5-16-10 Listen Watch Video

Dear Friends,

In this week’s reading from John’s gospel we encounter a word which, in the context of the gospel, would be considered something of a paradox for most modern readers.   That word is “glory,” and John reports that Jesus spoke of “glory” in direct reference to, of all things, his own humiliation, suffering and death on a cross.  For most of us, the cross is hardly a symbol of what we would otherwise define as glory – that is, acclaim, distinction, honor and beauty.  But Jesus understood glory quite differently – namely, as that quality of life that is found only in aligning one’s self and one’s purpose with the will of God in obedience.  For Jesus, that will of God looked like giving hope to the poor, forgiving the sins of the downtrodden, extending grace to the undeserving, and loving even his enemies.

If you have ever wondered what might be the will of God for you, or how you can be certain that you have understood that will correctly, listen to the prayer of Jesus for his disciples on the last night of his life.  Just before moving on to final moment of “glory” on the cross, he gathered his disciples together and prayed for them, permitting them to overhear him as he spoke with God and shared his highest hopes for them:    

“Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one…”

His final prayer was that, just as the will of God was in Jesus, it might also be in us; and just as Jesus lived a glorious life, so too might we, together.  If you’re not sure what that means for you, perhaps you can start by simply doing what Jesus did: lifting up the hopeless, forgiving the sins of others, loving your enemies, offering grace to the least deserving. 

See you Sunday,

Rev. Mark