EASTER 7                                                                                     YEAR A ACTS 1:6-14 1 PETER 4:12-14; 5:6-11 JOHN 17:1-11 MAY 3, 4, 008 Acts 1:6, 7  So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel ?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. Last Thursday was Ascension Day. It was the day the church celebrates Jesus returning to the Father in heaven. Our reading from Acts tells of the disciples and others standing by watching as Jesus went away from them in the clouds. They stood gazing into heaven as Jesus was taken from them. Some say they were expecting Jesus to return to them that same day. They continued to expect that he would come and restore Israel freeing them from the Romans. Those gathered still misunderstood the teaching and the life of Jesus. Even after the resurrection they failed to understand that Jesus would not set them free from the power of the Romans but he came to set them free from the power of sin. They would come to understand on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to give them proper interpretation. Jesus taught his disciples but they would need to pray and seek understanding through study and through the fellowship. They would need to be diligent in gathering as a Christian community in order to know where the Lord was leading them. John 17:1, 2        After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. In our reading from John 17 Jesus prayed this powerful prayer to the Father. The Lord prayed for his disciples but he also prays this prayer for you. Jesus was nearing the end of this part of his ministry. Jesus taught his disciples everything they would need to know if they were to continue what Jesus started. Jesus would still go to the cross and die for your sins and mine, but the teaching part of the mission was finished and he was preparing to go up to Jerusalem where he would be arrested and turned over to the Romans for crucifixion. Jesus prayed many times but this prayer sounds a bit different. We see Jesus in prayer as he blesses the bread and the fish feeding 5000 people. Jesus prayed when he healed a variety of people. He prayed because he knew the Father would listen but he also knew that he could trust the Father to respond with whatever the need was. Jesus did not seek his own glory but always sought to give glory to the Father.   In this prayer Jesus asked the Father to glorify the Son so that the Son might glorify the Father. How will Jesus be glorified? What must happen before Jesus is glorified. The glory of Jesus comes with the cross. As Jesus is lifted to the cross he is also glorified. Jesus is glorified in his obedience to death, even the death of the cross. Jesus glorified the Father because he was obedient. Jesus restored creation to the Father. He redeemed our lives from the grave and restored us to the Father that we will live with God forever. Glorifying the Son also means living in the resurrection for those 40 days and also in the glory of the ascension. Being glorified begins with obedience. Jesus is completely obedient to the Father and so is glorified. John 17:6-8         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. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 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. Jesus claims you and me as belonging to God. As he prays to the Father he says that he taught his followers the name of the Lord. When he talks about making someone’s name known Jesus talks about more than just meeting someone and knowing the name. It means a certain form of intimacy. You and I have been intimate with God and with the Lord Jesus. The Father and the Son have an intimacy that says Jesus knew the Father’s wishes about everything. Jesus knew because the Father and the Son are one. You and I are taught the word of the Lord and we know that he is the one that was coming into the world. Because we hear the word of the Lord and believe it we have life and God claims us for the kingdom of God.   How do you and I have intimacy with God? How can we have a closer relationship with God? We begin with learning everything we can about God. When Denise and I first started dating we tried to learn everything we could about each other. The first couple of days we did not learn much because we were just beginning the relationship. As the days, weeks and months went by we started to learn more. The more we know about each other the closer we get. When I first came to Our Savior’s I didn’t know much about you and you really didn’t know much about me. I was given a profile and I knew some things about you. The same was true for you. You received my profile and you knew some things about me but true intimacy cannot happen until we come together and really get to know each other. We can know things about each other but that does not make a relationship. For Denise and me the relationship developed into a marriage when we got past the initial stages of knowing about each other. We grew closer and we got to know each other. The intimacy between pastor and church member grows as we move beyond simply knowing things about each other. It grows as we really know each other. We know vulnerabilities and we know what makes us who we are.   Jesus knew his disciples and they knew him. There was a wonderful intimacy that allowed them to move into that closer relationship. There were still things the disciples needed to know. That would not come until after the resurrection and the ascension of the Lord. It would come to them as the Holy Spirit directed them. They knew the truth and they knew they were in this for the rest of their lives. They trusted the word of God and the truth the Lord gives. John 17:11 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. Jesus prays for their protection. He wants them protected because he wants to spend eternity with them. He wants the disciples and you protected from the evil one. The best way to stay protected is to stay together. When I was at St Luke’s employees were warned about going to the parking lot alone at night. They should walk to the car in groups. When we are alone we are an easier target for those that wish us harm. The same is true in the church. When you try to walk alone you are an easy target for Satan. Satan loves to get us isolated from the rest of the body of Christ. The devil can talk us into things that we may not do if we remain with the rest of the body. Jesus wants them to be one as the Father and Son are One. He wants spiritually healthy Christians leading his church. Our Lord prays to the Father that we would be protected. We are protected because we belong to the Father and the Son.   You and I are one body claimed by the Lord Jesus. You and I have heard the word of truth. We must stop gazing into heaven hoping he will restore the kingdom back to us. We must stop standing around waiting for someone else to do the important ministry that lies before us. We must stop being idle and doing nothing. Jesus told his disciples to go back and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. We celebrate Pentecost next weekend. We study and we pray and seek a better understanding of the teachings of the Lord so that when we are sent out we are equipped with the knowledge and wisdom of God. You are a child of God. The Lord Jesus on the cross has claimed you. You have seen the glory of God. Walk in intimacy with God. AMEN.