Seventh Sunday of Easter

(Series B) 

May 12, 2024

Sermon Text: John 17:11-19

                     One of the Great Miracles of Christianity and the Christian Church is it continual survival. So someone put it a few years ago, "It's simply miraculous that the Church has survived nearly 2,000 years of what can only be described honestly as 'gross mismanagement'."

                     Moreover, the Christian faith we confess- "the faith that has once for all been entrusted to the saints," as St. Jude says... the faith that has come down to us in the Creeds and Confessions of those believers who came before us- has not changed across the centuries. And this is so even though the Church has seen the rise and fall of nations and empires. It has survived governments who supported her... and governments that were downright hostile to her. 

                    Now, today many people are concerned about the fact that we seem to be entering what some call a 'post-Christian era'...and perhaps we are. Interest in historic Christianity seems to be waning. Church attendance is down across the board, regardless of the denomination or non-denomination. People are tending to follow their own preferences when it comes to spiritual matters from whatever is available to them on the 'religious buffet table'.

                    And yet, still, the church goes on...sometimes struggling, sometimes faltering, sometimes, all in number. But it just keeps going and going and going-like the Energizer bunny who just won't quit. The Church has survived communism. It is surviving in China and places like Sudan, where in spite of official opposition, whether it be from Communism or Islam, the number of Christians continues to grow. It was Joseph Stalin who once said that the Christian Church was like a hard, iron spike- the harder you drive it, the deeper it goes. 

                  So what's the reason? What's the secret behind the Church's longevity? What keeps her going over and against every attempt to snuff her out, shove her into the margins of society, or drive her underground?

                The answer lies in today's Gospel reading. Jesus' High Priestly Prayer- the prayer He prayed in the upper room on the night when He was betrayed. A prayer that is uniquely His; for no one else could ever pray this prayer. It is this prayer that is the secret to the Church's life and survival, and why she rolls on this day and will do so until the end of the days. 

                 Now this prayer comes in three parts. The first is between Father and Son in verse 1 to 11. Jesus prays to the Father for Himself- for His mission in the world, for His impending death and resurrection- that he would bring glory to the Father in His sacrificial death on the cross so that all might know the Father and the Son and so have eternal life. 

                Then in part two, verses 11to 19, He prays for His apostles- those men gathered in the upper room with Him and who are hearing this prayer. These men were given Him by the Father, and He taught them everything by the Word given Him by the Father, and they believed. And as the Son is the apostle of the Father, So these men would be His apostles, His "sent ones," His authorized representatives who would go out into the world to speak in His stead and by His command. They would speak this way because Jesus was going to the Father, but they would now be the ones going out into the world to bring glory to Him. 

                And finally, in the third and last part, verses 20-26, Jesus prays for the whole Church, for all believers everywhere, for "those who will believe in me through their word," the apostolic word. And that's us, as well. He prays for their unity in union with Him, that the world would know that the Father sent His Son into the world and loves the world in His beloved Son. This is the prayer that has kept the Church going through all these years and decades and centuries for nearly 2,000 years. This is the secret of the Chruch's life- this High Priestly prayer of her Lord. 

             Now, today's Gospel reading focuses on the second part- the apostles and their ministry. A ministry which is not confined to these men. but is an office... an authority and set of responsibilities in the Church that is to be filled and handed on to others. 

            In the First Reading from the book of Acts, we thus hear how Matthias was chosen and added to the apostles to fill the vacancy left by Judas. The apostolic ministry is greater than the man. Judas was gone. He had betrayed His Lord and hung himself in despair. His apostolic office, however, remained and needed to be filled. Mathias was the man. And later, Paul, too... the thirteenth apostle, as it were, the one "untimely born" on the road to Damascus. And then, generation after generation a great number of pastors called and ordained into the same apostolic office that Jesus established in sending His Twelve apostles. 

         Now, notice Jesus prays for their joy, that they would have "His joy" fulfilled in themselves. John Kleinig,  an Australian Lutheran theologian and pastor, speaks eloquently of the joy of the holy ministry, that no matter how challenging, difficult, and at times dangerous, it may be... whether the church is thriving or when it is not... there is this abiding and deep joy. 

