Looking Into the Lectionary — Worship resources for 5/29

May 29, 2022 Seventh Sunday of Easter John 17:20-26 COMMENTARY The Gospel text from John finds us seven Sundays into Eastertide and on the cusp of Pentecost. Yet Jesus’ prayer, which takes up the whole of Chapter 17, propels us back in time to the table where he shared supper with the disciples on the night of his arrest. The text lives in three times: past, present, and future — stretching back to Jesus as the pre-existent Word that was in the beginning with God (John 1), to his human historical presence at supper when he washed the feet of his friends and shared bread and wine with them, to the future community of “those who will believe.” This of course includes us (the church today) and the future church. In this prayer, we see the arc of the love of God from creation through Christ’s incarnation and ministry through those he loves and calls to be the church, to be in him as he is in God, so that the world may believe. As the season of Easter comes to its end, Jesus’ final word to his disciples then and now is a prayer for unity. I cannot imagine anything more needed today, in the church, the nation, and the world. Division faces us everywhere; it seems to deepen by the day. We seem hellbent on separating ourselves from the “other,” dwelling rabidly and proudly in our differences of tribe, race, political viewpoint, sexual identity, economic class, national identity or, perhaps most tragically, faith. Who is the “true” Christian? Who understands and follows Jesus “rightly”? The unity for which Jesus prays could not be deeper or more intimate. He prays that we may be one even as he and God are one. “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one as we are one” (vv. 21-22). In this prayer to his Father, Jesus brings us into the very heart of the Trinity. He prays that we may indwell with God Godself, even as Jesus so indwells. Thanks to guest writer Barbara Chaapel. You can find the rest of the commentary on our website. An order of worship for May 29, 2022. This liturgy is free to use. The power of song — Weekly Christian ed lesson by Joelle Brummit-Yale IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... A prayer for graduates "As our time has come to leave this campus that we have called home, grant us wisdom, courage, and joy in our journeys forward." —Kolby Carnes Liberating letters  An Outlook Standard Lesson for May 29 written by Richard Boyce.  Blessed be the tie that binds A poem on Acts 16:16–34 by Scott Barton. Rest as resistance and refuge Activist, artist, and public theologian Tricia Hersey looks at the radical biblical instruction to rest and how claiming it can be a form of resistance. Nature personified  Teri McDowell Ott introduces Outlook's creation care issue. What we mean when we say #TrustBlackWomen Outlook’s Shani McIlwain sits down with the Disparities Experienced by Black Women and Girls Task Force to debrief their silent protest at the 2020 General Assembly and why their work and voices are needed in the PC(USA). Red Lip Theology Ekama Eni reviews Candice Marie Benbow's new book.  Order extra issues of the #TrustBlackWomen special issue In April, Presbyterian Outlook turned over an entire issue to Black women to highlight and center the voices of these trustworthy leaders, scholars, theologians, writers and artists. Order extra copies today for just $2 per copy while supplies last.

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