Sermon May 20, 2012

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

Psalm 1

1 John 5:9-13

John 17:6-19

“On Your Behalf”

There is a powerful thread of call woven though each of this week’s texts. The call to be faithful to the roots of Judaism, to be courageous in following Jesus, to be grounded in the love and presence of God, and to live truth-telling lives. Which of the calls in this week’s texts most resonates with you at this point in your life of faith?¹

We have a good time together as a congregation and today we celebrate the happiness we have in being a church together in this place. I know, too, that there have been times that felt more fulfilling, more successful because of friends and family who were here participating. I also know that those times can sometimes seem more joyful because we often remember the past with rose-tinting.

Today, I want us to remember something more, that this congregation was planted in this community for some particular reason—and it is still here for a particular reason. We must believe that if we are to continue here and if we don't believe we have a purpose and mission then we will die. We are called to be here for a particular reason, I believe this, and it is our job—as a congregation, as a community of faith, as a church who follows Jesus Christ—to figure out what that is.

The thread of call that is woven throughout the scriptures today hold onto past, present and future—honoring the past without sentimentality, but holding onto traditions for the purpose of carrying out God's purpose. Though they were just coming to understand how their lives would be changing with Jesus no longer among them, they did understand that they were to be carrying on Jesus' ministry on his behalf and on the behalf of God who had sent him.

They were in the midst of a strange time, grieving his loss and celebrating his resurrection. And had been given the commission to continue on without his physical presence among them on a daily basis. They now had to rely on the message they had been given. Instead of relying on Jesus to teach, they had to teach the people themselves. And they're teaching was a testimony to what Jesus had taught them, how they had heard it, what they had received and how they saw the people around Jesus were affected by his teaching. They also had to testify as eyewitnesses to the resurrection. That's why it was important to choose another eyewitness to replace Judas. Plus they wanted twelve to hold onto the tradition of Israel—twelve tribes, twelve apostles. They were forming an organization—a church, an assembly of believers to work toward the purpose of testifying to Jesus Christ in their lives. And how did they show that Jesus was in their lives? They spoke of Jesus' love. They healed the sick who came to them. They found ways to care for the widow and the orphan—by pooling their money and sharing it as all had need. They sold property to make this possible. They risked their lives to tell how Jesus' teaching went beyond old boundaries of religions, including Gentiles in their churches and baptizing people who didn't conform to the law of Moses. They also honored the traditions of the Jewish faith in some ways, carrying with them the laws of hospitality and welcoming the stranger. They recognized that Abraham's faith was honored by God, forever, and that all of God's covenants stood forever. Their purpose? To carry out the ministry that Jesus Christ had begun in their lives and do it with the love and grace that he also showed them and all the people to whom he ministered.

And it is in Jesus' prayer from the gospel lesson this morning that we hear Jesus' desire for the disciples—his apostles, sent out into the world to glorify God. They sat with Jesus after dinner in the evening after a meal and Jesus began to pray for them. Just as Peter spoke during a time of transition after the resurrection, Jesus prayed for his followers, the church, before his death. Jesus had already turned the disciples' lives upside down, and they were never going to be the same. But during that quiet after-dinner conversation, they must have felt that everything was about to change once again, and we all know what change brings: anxiety.

So he prayed on behalf of the church, these apostles, so that they would hold onto the words and ways that he had taught them in his time among them. He prayed that they would seek out ways of living in the truth while they lived and worked in the world that God gave us all to live in. And he prays on our behalf, this day as well, to protect us and claim us as friends and co-workers in this kingdom forming all around us.

Because we are called to a purpose this day—to be guided toward the work of God around us. Each of us is called in different ways and in different degrees of responsibility and we are called to respond together. We have focused on a vision that gives us direction—we need to find the particular concrete steps that will take us there.

And that's where I stand this day. I stand in front of you asking us to seek our purpose as a congregation in this day and time. I urge us to actively seek a missional direction in this community, as a congregation. I ask you—where do you see a need that we can meet? Where do you see people hurting? Can we meet people in their illness, not to heal, but to bring Christ's presence through our presence? Can we share our life-skills in some way that will make another person's life easier?

I know we have ministry to offer—and I know that some of us share what we have generously—I believe that we can also come together in some way to share Jesus with others through compassionate, merciful, nonjudgmental, justice-filled and peace-promoting ways.

What I don't know is how we can use who we are and what God has given us to respond to the needs of this community. I need you and you need one another to figure that out. We aren't likely to be able to meet every need that comes along, but we can certainly serve Christ in some particular ways here and now. We can also reach beyond the bounds of the community and I think we need to do both.

Part of my urgency this morning is that I know that mission will make or break us in the future that God has for us. Mission is the direction and motivation for carrying on as a congregation. We are called upon—as God's people have always been called upon—to do God's work in this and as Christians we are called to do the work of Christ in this world.

Jesus prayed in behalf of his disciples—and we number among them—to be protected as we enter into the world where Jesus' message must be taken.

We can hear Jesus' prayer, wanting them to be prayed for us in our lives and work. As one preacher said, “I was left there on the chancel steps so aware that I wanted that Rabbi we call Jesus to think of me when he prayed these words ... what did he say?

"While I was with them, I protected them ... I guarded them ... and (now) I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete."

Jesus' joy is made complete as we live out the purpose he had—compassion, grace, forgiveness, hope, healing, understanding, life—and our joy is made complete as we do the work, realizing that Jesus has prayed that this gift be given to us, has prayed on our behalf.

To God be the glory. Amen.

1Seasons of the Spirit Spirit Fusion, Background, Lent/Easter 2012 p. 178.