Readings:
Acts 1.15-17, 21-26; Ps 1; 1 John 5.9-13; John 17.6-19
I love it when we get to this reading where Jesus intercedes for his disciples.
For me, its special for two reasons:
Even on an evening of such high tension, an evening in which he’s just told one of his friends to go and hand him over to the authorities as he’s been planning, Jesus still makes time to pray – out loud – for his closest friends; and,
because we are Jesus’ disciples, this prayer is for us too.
In some ways this is John’s equivalent of the Lord’s Prayer found in Luke and Matthew. An example of how we should pray for one another.
You will notice that the specific intercession is for protection, but not for removal of circumstances.
I was thinking about today being Mother’s Day and about all those people who have a nurturing role in the lives of others and how this prayer intersects with our desires for those we nurture.
Firstly, our children are never fully ours. Jesus identifies his disciples as ones who belong to God, but who have been given to him. How true is that of our children? We are given them for a time to care for and nurture, and in truth they (we all) belong to God.
Secondly, this prayer is specifically asking for God’s protection. How often do we pray this exact prayer for our children? How often are we the answer to that prayer, especially in the early years. But, like in the Lord’s prayer, Jesus is asking for protection from evil influences in life; those things that come along to tempt us to behave in ways that go against who we are in Christ Jesus. This might be more akin to the prayers of those who have teenagers.
Thirdly, there is a really important piece to this prayer. It’s mentioned in v. 11, vs.13, 14, 15, 16, and v. 18. This is our relationship with the world. Now, we need to read this in full context less we misunderstand.
John 3.16 says:
“God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
But it doesn’t end there. Immediately following, in verse 17 is says,
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Jesus and God love all who inhabit this world and yet they are not naive, especially on the night this prayer is offered. Jesus and his disciples know full well the dangers of existing the time and space that they did. Just as we know the dangers of living in our time, in our place. Although Jesus prays for God’s protection, he does not pray for their physical removal from those dangers. In fact the very opposite is true.
Verse 15, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world…”
Verse 18, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
This is our charge as parents, too! We cannot keep our children wrapped in cotton wool, or locked in a tower. That does not lead to a flourishing life, a life in which the joy of Jesus is made complete in their, and our hearts. No, we equip our children so that when the time comes for us to take the step back, they’re ready. I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but my mum used to say that she never thought of herself as raising children. Her job was to raise adults. Seven times! To equip us all to go out into the world.
Although we sometimes wish it – perhaps frequently – we cannot escape the world. We can and should retreat from the pressures of life from time to time so that we can hear God more clearly. And we must come back.
In the reading about Ascension at the beginning of Acts, right before the reading we had today, Jesus and the disciples go up a mountain and Jesus ascends. Ch. 1, vs. 10-11, “While he was going and [the disciples] were gazing up toward heaven suddenly tow men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?’” In other words, get back to it!
Once we’ve had our mountaintop experiences, we get back to it. We bring the awe, wonder, and joy of those experiences into our daily life which nourish us, our families, and our communities.
So, we can pray this prayer too.
We can pray it with Jesus for ourselves, for our children, and for our parents on a day like today when we recognise our mothers and mother figures.
May God bless all the ordinariness of your lives, for it is sacred.
May you find oneness with each other in Christ Jesus.
May your joy be complete.
Amen.