As we gather between the Ascension and Pentecost, we remember what Jesus is doing. He is praying for us.
Today, the Church experiences a contemplative pause. We are moving from Easter, through the Ascension, to Pentecost, and today we pause between Ascension and Pentecost. Jesus has ascended into Heaven but has not sent the Holy Spirit yet. So, the disciples gather, in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, in awe of the ascension of Jesus, and in hope of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Liturgically, the reading from John is helpful. Although our reading is a prayer spoken by Jesus on the night when He was betrayed, it helps us celebrate one aspect of the Ascension: Prayer. In particular, it is the prayers of Jesus for our protection.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven, He went to intercede for us at the Father’s right hand (Romans 8:26, 34). While we do not have a record of the prayers Jesus is offering for us now, we do have this prayer of Jesus for His disciples on the night when He was betrayed. Here, in this prayer, Jesus intercedes for His disciples, both then and now. Among His many petitions, Jesus prays, “Holy Father, keep them [safe] in your name... I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them [safe] from the evil one” (17:11b, 15). Jesus prays for our safety.
He knows the world is full of tribulation (16:33). He knows the world He came to save turned against Him (1:10-11) and that it will turn against His disciples (17:14). He knows Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whomever he can devour. Jesus knows all of that. But He also knows the power and the protection of His heavenly Father. So, He prays, “Holy Father, keep them safe.”
Today, as we gather between the Ascension and Pentecost, we remember what Jesus is doing. He is praying for us. Jesus is praying that His Father would keep us safe. Jesus has endured the violent punishment of our sin, overcome the power of Satan, and triumphed over the gates of eternal death. Now, He has all power over all things, and He exercises that power in prayer for us. As disciples, we live in the comfort that Jesus brings us before His Father in prayer.
As disciples, we live in the comfort that Jesus brings us before His Father in prayer.
Psalm 107 is a beautiful psalm. It is filled with small vignettes of different situations. In between each situation, it offers a refrain: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress” (verse 13). By using this technique, the psalmist gives us a God’s-eye-view of the world. The psalmist sees many different situations. God’s people wander in the desert, they suffer in prison, they bear the pains of their own sinful making, and they engage in commerce on the sea. In each case, His people fall into peril, and they cry out to God, and He delivers them. This repetition of life situation after life situation held together by a refrain reminds us of God’s ever-present love that delivers His people from sin and suffering.
I wonder if something like that could be done when preaching on this gospel reading. John offers us a prayer that Jesus says for His disciples. Jesus prays, “Holy Father, keep them safe.” This is a prayer the ascended Lord prays for us, even now. In the sermon, we can help our hearers look at our world. Through small vignettes, we can consider different situations: People who do not know to pray for themselves; people who know to pray but do not because they are too weary; people who have given up on prayer; people who think their life situation is too small or too great for prayer. Then, after each situation, we can hear the prayer of Jesus. “Holy Father, keep them safe.” The sermon will comfort us with the good news that Jesus is sitting at the Father’s right hand, interceding for us, saying to His heavenly Father, “Holy Father, keep them safe.” Our daily lives are lived under the canopy of Jesus’ prayer.
For example, there are those who do not know how to pray for themselves. An unchurched father watches as his son’s life spins out of control. The football team was a great boost for his son’s ego but, after the season was over, his son partied a little too hard with his friends. Drinking had turned to drugs. Frequently, his son was out all night, crashing over at a friend’s house. Parental conversations, now, quickly turned to arguments and he felt like he was losing connection with his son. The father watched as the world began to take over. He had never been to church. He did not know Jesus ruled over all things. But Jesus knew him, and Jesus offered a prayer to his Father for those who have yet to be brought into the flock (John 10:16): “Holy Father, keep them safe.”
There are also those who know they should pray for themselves but have grown weary of praying. I visited a friend who was recently hospitalized. The doctors had diagnosed leukemia. She was exhausted. The chronic fatigue, the weight loss, the anxiety over her children left her flat on the bed with a heart that was too heavy to heave up to God. “I’ve done prayed myself out,” she said. In the visit, I offered a prayer for her and her family. As I left, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Thanks. Sometimes it is really hard to pray for yourself.” Jesus knows when the world has made His people weary, when prayer seems impossible, and for that reason, He promises to be there, at the right hand of the Father, uttering a prayer for you. “Holy Father, keep them safe.”
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on John 17:11b-19.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 17:11b-19.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach John 17:11b-19.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast-Dr. Roland Ziegler of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through John 17:11b-19.
