Ascension in the Phases of Jesus Christ

 7 Easter  B    May 12, 2024
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26   Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13  John 17:6-19

Lectionary Link

Some assumptions that I make when I read the New Testament writings are: 1-They were written decades after Jesus was gone. 2-They were written in the koine Greek, not in the language of Jesus and his Galilean disciples, Aramaic.  3-As later writings, these writings represent first the concerns of their writing contexts, and pertain less to the years zero to 30 when Jesus actually lived. 4-The writings of Paul in his letters regarding church order and the mystical experiences of the Risen Christ, pre-date the writing of the Gospels. This means that the teaching, preaching, and mystagogy of Paul and other leaders are programmatically interwoven in the Gospel narrative presentations of the life of Christ. The early communities were teaching the meaning of their experiences of the Risen Christ through a narrative of the life of Jesus.

The New Testament writings occurred in communities which were under great stress.  On one hand, followers of Jesus felt so favored and blessed with their mystical experiences even while being a minority group subject to situations of persecution which could arise at any moment.  The stress had created the situation of resorting to a coping phenomenon through a belief in a divine cosmic rescue.  

Preachers like St. Paul believed in a double ascension.  St. Paul wrote that in our mysterious relationship with Christ we are already raised and seated with Christ  in heavenly places, bespeaking the visionary state of the mystical experience.  At the same time, in the earliest New Testament writing, the first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul comforted his readers by referring to the event of being caught up in the air to meet the Lord.

One could say that the early Christians were like Paul, people waiting to be caught up in the air in some future cosmic divine rescue of being taken from this visible world into the invisible world, at least invisible to how the eyes now see.

Being caught up in the air in some divinely cosmic rescue is visionary language with a long tradition.  From writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Apocrypha, and other writings, now called the apocalyptic genre, we can find this tradition of being caught up in the air.  The apocalyptic genre functioned in oppressed communities to help them cope with their horrendous situations.  The apocalyptic literature provide visualizations as an analgesic for the pain of their life situations.

Being caught up in the air, in the apocalyptic tradition has also been called an "assumption."  Enoch, Moses, Elijah, and significantly later, Blessed Mary, are figures who are regarded to be those who were assumed into the afterlife in ways that stood out as being unique passings from this visible realm.  One of the features of these "assumption" personalities is how they reappear in the visionary realm, such as what Moses and Elijah did in the event of the Transfiguration.  And who has more apparitional re-appearances than the Virgin Mary?

The presentation of Jesus as the Ascended Lord and Messiah is comprised within this tradition of the Assumptions and being "caught up in the air."  But the Ascension of Jesus is seen as being very unique within this tradition of being caught up in the air.

It is in fact seen as but a phase in how God came to be manifested to humanity.  The Divine has such a capacity of Plenitude that nothing but Plenitude can comprehend Plenitude.  In order to be known by those who can know within the realm of Plenitude there had to be phases or manifestations or emptyings of the Divine into perceptible forms by humans. In the phases of the divine for human beings, we have the tradition of the phases of Jesus Christ.

What are the phases of Jesus Christ?  They include his state in the Beginning as Word who is God, his emptying phase as Word made flesh in Jesus in his birth, and the phases of his life highlighting his ministry and teaching, his continuing quest to manifest complete identity with human experience in his death on the cross, his burial, his resurrection re-appearances, his Ascension, and arriving at a glorified status with the fullness of his sojourn within human experience.  The Ascended Christ is one who has known full human identity so as to be the appropriate advocate and intercessor for humans living within the realm of God.

A famous prayer of Jesus is presented by the writer of John's Gospel, as his oracle of the ascended Lord.  Notice how the writer has Jesus speaking in the past tense: 

 "While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them."

What verb tense is "was," "protected," and "guarded?"  Past tense.  If Jesus prayed, "While I was with them," does this imply that he is no longer with them in the way that he had previously been with them?

And if Jesus is no longer with his disciple during this prayer, where is he?

The writer of the Gospel of John believed, like Paul, that he had the mind of Christ, and could speak and write in his name.  The writer wrote as an oracle of the Ascended Christ, and presented the Ascended Christ in the role which the early Christians understood him to have.  He was an intercessor on behalf of humanity and on behalf his friends who were committed to get his message of the love of God for the people of this world spread far and wide.  

