencing some frustration as we see that there are still more “to dos” than “have done.” And then, by late August all the stress and the frustration will probably leave us just plain tired. Now that could very well be what we’re looking at as we leave Easter behind.

And for that reason, we’re going to consider what Jesus said in this last prayer he offered before he was arrested and then lifted up on the cross, a prayer in which he asked God to look after the men and women he was leaving behind. You see, we’re going to look at his words, and when we do, I think we’re going to find two aspects of his relationship with us that we might claim as we enter the rat race that’s there in front of us.

I mean, just look at what he said in the passage we just read. First, I think it’s pretty clear that Jesus cares about his disciples, which most definitely includes us. He loves us. And the reason, well, I think that’s clear too. Remember he prayed, “You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you.” [John 17:6, CEV] You see, we don’t really own ourselves; do you realize that? I mean, even though we might run around and talk about all the stuff we’ve given God, you know, how we’ve given him our lives or our hearts or some other internal organ we’re pretty sure he’s not going to collect anytime soon, according to Jesus, we belong to Christ: life, heart and spleen; lock, stock and barrel. 

And although that may be a shot to our collective ego, my gosh, who wants to belong to someone else, that just doesn’t sound American to me, speaking only for myself, I think belonging to Christ is actually pretty sweet. I mean, think about it, because we belong to Jesus, because we are his people and since that’s not something we earned, it’s not something we can lose, because we’re his, Christ has given us the word, which both reveals God and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, enables us to believe. But more than that, because we belong to him, Jesus passionately cares about us. Man, he loves us each and every day our lives. And we know that. It’s like he said a little bit earlier, when he was talking to his disciples: Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them. And you are my friends, if you obey me. [John 15:12-14, CEV] You see, Jesus showed his love for us by dying for us. And I’ll tell you, it’s because he’s our Lord and he loves us with a love that’s great and deep, it’s because of this that he approached and approaches his Father, saying, “I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. All that I have is yours, and all that you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.” [John 17:9-10, CEV] You see, no matter how crazy the world gets, we can believe that Jesus cares about us, because, you see, he loves his own. I’ll tell you, that’s the first thing we can remember. But that’s not all. 

Because second, we can also remember that his love for us has led him actually to pray for us, to intercede for us, in other words, to take our needs and to bring them into the very being of God. You see, Jesus has and continues to approach the Father on our behalf. And he asks for God to help us in two very specific ways. 

You see, one, he asks his “Holy Father” to protect us, to keep us safe. You see, he prayed, “Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name that you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost, except the one who had to be lost. This happened so that what the Scriptures say would come true.” [John 17:11-12, CEV] In other words, he asks God to keep us in an intimate relationship with himself so that we can experience an incredibly close relationship with one another. You see, Jesus understands that if we stay united, united with God and united with one another, then we can find real protection. 

And based on what Jesus prayed and given what we face, I’ll tell you, that unity is pretty important. You see, in a real sense, Jesus is in the protection business; that’s exactly what he did for his disciples when he was with them. But now he’s gone. And the world in which we live, well, it’s not a very friendly place. I mean, Jesus himself said, “I am on my way to you. But I say these things while I am still in the world, so that my followers will have the same complete joy that I do. I have told them your message. But the people of this world hate them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t.” [John 17:13-14, CEV] In other words, being a believer is tough. It involves making decisions based on values that the world probably doesn’t understand, and if it does understand them, it doesn’t like them. But praise the Lord, Jesus has passed the job of protecting his flock on to the creator of the universe, something that we can know and feel as our relationship with him becomes deep and our unity with one another becomes strong. You see, Jesus asked God to protect us; that’s one prayer he made and makes.

And two, he also asks that God make us holy, to set us apart, to enable us to be in the world but not of the world or conformed to the world. Remember, Jesus prayed, “Father, I don’t ask you to take my followers out of the world, but keep them safe from the evil one. They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I. Your word is the truth. So let this truth make them completely yours.” [John 17:15-17, CEV] Now, y’all may not know this, but the word “holy” in Greek actually means “set apart for some sacred work or duty,” and that’s why, in the Old Testament, both priests and prophets were consecrated, in other words, set apart, made holy. And you know something, that’s exactly what Jesus has asked God to do for us, a people who have become united to him and to one another, he’s asking that we be set apart for some kind of sacred work. And what’s the work? Well, listen to Jesus: “I am sending them into the world, just as you sent me. I have given myself completely for their sake, so that they may belong completely to the truth.” [John 17:18-19, CEV] Now just think about what that means. Man, we’re walking in the footsteps of Christ. And just like the one he faced, there’s a world out there, a world that’s lost and confused, and yet a world that’s hungry for the bread of life and thirsty for the living water. And even though that ignorant and dark world may not particularly like us, we have the word that offers life, eternal life. And it’s really up to us to grow stronger in our understanding of the truth and then to share that truth to others, something that we can do through the words we say and the promises we make, but most importantly, through the lives we live. You know, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, together, relying on the promises and power of God, we can change the world, and it starts with one person, one person who suddenly realizes that he or she is a child of God. I’m telling you, Jesus asks God to give us protection and to make us holy, that’s what he prays to God. 

I’ll tell you, the days are getting longer. The temperature is getting warmer. And let’s get real, our lives are probably going to get a lot busier. And because of that, we’re likely to feel a little stress and some frustration and eventually, really tired. I mean that’s just a fact of life in the fast lane. But you know, whether it involves moving or mowing and just doing all those “have tos” that we want to get done, I think we’ll be able to handle it, especially when we remember that Jesus not only cares about his own but that we also prays that God protect us and make us holy, you know, so we can be the kind people and to the kind of work we’ve been called and equipped to do. I’ll tell you, that’s something that we can remember, as we leave Easter.