Ascension & Easter 7, Mother’s Day
Scripture Reading: John 17: 6-19
Happy Mother’s Day! May the Lord’s grace and blessing be upon your home, family, and workplace. I hope that today is a day of blessing for all moms, and that God’s special grace and comfort will be with those who have parted with their mother on earth.
Mothers embody divine nurturing and protective love, tirelessly watching over their children, guiding them through life’s challenges, and praying for their well-being. As we honour mothers today, let’s also recognize and appreciate God’s unconditional love they bring into our lives.
For those who have felt the absence or negativity of parental love, may they and we find the love of Christ that transcends all earthly relationships, a love that embraces us in our brokenness and lifts us up with unfailing grace and compassion.
Today, as we gather in the presence of the Lord, let us reflect on the profound words of Jesus’ farewell prayer for his disciples.
John 17 has been referred to as both the “high-priestly prayer” and the “farewell prayer.” This prayer highlights Jesus’ relationship with God and expresses concern for His disciples and their mission in the world. Jesus is praying to God in this divine community, asking for God’s presence and guidance as the disciples are sent to the world to witness God’s love and oneness. The main point here is that the disciples are in the world under God’s protection.
Jesus was with his disciples, giving them the word of God, which they kept. As the Lord left this world, he said a farewell prayer for his disciples, the people of God. Jesus prayed for them specifically, recognizing their faithfulness and their journey together. Believers are described as those who have obedience and faith.
Jesus’ prayer for His followers highlights Jesus’ deep concern and care for His disciples. Jesus, in his tender love and compassion, prayed for unity among his followers. He recognized the importance of harmony within the body of Christ, both in our relationship with God and with one another. Unity not only strengthens the bonds of fellowship among believers but also serves as a powerful witness to the world of the transformative power of Christ’s love. May we live out and show the importance of unity within the body of Christ, both in terms of relationship with God and with one another.
Jesus prayed for protection for His disciples as they journeyed in the world because He understood the challenges and temptations they would face. He prayed for them to be kept from the evil one and to be sanctified in the truth. Sanctification or holiness is often misunderstood as doing good, going above, or trying to be holier. But the meaning of holiness is that of being set apart for God’s special purpose. Just as holy water itself is not fresher or purer than other water but is given a role to distinguish it. He prays that His followers will be sanctified so that they may bring the good news to the world.
Jesus prayed that God watch over Christ’s people who must stay in the world though they are not of the world. Living in the world does not mean being part of the world. In this world, Jesus prays for God’s protection of the disciples. In verse 11, the words translated “protect” in the NRSV and NIV have traditionally been interpreted in English Bibles with the verb “keep”. It includes overtones of attending carefully and taking care of. The origin of this word describes the care and attention that parents provide to their children. Today’s text emphasises the significance of loving and supporting one another as members of the same spiritual family. Jesus prays that God will treat the disciples with the same loving care that He has received.
Despite the challenges and trials ahead, Jesus prayed for his disciples to have the fullness of joy. May we find the source of true joy in the Lord regardless of our circumstances, which is found in a deep relationship with God.
The holiness that they might have thought to achieve by escaping from the world can be found not via disengagement, but through God’s action and immersion in God’s word. Verse 17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth”. Christ recognises their desire to be holy but redirects their yearnings to the truth of God’s word that is revealed here and now of the world.
Jesus emphasized the importance of his disciples keeping God’s word. May we reflect on the significance of Scripture in our lives and the transformative power it holds. For Christians, infiltration is a better strategy than isolation. Jesus emphasized the importance of abiding in God’s Word, for it is through the truth revealed in Scripture that we are sanctified and empowered to fulfill God’s will in the world.
John emphasizes that the disciples are called, set apart, and sent into the world, as Jesus was sent by the Father into the world, in the midst of conflict and confusion. Jesus’ followers are sanctified by the truth, trusting in faith in God’s word. Believing and witnessing in the world means that the believers and faith communities should live in the world but not of the world.”
May we take seriously its intercessory role as a prayerful community, in solidarity with the victims of injustice, discrimination, and marginalization, while discerning the reasons of this unjust world and broken relationships through our active witness in the lives of people. And hopefully, in the love of Christ, we can transform this world into a world that is more pleasing to God through our love, unity, sanctification, and witness.
Both Jesus and HIs followers are sent into the world. Like Jesus, they do not belong to the world and are hated by it. Jesus’ time in the world is now coming to an end, but the disciples will remain in the world. Jesus asks God to make the disciples holy in the world. He wanted us to be witnesses to the world. Unity and harmony in the church serve as a witness to the world.
Jesus’ farewell prayer reminds us that, as followers of Christ, we are not immune to the trials of this world, but we can take refuge in the protective embrace of our Heavenly Father. May we trust God’s protection for our spiritual and physical life and fulfill God’s will for the church by working to keep its unity.
As Jesus prepares to leave this world, He entrusts His disciples and us with a holy mission to be witnesses for the world. Just as the Father sent Jesus into the world, we are also sent to preach the good news of redemption and reconciliation to all nations. May our lives reflect and demonstrate the values and character of Christ in the world.
Why did the risen Lord have to say goodbye to his disciples on earth and ascend into heaven? Was it to show them eternal life and to give them hope for life after death? Let’s remember together the prayer of the Lord who died, rose, and ascended for us.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us heed the words of Jesus’ farewell prayer and embrace our calling as ambassadors of Christ in the world. May we strive for unity and harmony within the body of Christ, trusting in God’s protection and seeking sanctification through His Word. And may our lives be a testimony to the transforming power of God’s love, as we bear witness to the world and participate in the ongoing work of reconciliation and unity.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)