The Ascension of Jesus, on this Ascension Sunday, resides in the tradition of the Assumptions, namely, that there is communicative connection or communicative travel between the invisible realms, the realm of words within each person, with the external world where the words take on the flesh through our sensorial experience.  Words are externalized outside of their interior origins within people, but they "ascend" inwards to be refreshed and edited for further occasions of being made flesh.  This process of the word being made flesh needs higher guidance so that word being made flesh is known in its best form of love and justice.  Jesus as the prime exemplar for how word is made flesh best continues to be an interior Word editor in our attempts to live out the best words of our life.

On this the Ascension Sunday, we as Christians believe that Christ exists in an invisible realm, the worded realm, where Word is God.   By word we are connected  with the divine and we can be given perpetual editorial guidance in how our lives are to be scripted.  Pray is word life in editorial process.  The ascended Christ is our Word editor, interceding for us and continually offering us new ways to script our lives, in making our words flesh in the practice of love and justice.

Let us be thankful for the phases of the life of Jesus Christ, who now resides in his ascended and glorified phase to intercede for us, to be the continual editor of our worded lives,  and to continually send us the connected procession of the Holy Spirit to aid us in the main experience of life, knowing ourselves as one with our heavenly parent.  Amen.

Sunday School, May 12, 2024 The Seventh Sunday of Easter B

 Sunday School,  May 12, 2024  The Seventh Sunday of Easter B

Themes:

Choosing the replacement for Judas by casting lots

Casting lots is like choosing straws

Why do we choose straws or cast lots to make selections?

When people are equally worthy and qualified, sometimes using “chance” is the way in which we give everyone an equal chance to do a something important on behalf of the community or family.  So it takes the politics or favoritism out of the selection.  A person who draws the short straw might feel disappointed at “losing” but at least he or she knows that he or she had an chance.

Matthias was chosen to replace Judas as one of the Twelve Disciples.  The number 12 was important to the early church because there were 12 Tribes of Israel and the early Christians believed that the church was like a New Israel.

Psalm 1 Emphasizes the important of the people whom we hang out with called our peers.  If we choose good friends, they can help us do better and make good decision.  If we choose to be with people who model bad behaviors, we can be influenced toward those bad behaviors.

The Gospel of John and the Epistle of John

The Gospel is the real “Lord’s Prayer” because it is a prayer of Jesus with his Father.  The other “Lord’s Prayer” is better called the “Our Father” because it is a group prayer.

The prayer of Jesus shows us some important lessons.  First, we need to know God as our Father or heavenly parent, as one who listens to us and who encourages us to speak with Him at anytime.  So Jesus show us that as He is the Son of God, we are sons and daughters of God.   The prayer of Jesus is all about sharing conversation with the family of God to which we belong.  The prayer of Jesus shows us that we are to prayer for each other, for safety and protection and for the growth in knowledge and in truth.

If Jesus prayed, then so should we.

Gospel Puppet Show:

Telephone prayer between Jesus and God the Father

Jesus: Hello, Dad.  This is your Son Jesus.

The Father: Hello, Son, I’m so glad that you called.  I always like to hear from you.  I know that you will soon be sitting next to me.

Jesus: Dad, I would like to talk to you about something.

The Father:  Of course, What is it?

Jesus: Dad, I’ve made some friends here and I know that when they will no longer see me in person they might have some fears.

The Father:  And what would you like?

Jesus: Well, you know how close you and I are.  We are so close we are like One being.

The Father: Yes, we are very close.

Jesus: Well, could you give to my friends the same close relationship that you and I have?  Could you let them know that you are their Father too?

The Father:  Well, of course I can.  After all, I created people in my image and so I sent you to be with them so they could discover that they are sons and daughters of God.

Jesus: Yes, could let them know how special they are to you?  If you do, they will know the special feeling about themselves, the feeling of esteem or glory.  I feel that glory because I am your Son and I want them to feel that glory too.

The Father:  Son, you and I really agree on this and I will do what you ask.  And I will let your friends know that I am their Father, but you need to remind them to treat me like their Father.  And the way that they can do that is to talk to me, like you do.

Jesus: Yes, I will tell them to pray and I have taught them to pray because if they practice talking to you they will get to know you in a special way and that is what I want for them.

The Father:  Amen….Son, anything else?

Jesus: Dad, could you also keep them in safety and protection?

The Father: I certainly will do, I can keep them all the time, even in death because I can preserve their lives forever, just like your life will be forever.

