Sermon for 7th Sunday of Easter – John 17:6-19

In the world but not of the world. Have you ever heard that phrase? What does it mean? Like holding ourselves to a high standard. Being disciplined. Abstaining from worldly influences. It is a good way to be popular? Probably not. I remember when I was in high school. My family was Catholic, but we never went to church. But then a classmate down the street invited me to her Baptist youth group. So I went, and I had a great time. I really got sucked into the group. It gave me a real awakening of faith. Now, a big part of the culture was to be strong for the Lord. No drinking or smoking or sex. You could only listen to Christian music or watch Christian TV. You had to be careful who you hung out with so you wouldn’t be led astray. I was ok with that because I felt like I was being a true disciple. Except then I graduated and went to a Lutheran university, and it was all depravity from there…. (just kidding!)

In the world but not of the world. For a lot of Christians, this means that you’re trying to follow Jesus. To be pure and holy. But you’ve got a problem. You’re stuck in this broken world that keeps derailing you from your mission. The world’s full of strife. Politics. Racism. Mask-wearers versus anti-maskers. What we think about the police. So many issues, which may not seem religious, but a lot of folks believe this is supposed to be a Christian nation, so everything starts to feel religious. You pick the “right” side and avoid folks on the other side because they’re a bad influence.

But something seems off about that kind of avoidance. We don’t remember Jesus avoiding anyone. He was drawn to sinners and called them friends. So “in the world but not of the world” becomes more of an internal thing. Where it’s ok to have friends we disagree with, as long as we stand up for truth. Because maybe it’ll rub off on them. Or so we hope. Except, I don’t know about you, but friendship seems a lot harder these days. Or even getting along with co-workers or family members. Folks seem a lot less guarded about what comes out of their mouths. We’ve really got to watch what we say, so we don’t trigger those folks who disagree with us. We want to avoid arguments. We want to avoid risking our relationships. So, “in the world but not of the world” feels like it’s still about avoidance, but now we just avoid rocking the boat.

Jesus’ disciples felt the same way. Following Jesus, they’ve witnessed how his words and miracles transform lives. He frees the captives. He gives new life to folks, figuratively and literally. His fame keeps growing. But so do his enemies. Increasing anger from the folks in power. The disciples hear word how folks are getting kicked out of synagogues and the Temple for even suggesting that Jesus might be the Messiah. And that’s frightening because that means being cut off from your whole social support system. So folks are starting to distance themselves from being associated with Jesus because they’re afraid. This all leaves the disciples feeling exposed and vulnerable. Cut off from others. But now Jesus is telling them that he’s leaving them and they’re traumatized. Jesus says, “Where I’m going, you can’t follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter replies, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’ll lay down my life for you.” And Jesus says, “Will you? Truly I tell you, before the cock crows, you’ll have denied me three times.” The cost of discipleship is becoming too much.

Now, Jesus knows he has to do this. To be crucified and killed. But it also kills him to feel like he’s setting up his disciples to fail. So he calls to his heavenly Father with this prayer in our gospel reading. He prays, “While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me.” But he knows this broken world is already wearing them down. So he prays, “the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” And Jesus fears for his disciples, because he prays, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” But we know what happens. Jesus knows too. His disciples will deny him and scatter anyway. So, I wonder if that’s when Jesus regretted ever threatening, “whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.” (Mt 10:33)

When Jesus is afraid, we should be petrified. Because Jesus continues praying beyond our reading. “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” If that’s what Jesus is really praying for, then it doesn’t sound like he got what he wanted. We’re not all one, are we? We refuse to agree with each other about what’s truth anymore. It doesn’t seem like we’re sanctified in truth, and it doesn’t really feel like we’re protected from the evil one either.

But the good news is that Jesus knows what the truth is and he declares it to his heavenly Father. “All mine are yours, and yours are mine.” He knows we can’t seem to get past our disagreements. He knows we don’t act like the body of Christ. Yet he claims us anyway. And he promises that we belong to his heavenly Father because we belong to him, and Jesus and the Father are one with the Holy Spirit. We know this is true because Jesus did what his Father called him to do. He was crucified and died, but after three days he was raised in the glory of his resurrection. He never belonged to the world, but the world belongs to him, and everything in heaven and earth has been accomplished for us in his body.

So then Jesus ascends to the Father in order to send us his Holy Spirit, which makes faith in us. Faith to understand that it’s not our doctrines or politics that make us one. Jesus knows we’ll always disagree because that’s what people do. But what faith does is make us one by trusting in Jesus’ word of forgiveness. He forgives us, and then he gives us that same word to give to each other. The world hates this because it loves to stir up conflict and hatred and keep us so distracted that we forget about caring for our neighbors and the least of us, because we just want our side to win at all costs. So forgiveness humbles us and repents us to see the damage we’ve done to ourselves and to each other. And that’s when we begin to actually see each other as children of God, the way Jesus sees us. That’s why Jesus prays, “I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.”

But the only way it can do all that is if it also promises us that there really is another way. A way to live together in community, where the poor are lifted up, where Black and brown bodies have justice, where we let go of retribution and take hold of redemption, where we truly care for each other in the midst of a pandemic. After all, repentance isn’t just about the past, but about the future. It may be hard to see right now, but by faith we can give Jesus’ word and trust that it really will do exactly what it promises. So Jesus prays to his Father, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they may also be sanctified in truth.” Let us give thanks to be in the world. And may we continue to be sanctified in Jesus’ truth. Amen.