Return to St. Margaret's Home Page
24 May 1998
[Return to Sermons Index 1998] [Return to St. Margaret's Home Page]
A pastor I know believes that you can tell a lot about a person by how they take their leave of you, how they say good-bye. He believes this is something that does not come easy to us humans. It is a grace that is learned. He shared with me that in one of his assignments, teens would find the courage to visit him and his wife. They would drop by. The teens discovered, of course, a warmth and ease in their presence that was invigorating. But, inevitably, it was time to say good-bye. And here the teens struggled, they were still learning how to say good-bye, how to leave the warmth and intimacy of one moment, risk themselves in the in between, alone moment, until they would meet and talk again. There were many an awkward silence, and clumsy good-bye.
By contrast we have just witnessed the grace filled prayer
of Jesus as he said good-bye to his disciples. This prayer of
Jesus, of course, was uttered at the Last Supper. In the moments
before his betrayal and arrest, he prayed for his disciples, and
for you and me. That is what we heard just moments ago. A beautiful
prayer of good-bye to sustain us, no matter what, a prayer to
dignify and grace our every action, no matter what. We often pray
to Jesus; but do we
understand the powerful significance of Jesus' praying for us?
It is important to notice that he didn't promise his disciples a life of ease. Jesus didn't say, you will never feel alone, you will never walk through a valley darkened by the shadow of death, you will never find the well empty and dry. He doesn't try to comfort them, doesn't comfort us, with platitudes, like "I'll live on in your memories forever." He prays to be in them, in us, no matter what. He prays to become such a part of their lives, and ours, that others will recognize the Father who sent him to love us.
Given Jesus' custom of praying, and as witness to the power of his prayer, when Jesus returns to the Father, when he goes from us, we can be sure that he doesn't forget us. He prays for us. He never stops talking to God about us. He's gone away from us so that he can be at the "right hand of the Father," to speak on our behalf. It is an awesome gift that has been given us.
I'm not sure why you are here this morning. Perhaps you wonder why you are here. I do not know what burdens you carry, what baggage you hauled in here this morning. I do know enough about you, and about me, to know that this room is full of our burdens and baggage. It's a wonder that there is room for any of us with all this extra baggage.
I am more sure that no matter how well we attend to the scriptures
this morning, no
matter how well I preach, no matter how well we offer our thanksgiving,
and even with Holy Communion, we will leave here carrying some
of this baggage, our burden may be lighter, but not lifted entirely.
So do we despair? Do we simply give up? No way. We are able to
walk straighter and taller because Jesus prays for us. Jesus never
stops talking to God about us. We are able to encourage one another,
no matter what, with the knowledge that we carry God within us,
God with us, it is the prayer of Jesus, it will not be refused.
Whether we feel his presence or not, whether we are in the
midst of joy or sorrow, we
can be sure that Jesus prays for us. Jesus knows full well, from
the inside out, what it is to be human. He knows the joy of presence
and intimacy, he knows the joy of mirth and laughter at the wedding
feast, and a good story told among friends. He knows the joy of
health restored, and families reunited. He knows the joy of restoring
a sinner to God's kingdom.
He knows also of the life destroying despair that comes with
events spinning out of
control, he knows the excruciating pain of betrayal and abandonment,
he knows all about
humiliation and disgrace, he even knows about death and dying.
Jesus, true God and true man, prays for us at the side of God.
He never stops talking about us, no matter what. He prays to be
in us, to experience the world through us. He prays to go where
we go, carrying the load we carry. There is no way that the Father
will not hear and answer this prayer of his beloved Son.
It is a wonderful, an awesome, gift we have been given.
With the prayer of Jesus resting within us, let me tell you a story from the end of World War II shared by Pastor Chuck Swindoll. Hear this story with an understanding that no matter the burdens you carry, no matter the suffering you encounter, you contain, by God's blessing, the very power that brought everything into being, because of him who stands in prayer for you. You make a difference now, and always, no matter what, because of him who stands in prayer for you.
Shortly after World War II came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. Much of the Old Country had been ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities.
Early one chilly morning, an American soldier was making has way back to the barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside, the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb, stopped, got out, and walked quietly over to where the little fellow as standing.
Through the steamed-up window he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The boy salivated and released a slight groan as he watched the cook place them onto the glass enclosed counter ever so carefully.
The soldier's heart went out to the nameless orphan as he stood beside him.
"Son . . . would you like some of those?"
The boy was startled.
"Oh, yeah. . . I would!"
The American stepped inside and bought a dozen, put them in a bag, and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply: "Here you are."
As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child ask quietly, "Mister. . . are you God?" (1)
Mister—are you God?
Of course, he was not God, nor are we. But by the prayer of Jesus, a prayer that never ceases, a prayer that is now offered "at the right hand of the Father" this man was so filled with God, so much in God and God in him, that his actions truly made a difference, for one life, in one particular moment. We, too, are so filled with God, so much in God, and God in us—no matter what we feel at the moment—that what we do, what we say, truly and profoundly makes a difference.
Do not underestimate the power of the prayer of Jesus for you. Do not forget, that Jesus prays for you, now and always, in every circumstance. He did not say good-bye, be well, and then forget about us. In his farewell Jesus promised to stand in prayer for you and me! Always! Amen.
The direction of this sermon came from Pulpit Resource by William H. Willimon.
(1) "Are you God?" by Charles Swindoll was found in More Stories for the Heart compiled by Alice Gray, page 40.
7 Easter Year C • John 17.20-26
The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
24 May 1998