Jesus:  And Dad, could you help them to grow in what is wise and truthful.

The Father: Yes, I will.  I made people with curiosity to seek and know what the right thing to do is at all time.  I will give them a Book, a Bible with words which they can read to guide them in honest truth.

Jesus: And Dad, could teach them to be like turtles?

The Father: What do you mean?

Jesus: Well, turtles have to know how to live in the water and on the land.  People have to learn how to live in inner world of their spirit and in the outer world of their lives.  Sometimes it is hard to balance the inner and the outer worlds.  Can you help them balance their inner worlds and their outer worlds.

The Father:  I will help them do this but you need to remind them to talk to me and ask for help.  I cannot help them if they do not ask.

Jesus: Thank you, Dad.  I love you.  And now I must go finish the work you gave me to do before I return to be with you heaven.

The Father: I love you.  Thanks for calling.  I love when you and your friends talk to me.  And soon you will be with me again.  Amen.

Sermon:

How many days are in the week?  Seven right.

  When God created the world how many days did God work?  Six days.  And what did God do on the seventh day?  God rested.

  And in the 10 commandments what is the seventh day called?  It is called the Sabbath.  And one of commandments says: Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

  Do you know what that means?  It means that one day out of seven belongs to God.

  So how can we possibly give 24 hours a week of special time to God?

  Jesus showed us how we can give at least 24 hours a week to God.  How did he show us?  Jesus prayed to God his Father.

  How do you get to know someone?  You have to talk to them to get to know them, right?  If you don’t ever spend time with someone you don’t get to know them.

  So how do we spend time with God?  We spend time with God by praying.  That one of most important things that we do in life.  We pray when we come to church.  How do we pray.  We praise God because we see God’s greatness in the things that God has done.  We thank God too in our prayers, because of the wonderful things that God has given us.  And we ask God for the things that we need in our life.  And we offer the prayers over the bread and wine, because Jesus asked us to do this.  Did you know that our singing is prayer too?  And when we are kind and help each other, did you know that is prayer too?

  Do we pray only when we come to church?  No, we can pray in many ways in many places.  Before our meals.  Before we go to bed.  Before we go out to play.  And we can pray before we take an exam at school.  Do you know that my favorite prayer is a one word prayer.  Do you know what that prayer is?  Help.  Help me God.  Amen.

  If we learn to pray in all of the times of our lives then we can easily give 24 hours a week to God. 

  Jesus prayed that his disciples would become just like him and his father.  Jesus wanted his friends to know that they were sons and daughters of God.  And they could know that if they would spend some time getting to know God.  And the best way to get to know God is to pray as often and in as many ways as possible.

  Remember that Jesus prayed.  And we should pray too.  That is how we get to know God.  That is how we learn to honor God by keeping the Sabbath.  Let us all remember to pray today.  Amen.

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

May 12, 2024: The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Gathering Songs: The King of Glory, The Butterfly Song, Father I Adore You, This Little Light

Song: The King of Glory! (Renew! # 297)

Refrain: The King of glory come, the nation rejoices.  Open the gates before him, lift up your voices.

Who is the King of Glory; how shall we call him? He is Emmanuel, the promised of ages. Refrain

In all of Galilee, in city or village, he goes among his people curing their illness. Refrain

Sing then of David’s son, our savior and brother: in all of Galilee was never another. Refrain

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the First Letter of John

And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Let us read together from Psalm 1

Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, * nor lingered in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seats of the scornful!

Their delight is in the law of the LORD, * and they meditate on his law day and night.

They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; * everything they do shall prosper.

  

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

For the blessing of our mothers on Mother’s Day. Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Looking up to heaven, Jesus prayed, "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all  our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Song:  The Butterfly Song   (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 9)

If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings.  If I were a robin in the tree, I’d thank you Lord that I could sing.  And if I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee, and I just thank you Father for making me, me. 

Refrain: For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile, you gave me Jesus and you made me your child and I just thank you Father for making me, me.

If I were an elephant, I’d thank you Lord for raising my trunk.  If I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop right up to you.  And if I were an octopus, I’d thank you Lord for my fine looks and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you Lord that I could squirm.  If I were a Billy Goat, I’d thank you Lord for my strong throat.  And if I were a fuzzy, wuzzy bear, I’d thank you Lord for my fuzzy, wuzzy hair, and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Holy Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Sanctify us so that we may love God and our neighbors.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration

Communion Song: Father I Adore You (Christian Children’s Songbook # 56)

Father, I adore you, lay my life before you.  How I love you.

