The Rev. Dan Rondeau
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Acts 16:16-34 | Psalm 68:1-20 | Acts 16:16-34 | John 17:20-26
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Ps 118:24
I will begin this morning with a confession. In order for me to continue in prayer I need
some hint that this prayer, or any prayer for that matter, is being heard; I need some evidence that
the prayer I make (or any prayer for that matter) is effective. I wish my trust were stronger, not
so demanding of God, but there you have it, I look for God's hand at work, I need to see the
evidence of God's response in order to maintain any intensity in prayer. I have been doing this
long enough to know that I am in good company, I am not alone in looking and needing to see
evidence.
Luke told us on Ascension Day that after Jesus returned to the Father the disciples
returned to Jerusalem with joy and
"
John tells us today that Jesus prayed. He even shares the words of the prayer Jesus made
on our behalf. And I can't resist inserting myself into the role of wondering about and looking for
the evidence that Jesus' prayer was heard and answered by the Father. For it is enough for my
prayer life to know that somebody's prayer was heard and answered, it gives me hope. It sustains me
in a ministry of prayer.
And lest you fear that I am having some crisis in faith and trust, let me assure you as we
go on, there is abundant evidence of God's hand at work. There is a richness to God's
response that continually surprises me and delights me. There is a joy in knowing, as one of our
prayers says that God is "
Of course, I have plenty of experience with prayers not answered in the way I wanted. I have plenty of experience with my own failings and the failings of others to respond to the grace of God, despite my/our asking for that grace. And so it is tempting to hear the prayer of Jesus "that they may all be one" and find the hundreds of ways that I have failed, that we have failed, to respond to God's grace in fulfilling the prayer of Jesus.
It is especially tempting in the church today to find fault and failure everywhere and give in to the despair that the church will not only never be one as Jesus prayed, but will not survive at all. Don't give in to that temptation. Open your eyes to see the hundreds of ways, small things really, that indicate the efficacy of Jesus' prayer, that demonstrate the grace of God at work in you, in your family, in your fellow parishioners, in our community. Balance what you read and hear in the news with what your eyes and ears and heart—and your own experiences—tell you about how wonderfully God is working out an answer to Jesus' prayer, and indeed to our Sunday prayers.
At the risk of embarrassing our parishioners I want to use what is happening in their family to give you an example of what I mean. At our 10:00 am Service Steve and Teri Guild will present their twin daughters, Kaitlyn and Allison, for baptism. This will not make the local news tonight. You won't read about this in the LA Times or even the Desert Sun. But for you and me this action is filled with the fulfillment of prayers made. It is God's "Yes" to Jesus' prayer made long ago and shared by John in his gospel account.
Steve and Teri will be in the company of their parents, their daughters' grandparents. Three generations of believers standing side by side and pointing to a fulfillment of Jesus' prayer: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word...." Steve and Teri are here to present their children for baptism because the faith was handed on to them by their parents who stand with them. And, of course, there were generations before the ones we see here who heard, who believed, who shared their belief; the line stretches all the way back to the disciples being prayed for by Jesus. Ultimately the disciples were faithful in responding to God's grace to share the good news.
And as Kaitlyn and Allison are baptized, and as they are raised in their family, as they come to worship here and come to know and work beside us, another generation will come to believe in the love of God shared in Christ Jesus. And the promise and hope is that Kaitlyn and Allison will in turn pass their faith along.
And look again to see God's hand at work in bringing Steve and Teri and all of us to this moment in the life of our parish. You can detect God's movement in bringing Steve and Teri to each other, in their meeting, in their learning about each other, in the love that developed into engagement and then marriage. John tells us that God is love (1 John 3:16) and while "No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us." (1 John 4:12)
In their marriage we catch sight of the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer "that the love with which you have loved me [Father] may be in them, and I in them." And at their marriage, family and friends prayed "that their wills may be so knit together in your will, and their spirits in your Spirit, that they may grow in love and peace with you and one another all the days of their life." Answered. Family and friends prayed to "make their life together a sign of Christ's love to this sinful and broken world, that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair." Answered. Finally, family and friends prayed that God "bestow on them...the gift and heritage of children, and the grace to bring them up to know you, to love you, and to serve you." Answered. The hand of God at work in the world around us is surely visible in its blessing.
The community, likewise, has a role to play in what we are witnessing this morning. Here is what I mean. In their wedding ceremony a congregation representing all believers (including us) promised, "to do all in [their] power to uphold these two persons in their marriage." As they moved here and became a part of St. Margaret's family, we have taken up that promise. With God's grace we make another promise to them, to Kaitlyn and to Allison, today: "to do all in [our] power to support these persons in their life in Christ." I believe you can see in our worship, in our education programs, our ministry to others in outreach, in pastoral care, and in so many ways we are serious in responding to God's grace as we uphold our promises to them.
By extension, Steve and Teri and their daughters join others in supporting you in your life in Christ. In this mutual ministry I see the fulfillment of prayers, I see the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus "that they may all be one." Indeed, in the Baptismal Covenant—a covenant made in our prayers and worship—we promise Steve and Teri and their daughters that we will seek and serve Christ in them, loving them as we love ourselves. For their part, they make the same covenant with us. Again, as we live our lives together in this community of faith: in our worship, education, service, caring, and so much more, I see the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer and the fulfillment of our sacred covenant with each other. I find the Father and Son present in you, and you find the Father and Son present in me. Perhaps we don't do this perfectly, or consistently, but we are persistent, and we will remain so.
In this, do we not take our turn in fulfilling the prayer of Jesus "that the world may believe that you [Father] have sent me?" As we love one another and are recognized as friends, disciples, of Jesus; as others ask about this, notice this, come to treasure this about us; as others seek the same kind of love and peace that we have found, we find ourselves becoming the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer. And it is happening here.
Pay attention throughout our prayers today, and next Sunday and the Sunday after that. In our praise today we will acknowledge that there is "one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one Faith, one God and Father of all." We will promise each other to "proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ." We will ask that the Father "send us out to do the work [He] has given us to do, to love and serve [Him] as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord." And while we may not be perfect in responding to God's graces we are persistent and constantly striving to do better. In this we become open to the fullness of God's grace and the generosity of God's grace and we take our place in fulfilling Jesus' prayer.
Pay attention to the person next to you and the persons around you. Pay attention to our work together, each helping the other, in this parish of St. Margaret's. It is our way of saying "Yes" to the Father who is saying "Yes" to the Son. Understand that our efforts are united to those of St. John's in Indio, St. Anthony's in Desert Hot Springs, and St. Paul's in Palm Springs; understand that all 58 missions and parishes in this diocese are striving as we are to say "Yes" to the Father who is saying "Yes" to the Son.
What I am asking is that you look around you here and now and see how marvelously God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is saying "Yes" to the earnest prayer offered by Jesus.
What I am asking is that you look with me through the words and actions of this day and see us striving as best we can to say "Yes" to Jesus who earnestly prayed on our behalf; look with me through the words and actions of this day into a future where we are more and more and with all our heart and strength continuing to fulfill the earnest prayer of Jesus on our behalf.
Allow yourself to experience the touch of God in your life, see God's touch in the lives around you, and join me in giving thanks for prayers answered. Amen.
1 A Prayer for those we love, BCP, p. 831