The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus
May 8, 2005
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension
Proper 226, Year A
Acts 1:6-14
1 Peter 4:12-13, 5:6-11
John 17:1-11
A Sermon Preached by the Reverend Canon Carolynne G. Williams
“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.”
Imagine Jesus, in human form, praying to God.
A man, a person in a place that is unlike what we see today.
This place is not gilded with gold as the temples were, nor is it massive as the castles of centuries gone past were.
There were no heavy drapes and gilded columns.
This is a place that is simple, barren and void of comfort.
The floor of this place is made of stone and the stone is uneven, so one has to be cautious when walking.
There is dust every where because of this place being so close to the road.
The walls of this place are made of mud.
The few pieces of furniture are crude and ill shaped; but they are functional.
In one room out of two, there is a table with a bowl on it.
A table that is made out of rough wood that needs turning and a chair or two carved out of hardwood.
The bowl is used for washing hands and for washing feet that are covered with the grime of the road from a journey that lasted two to three days.
Jesus knows that he is very close to completing the work that he was sent to do.
He is moving to a higher level in his heart and mind.
But he knows that the work that he was sent to do will be completed soon.
And because of his work being completed soon,
He wants to commune with his father.
He wants to pray and hear from God.
You know how it is when you just want to be in the presence of God.
And when that happens nothing else really is or seems to be as important.
He wanted to “Steal away.”
In his last hours he wants to do something for himself because he knows that his father will be glorified.
If his father is glorified, he will be glorified.
He wants to do something for the one who sent him, he desires also, to do something for his disciples.
Jesus has looked up into the heavens; he is in the midst of the night air.
He wants his prayer with and to God to be glorified.
He knows that Christians will be protected and loved.
He has been assured that those who are in the father and the father is in them, will be protected.
The protection will come through trusting in God.
This shield and offer of eternal life is to know God.
This prayer will shift from petitioning God to inviting all of us into a family conversation with God.
This conversation will lead to all of us understanding that there is a mystery that commands loyalty, love and devotion.
And the family dynamics will call for relationships to be transformed.
This family relationship through prayer will not always be clear as to what will happen next.
But just as Christ was praying to God for all, the family of God, today, has to continue to pray to glorify God.
And in glorifying God as we do each Sunday corporately and during the week through daily living, the hunger, the void, the space longing to be filled is there for a reason.
The freedom from worry and the clearance of a troubled heart is given and will be given to those who allow themselves to trust in the grace of God.
Jesus knows that there will be unity among believers.
The unity comes when the advocate is allowed to be alive.
The advocate will ensure the Oneness of Christ.
The oneness of Christ is sought through the seeking of wholeness.
The wholeness is completed through the desire of the heart to please God.
In other words, this farewell prayer prayed to the great high priest is not just about Jesus’ death. It is about hope, it is about the Resurrection and it is about the Ascension.
It is a prayer about one who is willingly laying down his life.
The longest prayer in the New Testament is spoken by the one who cares and loves those who seek the protection of the advocate, the Holy Spirit.
We want God to be glorified because of the love that we have for God.
We, as the family of God, want unity among the people of God as the disciples did.
The disciples of Jesus’ time and the followers of today are praying for the growing family of God. We are members of this family.
This prayer to the high Priest was for all who have given themselves to God.
The disciples heard Jesus praying for them and were comforted.
They were comforted because they understood the meaning of prayer.
They were comforted because they were told that they would not be left alone.
“I will never leave you or forsake you.”
They were no longer afraid because they were assured even with their doubt that God is still praying for us.
Just as we pray to God for others and for ourselves.
We are comforted in the midst of the mystery.
And for this, we are to be thankful and glorify God.
The disciples were comforted, given hope and their hearts were no longer troubled.
What do we have to do to be comforted today? What do we as people of God have to hold on to when living life gets to be overwhelming and filled with meaningless options? How do we make life changing decisions sometimes when we don’t have all of the facts? Or, if we have all of the facts and it is not what we want to do?
What we have is a community of faith in which to thrive and grow and we have a hope in the God of life.
Let me be more specific.
I was baptized at the age of nine as I have shared with you before.
I was sealed in the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.
While that was comforting to me and was a cause for celebration each year, somehow it did not seem to be enough.
It was also comforting because my parents told me that it was comforting….
At the age of 27, it was apparent to me that my way of seeking unity and peace was not working. The baptism that I had experienced was in my estimation, wearing off. The radiance of the light that I had heard about being within was becoming dull. Those who were observers of my life were seeing, I had hoped, what I wanted them to see including my parents.
What I wanted them to see was a beautiful family. At that time, the three of us.
I worked very hard to accomplish this.
We were healthy, vibrant, had our own money in the bank. We were able to travel almost on a moments notice. We had friends who cared for us and us for them. Our parents were in good health and were enjoying life. All was well to anyone observing and yet there was something within me that was missing.
For a while I ignored, the space, the emptiness that was somehow always there in the midst of everyday living. That space I would attempt to fill with all of those things that we use to fill the void.
After all I was a Christian. A very good mother, a wonderful wife. A true friend and I was one who took pride in keeping her word, no matter what. And with all of that goodness there was an emptiness that left me longing for something that I couldn’t quite harness.
My father would say to me, Carolynne, your Mother and I pray for you and your sister everyday.
My thoughts in response when he told me this was usually, well that’s nice.
And sometimes, I said it…. How arrogant of me.
He was praying I’m sure the prayer that Jesus prayed to God.
Lord, take care of my children.
God keep them safe. If they must go through battles, be there for them and bring them through. He and my mother prayed as I pray for my children as a mother.
In spite of their prayers, I was worrying more and trying harder and regardless of what I did it still was not enough, the space, the emptiness was still there.
It was not until I acknowledged within my heart that I did not have it all together and all was not well and I certainly was not at peace. Especially when it came to a peace that passed all understanding.
It was not until I desired the indwelling of God through the Holy Spirit, that the void was filled.
It was filled because of the desire to be in a relationship with God.
It was filled because I knew that there was more to living than what I had experienced and that the level of living that I was seeking had more to do with the mystery of God in my life and less to do with all that I had been giving my time to.
This prayer that is prayed by all of us to the High priest is worthy to be prayed for others as well as for ourselves.
Just as we desire with passion from our heart what we desire, God desires for us something greater and purer, just as it was wanted for the disciples.
When our helper is present, things happen.
When our helper is alive within us and active through our circumstances we change.
We are transformed.
The relationship between yourself and something greater than you and greater than me is cause for life to shift.
And when life shifts, not always in the direction that we anticipated, but always toward God, then we are fulfilling our purpose in life and living according to God’s will for us.
So let us remember to pray as the disciples prayed.
Always to the high priest, to God our guide and through the one that feeds us.
The protector, the shield, the one who glorifies and manifests love through us all.
There are times in prayer that reasoning has to be pushed out of the way.
He looks toward the heavens and glorifies the father.
Our hour is forever coming and we must acknowledge God’s presence, fully.
Let us be present with God and praise God forever more.
Remembering his death, Resurrection and Ascension is essential because it is all for us, God’s family.
God’s love is unconditional forever more.
Amen.
Comments? Contact The Rev. Carolynne Williams: cwilliams@stphilipscathedral.org