Jesus, I adore you, lay my life before you. How I love you.

Spirit, I adore you, lay my life before you.  How I love you.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: This Little Light of Mine (Christian Children’s Songbook # 234)

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.  This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, no!  I’m going to let it shine.  Hide it under a bushel, no!  I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going to let it shine.  Don’t let anyone blow it out, I’m going o let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine.  Shine all over my neighborhood, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Is the Prayer of Jesus being Answered for Us?

7 Easter  B    May 16, 2021
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26   Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13  John 17:6-19

 

Lectionary Link

Here's a quote from the long prayer of Jesus recorded in the seventeenth chapter of John:   "While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them"

What verb tense is "was," "protected," and "guarded?"  Past tense.  If Jesus prayed, "While I was with them," does this imply that he is no longer with them?

And if Jesus is no longer with his disciple during this prayer, where is he?

Today is Ascension Sunday.  So what this prayer may be considered is a post-Ascension prayer.  The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews wrote: Jesus ever lives to intercede for us.  Jesus is one who prays for us; he did it while he was visible on earth; he does it in the invisible realm after the ascension.

The prayer of Jesus in John appears to be a post-Ascension prayer.  So how did the words of Jesus get written down when he is already ascended?

There was a method of delivering the post-Ascension words of Jesus.  It is what I call the oracle function of the Risen and Ascended Christ within the communities of the followers of Jesus.  How is this oracle function introduced in the New Testament writings?  In various ways, like when Jesus told his disciples to speak in his name.  This means that the words that he inspired in them would be His Words too.  This means that when Paul said that he had the mind of Christ, that some of his words would be channeling the words of the Ascended Christ.  The entire Gospel preaching tradition involves a rather great presumption: presuming to speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That presumption has been widespread but only a few of those words have been written down and through a long process of church meeting votes, some have become the official text book of the church, the New Testament.

So what is this prayer of Jesus we have read?  It is an inspired writer answering the question, "When Jesus is no longer with us, "what would Jesus pray?

And this is where it really gets exciting, because it is quite profound what Jesus asks God his Father for?

He asks God the Father that each of his followers would come to be one with God as he is one with God.

Jesus is asking for nothing less than that you and I experience a mystical union with God.  This is almost too deliciously holy to even ponder.  Why?

What would happen if we really accept this and believed that we too could be such children of God?

If we believed and lived our mystical union  with God, we would be living an inspired life in our time and place just like Jesus lived an inspired life in his time and place.  Our time and place is completely different from the time and place of Jesus; so we are inspired to do things which are appropriate to the meaning of love and justice within the very specifics of our time and place.

Lot of people think to be in a holy oneness with God means one has to be somewhere completely different than in the very ordinary lives which you and I inhabit.

What do you mean?  Mystical union with God in Ramona?  At St. Mary's-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church?  Yeah right, that's even laughable.

Mystical union happens everywhere because God as the great originator is omnipresent; God is everywhere and in everything.  We human beings have the exalted privilege of consciously recognizing to very high degree of how much God is in and through us.

And this is what the prayer of Jesus is asking for us to realize.

And so the question for you and me is this?  Is the prayer of Jesus being answered in you and me?  And if it is, by accepting our mystical union with God through Christ, how are we going to live?  And what kind of parish are we going to make St. Mary's-in-the-Valley?

Let us open ourselves to the possibility of the prayer of Jesus being answered in us today.  Amen.

Mothers Pray; Jesus Prays too

7 Easter  B    May 13, 2018

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26   Psalm 1

1 John 5:9-13  John 17:6-19

Lectionary Link

Today on the Sunday after the Ascension, we've read the Gospel which includes the "true Lord's Prayer."  What is often called the Lord's Prayer, is more rightly called the "Our Father" or the pray that Jesus taught his disciples to use.

The "Lord's prayer" in John's Gospel, which is more of a mystical discourse, is not found in the other Gospels which were written before John's Gospel.  One does not fully understand how anyone could have gotten so much access into the private prayers of Jesus to be able to give a verbatim account of a prayer of Jesus.

