John 17:1-11
May 17
Mark Edwards
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Over these past four weeks, Pastor Dave has been preaching a series on conversations with Jesus, as found in the Gospel of John. We have heard of Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus and the question about being born again. We have heard of the man born blind upon being healed and the confusion that caused surrounding the obvious. We have heard of the woman at the well, and of Mary and Martha upon the death of their brother Lazarus.
I am extending this series one more week with a conversation that comes in the form of a long prayer, also from the Gospel of John. It is the final element in John’s narrative surrounding the Lord’s Supper.
This prayer, a conversation of its own kind, is with the disciples present, yet they are silent. The conversation is between Jesus and his Father. In some sense, it is a conversation between God and God.
Hear the Word of the Lord:
After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
“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.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be enlightened and pleasing by you and for you. Amen.
“Holy Father, protect them in your name, so that they may be one.”
This is what we have come here to do today: to welcome, to pray, to commit these ones who have been given to us. From whom they have come, we send them back.
The hour has come.
This is what we did last year at this same time, and the year before, and the year before that. The hour has come again.
This is what Jesus did on the night he was betrayed. That hour came.
It has been happening over and over again for the past two thousand years. Indeed, there are hints in this passage that it was happening long before — even before the world existed. The hour was and was to come even before there were hours.
What is this hour about?
It is about welcoming these confirmands, these youth, these children of God, these sons and daughters of our Lord. It is about welcoming them more and more among all the children of God into the church, which is God’s family.
You might wonder why teenagers would join a church.
What does a church do?
Over the course of this past year, we have been asking the students that very question: What did you grow up with? What has the church done for you? What do you believe about the church?
They have written a thirty-five-page booklet on those questions. It is a lovely document.
I want to share some of their responses.
Why would teenagers join a church?
Hear for yourself.
From Isabel:
“I have to say, out of all the church memories I’ve ever had, church fellowship and choir, starting in middle school, have held some of the most meaningful memories for me. From the wisdom of the talks, to the conversations I had with all the youth leaders over the years, to the runs to Wawa, the nights of random goofing off with dodgeballs and Frisbees on the university campus, where I just stopped worrying altogether — a thing that happens rarely now.
“As time progresses, the moments in choir when the beauty of a song made me long for more because it felt like a taste of heaven — all the moments that we had and will still have until the end of high school are memories that remind me that no matter how lonely I get, or how stressed out, in pain, or in despair I feel, I still have that beauty every week.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
In church, God has offered the waters of life, and some have found them.
Phoebe writes:
“I used to count the minutes until the sermon ended.”
You are not the only one. No offense. I am also a preacher.
“But when my world fell apart, I started counting on the church community to hold me together. When I was experiencing a personal crisis, the most reliable place I could turn was the church. I may have hid it well, but for a long time I was completely terrified and lost in life until the day I finally listened in Sunday school.”
Phoebe, you are not the only one.
Why would teenagers join the church?
It offers us a beloved community of strangers.
As Vinnie says:
“When I moved to Germany as a six-year-old, I really missed Nassau. It was always given that a certain group of people would be seen every week, and suddenly that certainty was stripped away completely, starting over in a foreign and unknown place.
“We found a church in Freiburg, and I loved their tea and that they spoke English, but it wasn’t the same. When I returned to Princeton one year later, Nassau was there, just as I remembered it, to welcome me back as usual.”
Many of those faces are here today, Vinnie.
Why would teenagers join the church?
God uses the church to mend broken spirits.
As Chloe says:
“We didn’t go to church for a while, probably because we were grieving the death of my grandma, so neither my mom nor I went to church until last year when I got back into the church choir. I felt like I was growing deeper in my connection with God.
“Ever since then, I’ve been going to church more willingly, and I enjoy church. Part of the reason is now I have a choice, but the other part was because I wanted to grow in my relationship with God. I believe that God has made me a better person and helped my grief throughout the years.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
God uses the church to meet us and offer us direction.
As Hank says:
“I kept going to church, and as I did, I noticed that I really enjoyed going to church because I knew that God was always by my side, and he is my Lord and Savior.
“One of my favorite parts of church is probably praying because I know that God always listens to my prayers and is always there for me when I’m in need of guidance and comfort. I believe that God leads the way for me in life.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
God uses it to serve everyone inside and out.
As Bree says:
“Appalachia Service Project especially opened my eyes to see that no one has a picture-perfect life. So the experience of going and having the opportunity to help people with their own homes and make a difference felt really good.
“At ASP, usually a group of kids would talk with leaders like Byron about faith and all these other things and questions that would keep you up all night because you couldn’t figure out the answers. So I feel like all those late-night conversations really sent me — and I imagine all the kids who were involved — into a spiral, but at the same time we also learned so much in such a short amount of time.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
God uses the church to share.