        And this 'joy' isn't simply the joy of vacation, or the joy of a job well done in spite of circumstances; but rather, the joy of Christ who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and scorned its shame. The apostles and their successors would come to know that joy and share in it with each baptism...every communion...every sinner absolved- a joy which seems to come literally out of nowhere and for no earthly, good reason. A joy that comes from Jesus' prayer for those He sends with authority to proclaim His Gospel... those sent "into the world and yet not to be of the world."

     Now, on the one hand, pastors are no different than the people they are to serve. They like to blend in,  be part of the crowd. Especially they don't like to stick out, when in so doing they might bring upon themselves ridicule or opposition or persecution. That same 'old Adam' that is in their hearers is also in them...causing them to retreat, to hide, to circle the wagons, to remove themselves from the world, and barricade themselves behind walls of isolation. 

      But the apostolic ministry that Jesus established is a sent ministry- sent into a sinful, dying world that has been redeemed by Jesus. Notice, Jesus' prayer is not that the apostles, that pastors, be taken out of the world, but that in the world they would be protected against the evil one. 

        And yes, the devil is real. To our modern ears that might sound a bit silly and superstitious in our sophisticated age; but the evil one is quite real, darkness is on the prowl and he's masquerading as an angel of light seeking someone to devour. And the greatest threat to the church is not government or human opposition or whatever else the world raises up against Christ's church; but rather, the old evil foe, the devil who knows the truth- the truth that he is defeated, and yet delights in spreading the lie that Christ has not conquered sin and death for you... the lie that you are a good, decent, upright person... the lie that you must somehow pay for your own sins in order to be right with God. 

       And so, Jesus prays that His apostles would be sanctified in the truth. His ministry is a sanctified ministry, a holy ministry. It sure isn't holy because the apostles or their successors in office are holy in themselves. Anything but. They, too, are sinners...sinners justified by faith for Jesus' sake. But the apostolic ministry is holy because the Word is holy. And all who hold an office in this ministry are sanctified by the truth of the Word. 

        But what does that mean for those who hear the Word proclaimed by the apostles, by pastors? Just this- the holy ministry is only as good as the Word it preaches. Today, it seems that many a church is looking for all sorts of things from their pastors- dynamic leadership, inspirational messages, motivational speakers, even miracles. 

       The apostles Jesus sent into the world, however, were not trained 'church professionals' armed with the latest mission methodologies from corporate headquarters. They were fishermen, a tax collector, a political operative, and who knows what else. All they had was Jesus' Word and the promised Holy Spirit. And with nothing more than the Word and the Spirit, they started the ball of the Church rolling which has continued to this very day...even to us. 

      And what has kept the ball rolling has not the ingenuity and initiative of men, but the power of this high priestly prayer and the High Priest who stands behind it. Jesus said He consecrated Himself so that His apostles would be sanctified in the truth. And being sanctified, made holy, by Jesus' death and resurrection, He now consecrates, ordains, them to speak the truth concerning Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 'Truth-speaking' is what the Church is supposed to be about- "speaking the truth in love."

    It isn't about making people happy; after all, even the truth can hurt at times. It isn't about fixing all of life's problems... or transforming society... or improving someone's social or economic status... or all the other countless ways we have gotten it so wrong. Rather, the Church is about speaking the truth- the truth of our condition...that we are so corrupted by the virus of sin, that everything we think, say, or do must be forgiven...that Christ's death on the cross is the one and only payment price for all sins of all people for all time.

      What sanctifies the apostles, what makes the ministry holy, is not the men who do it; after all, they too are sinners...but, rather, the Word of truth they speak. Remember that the next time you are disappointed by the church, by your fellow Christians, by your pastor.  And whether it is Holy Baptism, or Holy Communion, or Holy Absolution, or the Holy Church, or the Holy Ministry...what makes all this holy is the Holy One, Jesus, who shed His holy, precious blood for the cleansing of sinners- His Holy Word of truth. 

       And when we confess in the Nicene Creed, "I believe in the one holy Christian and apostolic Church," we are saying that which St. Paul declares in Ephesians, namely, the Church is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone." In other words, Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church. He prays for His Church. He prays for His apostles and pastors that they would speak the truth of His Word. He prays that you would remain in Him through the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation that He delivers to you through the apostles and pastors. And because of that prayer, the Church rolls on....today, tomorrow, and to the end of days. This is most certainly true. Amen.