John's Gospel was written rather late and so it includes within it the beliefs, practices and the mysticism of the early church.  The form of writing was done by writers who believed that they had the "mind" of Christ and so such inspired writers could be oracles for the prayers of Christ whom they believed to be ascended and was seated next to God the Father and who was interceding on behalf of his disciples and friends.  One clue of this might be the phrase: "While I was with them...."  So if Jesus was no longer "with" the disciple when he was offering this prayer, where was he?

This prayer discourse of Jesus teems with so many meanings, I can only edit a few from it for our faith meanings today.  I would suggest to you a few words to ponder from this prayer attributed to Jesus, perhaps in his ascended state and channeled through the Gospel writer.

Here are some Johannine words: Name, World, Being One and Sanctify.

Onama is the Greek for "name."  The name of God and the name of Jesus is a big thing in the Gospels.  To know the name of God and Jesus was not like getting a listing of names from a directory.  Knowing the name of God and Jesus was a very secret and mystical thing.  Knowing the name of God and Jesus occurred when one had come into an intimate relationship with God and Jesus.  In the Hebrew Scriptures communities and until today, the name of God was unknowable in the sense that it was so great one could not presume to pronounce it.  But we Christians, have presumed to pronounce it as "Jehovah" or "Yahweh."  

An Arab proverb is based upon a belief that there were 100 names of God but human beings only know 99 names because the 100th name is a secret.  Hence the riddle: Why does the camel always have a silly grin on his face?  Because he knows the 100th name of God and he is not telling.

Jesus stated in his prayer, "I have made known your name to them."  And what was God's name for Jesus?  It was Father.  Or for St. Paul, God's name was the intimate word for Father: "Abba."  Simply "Daddy! " Who can rightly use the name "Daddy?"  Only a beloved child who has this special intimate, adoring and adorable relationship.  Such a name seems so secret and restrictive because it means that one has come into the qualifying relationship to know God in such an intimate way.  Jesus was saying that he had such an intimate relationship with God as his Father to be qualified to bring his disciples from his credible status to a similar intimate relationship with God so that as children we could know God in such intimate personal terms as "Daddy" or "Mommy."   On this day, "Mommy," might be a fitting name of intimate relationship with God, too.  Jesus shared an intimate familial relationship with God with those who were made sons and daughters of God.  The Gospel for you and me today:  You and I can be on intimate terms with God too.

The next word of the prayer of Jesus:  World or in Greek Kosmos.  In John's Gospel, God loved the world, God came to save the world, but humanity being a part of the world was not supposed to love the things of the world or be of the world.  So world meant all of the external created order but also it meant having a wrong relationship to the external order, in the sense that we project our desire upon all of the things in our world and are often brought to idolatry reflected in our addictive behaviors.  Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again or born from above.  He needed to be born and live from within the inner spiritual world so that he could love the world through God's love and not through addicting desire.  In this prayer of Jesus, Jesus asks that his disciples might attain this right relationship with the world.  Our interior lives need to be so rightly constituted that we know how to relate to the external world with care and concern and enjoyment but avoid idolatry and addiction.  The Gospel for you and me today:  Let us learn to love the world through God's love and not be slaves to our projected desires.

The next words are "that they might be one as we are one."  In John's Gospel Jesus said, "I and the Father are one and if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.  In John's Gospel, Jesus also claimed identity with the holy name of God when he said, "Before Abraham was, I am."   In a world of diversity and difference how can we talk about unity or oneness?  I am not you, you are not me; how can we be one?  The unity of identity found in what might be called a harmony is what characterized the sense of belonging or merging and this is found in the language of mystical experience.  I have become one with all things.  St. Paul experienced this identity and merging with Christ:  "I have been crucified with Christ and I live, yet not I, for Christ lives within me."  

In contrast the neurotic man, Woody Allen wrote about his mystical experience, he wrote, "I am two with nature."  Being two with nature and all things expresses the alienation of sin.  Accepting the One Community of Everything in a profound sense of connectedness is the Oneness that Jesus prayed that his disciples would know and experience.  He prayed that they might know this oneness of intimacy, just as Jesus knew it with his Father.  Sometimes church leaders use this prayer to talk about unity among all of the Christian groups, but the oneness is much more profound than simple church agreements.  The Gospel for you and me today:  Jesus prays that we will have this continuous mystical experience of connectedness known through harmonic relationship with everything.

