Abides and Guides

John 17:6-19

“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

This  passage is first and foremost an intercessory prayer.  Nearing his own death, Jesus presents his disciples to God, describes their call, their journey, and their difficulties as they move into a future without their rabbi.  Jesus asks God to know them and to protect them in a world that does not share their values and in the face of forces which actively undermine love and regard. How can the disciples stay the path in such a world?  

We all need both to be prayed for in such a way and need to learn how to pray in this manner.  This requires that we be clear about our values and the ways they align with and/or contradict secular values.  We must be aware of the promises, consequences and difficulties inherent in our faith.  It is a hard enough path to follow without trying to do so blindfolded.  

In FIRL this week I asked both groups what they would pray for if they knew that they would be dead within the week.  In particular, I asked how they would pray for the people they loved that they would be leaving behind.    One woman said she would take her granddaughter, hold her face and tell her:  “No matter what, always remember Nana always loves you.”  Others would pray  for comfort and peace for their children. Several hoped their children would remember some of the lessons they had tried to teach—another that her son might rediscover his faith, and finally, one person said that they would pray their children lived to realize their worth.  We want our children to have a home base and a foundation.  We want our children to live connected and meaningful lives.  But how do we get there? In real life, it starts with someone who loves us.  

Psychologically, the goal of a lot of therapy and self help is to be able to accept ourselves.  However, I do not believe that can happen unless we have been in a relationship where we received such acceptance.  Understanding the concept is not sufficient.  It is something that must be experienced—and once experience, remembered.  

The ‘good’ life can be defined in many ways and the values we choose make a big difference.  I had a client years ago who owned a manufacturing plant.  He was trying to decide if he was going to invest in scrubbers for the smokestacks at his facility.  There was no financial gain.  He might gain some good PR for his environmental awareness but his company would make less money because it cost money to buy the scrubbers.  His decision rested in his values and what was ultimately important.  If he chose on the basis of what was best for him personally, the answer would be no to the scrubbers.  If he answered on the basis of the larger community, his answer might be yes.  His self interest  and his regard for consequences he might not live to see were in conflict.  Or to use the words of the scripture, the way of the world was in conflict with the way of the Word.  

Jesus consistently taught mindfulness of individual worth and regard for neighbor— no matter how the society of the day ranked them.  The centrality of regard is the means and the indicator of God’s love.  That is a tough standard.  This is not a regard that comes naturally to us.  It must be taught and practiced.  It is a guidepost which enables us to live a life that matters. We will regularly fail but it is the unwavering expectation of Jesus that we struggle with such decisions in every aspect of our lives. Our lives are too short and our wisdom too limited for us to ever be sure if we have chosen well.  The best we can do is to stay in the struggle to “seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly without God.”  

Jesus knew, perhaps more than anyone both the promise and demands of such a life. Such a life requires trust, humility, and gratitude.  It regularly runs contrary to human fear, self centeredness, entitlement, and self righteousness. It is woven into big social and political decisions and it is a part of every human relationship.   Here is a list of particular and ordinary life situations I encountered this week.  Each of these questions are religious questions and each emerged out of ordinary real life relationships.  

There are no right answers because choosing to be loving (to self and others) is a process not an outcome. Engaging such a process is the life of faith.  In real life each of us needs acceptance, support, and guidance.  In real life these questions press us to be accountable and self reflective.  They expose our contradictory selves.  They ask us to be intentional about our love. They are asked in the promise that each of us is loved.  

Loving is not sustainable unless we are first loved.  Loving is too hard to do alone.  Jesus lived that life in relationship with God and offers that life in relationship to us.  His promise for disciples of every age is: