John 17:1-11 - An Ascension Sunday Sermon

John 17:1-11

Today is Ascension Sunday, it is the Sunday on which we mark the day when Jesus left his disciples here on earth and returned to be with the Father. It is called the Ascension, because quite literally, Jesus ascended, or rose into the air and disappeared from sight. Jesus gives a few last instructions and words of wisdom to his disciples and then is removed from their presence, to return to reside with the Father thus ending his time here on earth. This marks the end of Jesus’ own ministry here on earth and marks the beginning of that ministry being carried out by those who follow him in relationship with God. Luke records the events of the Ascension in the 24th chapter of the gospel he penned as well as in the first chapter of Acts.

You may have noticed, that although the latter of these two was read at the beginning of this service, neither are my sermon text today. My sermon text this morning comes instead from the gospel of John. It is not a text which follows Christ’s resurrection but is instead is part of a prayer Christ makes on behalf of his disciples as well as all those who would eventually come to believe, which is in turn a part of a section of last teaching which Christ makes to his disciples right before the crucifixion.

It is traditional on Ascension Sunday to ponder the last words of Jesus before he rose in all his glory and was no longer seen on this earth. Usually we think of the ascension as the moment when Christ rises in all his glory returns to go to be with the Father, but John, the ultimate display of the glory of God is seen in the crucifixion; the crucifixion being the ultimate display of God’s love for us. Christ’s death is the moment when all humanity sees once and for all time exactly how much God loves each and every one of us, and to what extents God is willing to go to restore relationship with us. For John, God’s glory is seen when God breaks into our world to show us love, to bring us grace, to draw us into relationship. God’s glory is God’s love seen in this world, ultimately through Jesus Christ and culminating in his crucifixion.

Christ’s purpose here on earth is to show us the glory of God, the richness of life with God, the fullness of what it means to be in relationship with God. The ultimate manifestation of the love of God reaching for us, drawing us into relationship with God is seen in Jesus’ willingness to lay down his life for all humanity, so that we might truly see the glory of the love of God.

Just as in the Acts passage, where we have the last words of Jesus, as recorded by Luke, just prior to the glory (as seen by Luke) being made manifest in Christ’s ascension, the words we have hear in John are the words of Christ (according to John) just before God’s glory is made manifest in the crucifixion. The words that Jesus speaks to God on our behalf here are some of the last words before he fulfills all that needs to be done for the Father’s glory to be truly seen here on earth. The last words Christ speaks before all humanity sees how far, wide and deep the love of God for each and every one of us truly extends.

So the question is, "what does Jesus say here then?" What are the words that he feels are so important as God’s glory is about to truly be seen through the sacrifice he will make on our behalf? Christ stops and prays for us. He lifts us up in prayer. Jesus is about to die for us, die so that we might truly see the love of God for us, and he stops to pray for us, to pray for his disciples and to pray for all those who will ever come to believe.

He begins by asking that God’s glory, the earthly manifestation of God’s love can come upon him so that he can in turn manifest God’s love, God’s glory before all. Jesus begins praying that he might give them, the twelve, the disciples, all those who come after, eternal life.

When you think of eternal life you may think of living for all eternity with God, in some other realm, called Heaven, where we will have everything that is good, we will join with the angels singing God’s praises and living lives forever worshipping our creator. Or you may think of a kingdom, with pearly gates, golden streets and a crystalline sea. You may think of a place made of clouds, with cherubs, who resemble chubby 18 month old babies, with golden harps and tiny little wings. You may think of a place where all your deepest wishes are fulfilled, all that brings you joy or happiness is with in reach and where you will never know the touch pain, hurt or sorrow again.

Jesus, as recorded John’s gospel, does not present ideas of eternal life that resemble any of these things. The idea of eternal or abundant life, presented by Jesus in the gospel of John, is a life lived as it was created to be lived. When reading John you quickly learn that we were created for abundant life and the goal of Christ’s life, death and resurrection was to bring eternal life to all those who believe. The abundant life, of which Jesus speaks so frequently, in the book of John, is life lived in relationship with God. Jesus says exactly that right here, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Eternal life is something found in relationship with God. Something we have as we know God, and we can know God through the one whom God sent, Jesus Christ. In knowing Christ, his life, his teachings, his death and resurrection, we come to know God.

The word translated eternal means, to its fullest, to completion, abundant, filled up. So eternal life is abundant life, full life, life which is lived in completion, wholeness, exactly the way it is suppose to be, or meant to be. And eternal life is not found merely in the life hereafter. It not something that can only be found “when we all get to Heaven.” It is something which is found in relationship with the God of the universe, right here, right now. Jesus sees eternal life as something we can have in this life. It is something to be lived while we are here on this earth.
Eternal life is a way of living life here on earth, full, rich and free. It is a relationship with the God of universe which changes everything; who we are, how we live, how we see and experience the world, but not only is it a life lived now, but it is a life lived now that has echoes, repercussions for all eternity. Eternal life lived now, enters us into relationship with God, not only here and now but for all eternity. It joins our lives with that of our God living life full now and experiencing that abundant, eternal fullness for all time. As Jesus’ life draws to its close, his prayer is that through the glory seen in his death and resurrection all humanity may come to know, and come into relationship with God.

Jesus then talks to the Father about how he has done all he has set out to do. He has passed on all the teachings he was given to teach. He has passed on the truth of who God is and God’s desire for us. He has done all he can do, he has taught all he came to teach, now as he is going to be leaving and he has but one last prayer for us all. He asks God to protect us, so that we may be one as he is one with the Father. Jesus’ last and final prayer is for us to be united.
Jesus’ purpose is to fulfill God’s greatest desire to be in loving relationship with us and for us to in turn live in loving relationship with one another. Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and final prayer is love. We are created to be loved by God, to love God in return and then in turn love one another, to live united with one another. To be united as a church, as body, as the people of God united as one, all those who love God, are loved by God and there fore united in love for one another.
We are to love one anther Jesus loved and was loved by the Father. God, the trinity functions and moves via love. God is love; the trinity is God in relationship; Father, Son and Spirit living in mutual relationship; loving, being loved and sharing love with another. And this is how we are to live, to live the love, the unity that is experience in the trinity.

This is part of what it means to live abundant life, when we choose to live in relationship with Jesus, with the Father, with God, we are choosing to also be in relationship with all those who are loved by and love God. We are choosing to be in relationship with each other, here, as well as with all Christians where ever they are, in this city, this State, this country, this world. We are to be united as a family as a body, as one with all those who claim Christ as their own, no matter where they are, no matter who they are.

This is a call to love those whom know as well as those whom we don’t know, this is a call to love those whom we like as well as whom we don’t like, and this is a call to love those with whom we agree as well as those with whom we disagree. We are united because it is Christ’s desire that we be united; we are united because we worship and love the same God but we are also united because we all have the same call. United in Christ, united in love, united together, and loving the world with the love of Christ so that all may know the love that we know, so that all may see what it means to have abundant/eternal life. We are united not only because we love God, not only because we all believe in Jesus Christ, but we are united because we all have the same goal, to proclaim the love of God where ever we go, to whomever we encounter.
This means we have to lay aside all that would divide us. This means that we have to ignore the things that drive us crazy about each other. Let’s face it is not always easy to love one anther. We all have habits, which grate on each other. There are things about that person across the room that you wish they would change, but Jesus wants us to be united anyway, to love anyway. There are others with whom we share this space whom we find hard to love because they don’t do things quite the way we would wish they would, they do things differently than we do. There are others who seem inconsiderate, or don’t seem to follow the same rules we do, we are to be united with them, and to love them as Jesus loves them to live in unity with them, just as the Father and the Son live in unity.

But it is more than just here that this problem arises. There are Christians outside of those who gather here with whom we disagree, Christians down the street who worship differently than us, Christians who hold differing beliefs, who express themselves in ways that we find uncomfortable or perhaps even find repugnant; there are Christians we don’t want to claim, but we are not here to pick and choose who we want to be united with. There are Christians who don’t vote the way we vote, who live differently than we live, there are Christians who make choices about what they eat or drink that we would not make, but we are all Christians none-the-less. Jesus does not pray that we be united with only those with whom we agree, or with only those who follow the same code of conduct, with only those who believe as we believe, or even only those who vote as we vote, Jesus’ desire is for all his followers, for all those who are in relationship with God to be united. Jesus desires that we be united with all those who are loved by the one who love us; who love the one we love, who worship the one we worship. It is as the old hymn goes, “My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed . . . it is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me.” We are united by Christ; we are united in his life, his death, his resurrection by the love which can only be found in God. Let us accept that love, let us live in that love and most of all let us love one another with that love, being united by it in the name of Jesus Christ the one and only true living God who is in all things, and made all things.