Out of This World
(John 17: 6-19)
It’s a phenomenon I’ve observed, and I am sure there is no scientific basis to support it, but I’ve noticed that many of my friends in law enforcement pulling the pin and retiring to the country as far away as possible from where they put their time in once they got their twenty. My old regular partner from when I was in the Vice Division now lives in the Hill Country of Texas far from Houston and seems content to ride around his acreage on his tractor or riding his motorcycle. I also know a couple of Jefferson County deputy sheriffs who retired and up and moved to Montana. They wanted to get out of this world, the world they worked in, the world in which they experienced man’s inhumanity to man up close and personal. They had had enough and wanted out. I can’t say as I blame them, and they certainly earned their retirement. I’m sure they’ve questioned themselves as to whether or not they made a difference and judging by their moving to the country, far away from where they toiled, they probably think their efforts were in vain. But if the world is to get any better, we need people to remain in the world working those thankless jobs, and making a difference wherever they can.
And it’s that remaining in the world and making a difference that Jesus is talking about in our scripture reading for this morning. Before Jesus came to earth, he was one with God. And now, at this point in his earthly ministry, when his mission on earth is almost finished, He asks his Father to restore him to his original place of honor and authority. This is his prayer for his followers, his disciples who have been with him during both the good times and the difficult times. He prays: I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from this 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 comes from you. This is because I gave them the words that you gave me, and they received them. They truly understood that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. What Jesus means when he says he has revealed his Father’s name to the people he’s saying that he has shown them who God is through his life and his teachings. If you’ve seen or heard Jesus, you’ve seen or heard the word of God. They have embraced what Jesus has shown and taught them and he prays that they are ready to continue his work once he ascends to heaven. He continues by saying: I’m praying for them. I’m not praying for the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours. Everything that is mine is yours and everything that is yours is mine; I have been glorified in them. Jesus is not rejecting the world or forbidding that we pray for it; he is setting apart and praying for his disciples to be in mission to the world from which they were drawn. You can hear the concern in his voice for his disciples when he says: I’m no longer in the world, but they are in the world, even as I’m coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them in your name, the name you gave me, that they will be one just as we are one. In three years, Jesus has been in some pretty tight spots along with his disciples and has had to step in and take control of some situations that could have gotten out of hand as his enemies, the religious hierarchy, tried to trap or trick them into saying or doing something they could label as blasphemous and condemn them as being against the God of Abraham. Jesus states that when he was with them, he watched over them in the Father’s name, keeping them safe, other than the one who was destined for destruction, so that scripture would be fulfilled. He’s talking about Judas.
Jesus continues by saying that he is now coming, ascending up to heaven, and that he says these things while he is still in the world so that they, his disciples, can share completely in his joy. He feels that he has done all that he can, that his disciples are ready to carry on taking God’s holy word out into the world. Jesus says: I gave your word to them, and the world hated them, because they don’t belong to this world, just as I don’t belong to this world. I’m not asking that you take them out of this world but that you keep them safe from the evil one. He says that they don’t belong to the world any more than he belongs to the world. They are set apart for a purpose, for a mission. He asks that God make them holy in the truth, the Word of God that is truth. Jesus closes this portion of his prayer by saying: As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. I made myself holy on their behalf so that they also would be made holy in the truth.
Jesus packs a lot into this prayer. First of all, he minces no words in his statement that the world hates Christians. The world hates Christians, Followers of the Way of Jesus Christ, because our values differ from the world’s. If we lead a Christ-like life in all that we do, we are a constant reminder of their corruption, their sinfulness, their un-Christlike behavior, and rather than change their ways, they do all that they can to discredit us, to belittle us, to make us look irrelevant. They hate us because we are opposed to the status quo when it brings harm and injustice upon the least of God’s suffering and wanting children. Jesus also talks about the concept of sanctification, being set apart for sacred use, cleansed, made holy, through believing and obeying the word of God. The sanctified believer has already accepted forgiveness through Christ’s sacrificial death. It’s that daily application of God’s word that has a purifying affect on our minds and hearts, as we have been set apart for not only holiness, but also for service. And, in the midst of this prayer where he expresses his concern for his followers Jesus speaks of the joy we share with him as his followers. The key to immeasurable joy known only in living a life with Christ is living in intimate contact with Christ, and when we do, we will experience God’s special care and protection and witness the victory God brings even when defeat seems certain.
Jesus didn’t ask God to take believers out of the world but instead to use them, to use us, in the world. And because Jesus sends us into the world, we should not try to escape from the world, to move to the country, avoid all relationships with non-Christians, to leave it all behind for someone else to fix. We are called to be salt and light, and we are to do the work that God has set us apart to do. Withdrawal from the world is not an option.
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving Father, slow us down and move us by your Spirit to take time to be holy so that we may speak often with you seeking your wisdom, guidance, and comfort. May we abide in your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ always and feed on his word, nourishing our souls with his love. Make us friends with your children, show us how to help those who are weak, lost, and searching. Let us forget nothing as we work to do your will and seek your blessings upon all we do to restore your creation for every living thing that inhabits our earthly home. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
We are called to be salt and light, and we are to do the work that God has set us apart to do.
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