Anna writes:
“I believe that God needs people to work for his goals. Through the works of Jesus, God has shown that his goals are peace, love, and inclusiveness. Jesus showed by example and words how we should live.
“Nassau Church has shown me by its leaders’ and community’s commitments to God’s goals, both by example and through our words. Our church community spreads God’s word to those outside the church.”
Why would a teenager join the church?
God uses the church to give us protection. As we just read from Jesus’ prayer.
Emily says:
“Last September, I wanted to hang out with a friend at Clark Commons. My mom wanted me to hang out with Maria instead. Of course, my mom gave in and said, ‘Okay, you can hang out at the Commons.’ But that’s when Maria and Isabel were in a car accident. I believe God protected me that day.
“So the scripture that I picked is the armor of God, Ephesians 6. I picked it because it’s protection.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
God uses the church as a place to wrestle with the hardest questions.
Zach writes:
“One question I continue to reflect on is death. While I believe in eternal life and I trust in God’s protection, I don’t fully understand why some people die unexpectedly. If God watches over us, I wonder why he allows certain things to happen, and why life sometimes ends sooner than expected.
“This is something I’m still learning about as I grow in my faith and as I seek a deeper understanding of his plan.”
Why would a teenager come to church on Sunday?
God uses the church to overcome the darkness of the world.
As Logan says:
“I’ve been going to church since I was little. I didn’t really get it at first, but over time I started to see what it was about. It’s a place where people come together to worship God.
“Church taught me that when life gets hard, you keep going. Psalm 139:12 says, ‘Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.’ Darkness is just like life. The dark can sometimes feel confusing, scary, and tricky to see what’s coming next. But God can guide us through, for the hard times are not hard for him, and he can see our future.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
God uses the church to overcome not just the darkness without, but the darkness within.
Joelle writes:
“Savior of the world, who came down from heaven to deliver us from the power of sin and death, the one who makes a way out of no way — God, rich in mercy, surrounds us with his unfailing love and frees us.
“I believe that God knows each one of us better than we know ourselves, and that we belong in life and in death to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
Joelle, that is beautiful.
Why would a teenager join the church?
God uses the church to show that there is life even after we say goodbye to friends.
Sam was sitting in fellowship dinner the other night, reflecting on how much time he has spent at Nassau. Quite a bit, really.
He writes:
“I realize that in my time here, I’ve been watching so many interns who’ve been so supportive and some of the best people I’ve ever met — people like Byron and Felipe and Sydney — whom I’ve grown up spending Sundays with. They’re all going to be gone next year, and that struck me like lightning.”
Why would teenagers join the church?
Ford, I think you are paying attention. I think you know you are next.
Why would teenagers pay attention to a sermon? Well, they are in it.
Finally, God uses the church to make sense of our lives — to clarify this confusing thing that we are living in, this thing called time.
God uses the church to give us meaning, to show us the meaning of life, the universe, and everything in it.
Ford writes:
“My church journey started a long time before I was born.”
Now there is a Presbyterian: elected before the foundations of the world, and proud to confess it.
“In life and in death we belong to God.”
You conclude:
“We trust in him, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we serve and worship. For God so loved the world — the whole world — that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Thirteen confirmands. A baker’s dozen. A lucky number.
Why are they here?
Memories of beauty.
The waters of life.
“It welcomes me back.”
“It helped my grief.”
“God leads the way.”
“Learned so much.”
“Spread God’s word.”
“God protected me.”
“A deeper understanding.”
“Guides us through.”
“In life and in death.”
“Struck me like lightning.”
“Before I was born.”
Church, what does all this mean?
That these kids would come forward, think these things, hope in these things, believe in these things?
Well, it means that Jesus’ prayer — the prayer that he prayed for his disciples on the night that he was betrayed — was answered.
It means that the prayer is still being prayed again.
It means that Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God the Father — that mysterious Trinity — are still praying and answering that very prayer, wrapping more and more in, welcoming more and more back, bringing all and all in.
“I have made your name known to them. They were yours, and you gave them to me. They have kept your word. The words that you gave to me I have given to them. They have received it, and they know in truth that I came from you. They believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf because they are yours. All mine are yours, and all yours are mine. I have been glorified in them.
“They are in the world.”
“Holy Father, protect them in your name, so that they may be one as we are one.”
Church, this is Christ’s prayer for his disciples.
Church, this is Christ’s prayer for the world.
Church, this world has been given to Christ.
Church, this is also our prayer for these confirmands.
The hour has come.
This hour.
Now.
This is eternal.
Amen.