The last word from the prayer of Jesus that I would like for us to consider is "sanctify."  This is one of those special religious words used so often that we don't know what it means.  And even when we say, to sanctify means to make holy, what does holy mean?  Jesus prayed for his disciples: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is the truth."  This is the way that I understand sanctify:  It means to be drawn to participate and devote oneself to the highest possible value of life.  Life and the life of words is a process of attaining values in life.  Attaining value is a progressive adventure of life and we are helped to attain values by the most enlightened examples in our environment.  The Ten Commandments set the worship of the One God as the supreme value of life.  Following the 10 Commandments and living in an environment that enforces them can help us teach, practice and learn right social behaviors but the commandments as coming from our external world can present us with demands that we find them hard to live up to.  This is why we need the interior expression of the Higher Power of the Holy Spirit.  The work of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify us.  That is, the Spirit calls us to our most inward Self and from this Inward Self we attain the power to keep the law of self-control over the behaviors of our lives.  Jesus said to the Father, "Your word is truth."  Jesus also said that such words were Spirit and life.  We need to discover the inner constitution of the words of our lives to maintain us in the highest values.  The progressive discovery of life is to discover sublime values and then organize in intentional ways our entire lives around these sublime and supreme values.  The intentional organization of our lives around the sublime values of our lives is how we participate in the sanctification of our lives by God's Holy Spirit.

Today, we are asked to believe that Jesus in his ascension into the interior abode referred to as "heaven" is there praying for us and the people of the world.

What is he praying?  That we identify with God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and so know the secret and intimate name of God as children of God.  That even though we live within the attractions and distractions of the external world, we learn how to live in this world and love the world through the love of God and not through addicting desire. Thirdly, we learn the secret of unity in the midst of difference and diversity.  We choose the harmony of oneness in difference and always live in the Spirit of connectedness and integration with all that is.  Finally, we live sanctified in God's truth; that is we accept the Sublime presence of God found in the highest values known to us and we intentionally organize our lives around these sublime values.

Today on Mother's Day, let us be thankful that our mothers never stopped praying for us.  And in so doing, they entered into the prayer ministry of Jesus Christ, who ever prays for us and in and through us.  Amen.

Is Mom a Prayer Ninja?

7 Easter  B    May 13, 2018

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26   Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13  John 17:6-19

Lectionary Link

Georgie came home from school one day and said to his mom, "Mom, did you come to school today?"  His mom said, "No, Georgie, I was not at your school today; why do you ask?"  Georgie said, "Well, when I was at school, it felt like you were there.  I thought someone was behind me rubbing my back and shoulder.  And I would turn around to greet you and then not see you.  Why did I think and feel and act like you were with me?"  Mom said to Georgie, "Georgie, I've got a little secret; I am like a silent Ninja Mom.  I can make you feel like I'm with you even when I'm not."  Georgie said, "Wow!  Is that for real?  How do you do that?"  Mom said, "Well, I'm not really a Ninja Mom, but I do have a secret."  Georgie said, "What is your secret?"  Mom said, "Well, I pray for you all of the time.  And because I pray for you, I feel connected with you all of the time.  It is like the thoughts of my prayers develop long reaching arms and hands and follow you around during the day when I cannot be with you.  So when I pray for you, it is like I am magically with as a Ninja Mom."  Georgie said, "Wow!  That's cool.  So when I alone, I can just think about you.  When it is dark in my bedroom at night, I can know that you are with me."  Mom said, "That is right Georgie, but also when you thinking about taking a cookie from the cookie jar right before dinner, I am there with you too."  Georgie said, "I guess that is when I would pretend you're not with me.  But why are we connected with prayers?"

Mom said, "Jesus was God's Special Son.  He prayed to his Father and he always felt connected with God his Father.  Jesus also prayed for his disciples and friends.  He asked that they might feel connected to him even when they did not see him.  He prayed that they might have a relationship with God the Father, like the one he shared with God his Father.  And when Jesus did not see the disciples; when he was gone from this earth, his prayers reached out and touched his disciples because he left his Holy Spirit inside of each of his disciples.  This is how we can be connected with each other even when we don't see each other.  And when we pray for each other we can celebrate our connection."

Georgie asked,"Mom, can I be a prayer Ninja too?  Can I reach and connect to you and dad and nana and papa when I pray?"  Mom said, "Yes, you can and I am very happy to know that you will pray for me."

Georgie said, "Mommy, Happy Mother's Day.  I love you.  Thank you for being a special Prayer Ninja for me."

Mom said," Georgie, Let us thank Jesus who prays for us and helps us each to be prayer Ninjas."  Amen.