by The Rev. Dr. Max Lynn
SCRIPTURE READINGS John 17:20-26, Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
Transcribed from the sermon preached on JUNE 1, 2025
John 17:20-26
20 "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me.
26 I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."
Revelation 22:12-23
12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood.
16 "I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star."
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let him who hears say, "Come." And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,
19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! I do not pray for these only, but also those who believe in me through their word,
21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou has sent me.
22 The glory which thou has given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
23 I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one.
I remember driving our son Kevin in our van, loaded to the hilt with all his junk, down to UC Santa Cruz dorm room. He was super excited and so were we. We were happy and proud. He was super excited to start this new chapter of his life. An adult, on his own. We had raised him for this moment. And while we were confident in him, we were nervous about letting him go. It was a pretty heavy moment when we got back in the car to drive home without him. Feliciana and I looked over at each other, she had a little tear in her eye, and we prayed, “God be with him.” We were proud and happy and sad at the same time. Even now seven years after his death recalling this moment, I am still proud, happy and sad. Life moves on, and we hope and pray people we part with are prosperous and productive, find love and purpose, and know the Spirit of all life is with them. We want them to live an adventure, to live with a sense God is leading them, even when we really don’t know what will happen from this moment to the next. Just one thing, we know, wherever we go, whatever we do, the spirit of God is with us, in us and between us. We are never alone. No, never alone. There is a Spirit of life that is greater than one individual life and yet in each life. It is this Spirit within us which unites us, with God, with Jesus, with each other. Jesus prays, even as you are in me and I in you, so let them be one. I in them and you in me. A truly beautiful prayer.
So, our passage from John is a part of a long prayer by Jesus in the upper room before his arrest. The scholars of historical Jesus wouldn’t attribute much of what is recorded in John as actually spoken by Jesus. The whole gospel has a mystical tone. I is about our internal spiritual journey and understanding. We get the sense that it is personal, for both John the author and for Jesus. It is filled with passion: he isn’t just praying so others can hear it, he is praying because he expects and wants God to hear him. It is a mystical vision which invites us to see unity with cosmic proportions. The unity and love we experience in life together, in little acts of kindness, in mutual support, in helping with a meal. In sharing walk, in creating something helpful for someone else, in making space and inviting in, through music or mutual prayer, little moments of beauty, even moments of beauty in the midst of ugliness or tribulation, sending food to Gaza, support for refugees, sitting with someone in illness or grief – even when there are no words that really make it better, or make sense of it. God is there. God is there in us.
But not just there. Not just then. For this Spirit of the Creator, Spirit of Christ that was in the beginning, the knowledge or Logos of Creation, the Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is to come, we get a cosmic taste in those little moments of unity. They are signs of the spirits undying presence throughout the universe. Ideally, we would just tap into the source and never be without it or never feel alone.
There are moments when we may not be able to feel God. God may feel distant, or simply not there, non-existent. In those moments we need others to hold us, to hold faith. Life is a series of ups and downs and all arounds. We find beauty and love, excitement and meaning to live for, to give thanks for, to guide our lives. We grow and learn, make friends and fall in love. We have fun and go on adventures. We find a gift and go after it. We nurture and then apply it. We find a way to serve and make a living. Maybe we get married and maybe we have kids. Then sooner or later things don’t go the way we had hoped, the challenges are great, our confidence is shaken, our sense of divine appointment is shaken. And maybe we fall away, or run away, we go in the opposite direction, as if we can escape God or life, or responsibility or ourselves. Or maybe we just want to give up. We wonder if we have what it takes to go on. As Jesus says in the Garden before his arrest: “Father, if it be your will, take this cup from me.”
And yet is it just here, where God promises never to leave us. And it is just here, in these tough moments when God and Jesus would have us be there for one another, to forgive, to support, to encourage, to do the best we can to love one another. By grace we are wounded healers, forgiven forgivers – blessed and united by the one spirit.
In moments of levity and beauty, when we experience awe, we feel a sense of vastness and connectedness. A first glimpse of Yosemite, the forest after a fresh snow fall, surfing dolphins and gliding pelicans on a bright blue day. The birth of a baby, the way they seem to mold into you when you lay them on your chest. As Garrison Keilor once put it, in “ordinary things like cooking and small talk, through storytelling and making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports and music and raising kids – all the places the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. This is a gift from God, a vision of the Spirit in the world. A vision that our little life is connected to something greater, beyond this particular time and place. This moment is not isolated; we are not isolated.
There is so much to divide us. Selfishness and greed and ignorance. And we hurt one another, sin against one another. I don’t know why God allows such things, why God won’t or can’t take this cup from us. I figure I will not ever understand enough to have a satisfactory answer. It is just the way life is. There are hiccups and bad luck and the way nature works. That combined with human sinfulness, and we find difficulty in life. And yet God is one. God is with us, in us and through us. The beginning and the end.
In his beautiful book entitled, Tokens of Trust, the 104 th Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, describes the strangeness and wonder of this Jesus who prays: “Yes, Jesus is a human being in whom God’s action is at work without interruption or impediment. But wait a moment: the Jesus we meet in the Gospels is someone who prays, who speaks of putting his will and his decisions at the service of his Father. He is someone who is in a relationship of dependence on the one he prays to as Father. In him there is divine purpose, power, and action; but there is also humility, responsiveness, and receptivity.” https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/2229-on-behalf-of-everyone
Jesus prays a passionate last prayer. He lifts up what he hopes not only for the disciples there in the upper room, but for all of us. That we be one with him, with God, with each other. How is God calling you to help us be one? Perhaps you will be nominated and elected as a Deacon or Elder today. Or maybe you do one or two of the tasks that help us come together in worship and fellowship after worship. Or you work behind the scenes to keep everyone up on communication or keep the facility in one piece. Maybe you are the churches hands and feet out in the world, visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, welcoming the outcast, forgiving sinners and doing justice. And even at home with family and at work you carry Christ, because we are one, he is inside you and me, now and always. So, you are kind, and supportive and challenging and creative and hard working because the Spirit calls you to be – that the world may know we are one.
And soon enough we will end this life in this body. And as Christ is in us, we face death with grace, grateful for the beauty and love we have known, and grateful and hopeful that this is just a foretaste of the beauty and love we will experience when we get to join the great eternal Spirit. As far as heaven goes, I think we use symbols and words we do understand to describe something so magnificent and amazing and wonderful, we can’t yet fully grasp or understand. So, any description is at best an approximation. Because I have experienced the grace of Christ, grace and beauty in nature, and learned Jesus teachings and seen many amazing acts of moral beauty, because I have seen visions of glorious light and Spirit when someone takes their last breath, I just have faith that after we face the fact and fear of death, what follows will be joy and glory. Come Lord Jesus.