Not of this World!??? John 17:6-9

There are a variety of rich phrases and directions that a reflection on John 17:6-19 might go. Two are Jesus' petition "that all may be one" and his petition for the disciples' protection as the coming events unfold. Yesterday as I was driving to a meeting, another possibility hit me -- what about Jesus' comment that the disciples "are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (v. 14)?

Given John's perspective on the incarnation, this description is not Docetic (the idea that Jesus only appeared human and only appeared to die) or Gnostic (among others it includes the idea that all matter is evil). These words are no call to the disciples to withdraw from their surrounds or us for that matter. Rather as Christians, I think that Jesus is saying that we interpret our experiences in the world from a different perspective. We look at life and death and everything in between through a different set of lenses. Each Sunday, we corporately pray the Lord's Prayer saying, "...your kingdom come, your will be done..." As Easter people, we live aware of God's grace and live such that others are aware of that grace as well. Others, believers and non-believers alike, should be able to look at us and our actions and see something different about us.

The lection for this week closes with the portion of the prayer in which Jesus consecrates himself and the disciples. I think that consecration also applies to us. The disciples then and the church today are consecrated for a particular reason - so others may hear the good news of God's resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why Is It So Hard To Accept?

As a young child, my family moved several times before we settled down around my fourth grade year. The first time was before I began kindergarten and the next few times were in those early years of elementary school. With each change in school, there was the issue of making new friends and fitting in. In other words I wondered, "Will I be picked to play battle?" or "Will I be picked to play touch football?" I know that things haven't changed much over the years. Oh, the games change but all we have to do is listen to our children when they talk about their day to see that they haven't changed. As we age, the issue doesn't disappear for us either. As adults, our questions are about being included in the right circle of friends or social group in town, living in the right neighborhood and being accepted there, or even being a member at the right church.

Over the years, I found two ways to deal with my desire to get picked. One way was to watch everyone and figure out who was in charge and then you could be extra nice to them, try to make friends with them, or figure out whatever you had to do to move onto this person's list. Another approach to the problem was to pretend you didn't really want to be a part of that group anyway. If you pretended you weren't interested, then they might ask you to join them. But whichever way I approached the problem, there was no guarantee that it would work from one day to the next. For me and others, the desire to be included, or picked, often led to hurt feelings and broken hearts.

Sometimes, as Christians, our understanding of God is something akin to our approach to the playground, the childhood and adult ones. We think that if we can curry the favor of God through our thoughts and deeds then we will get picked for God's team. Martin Luther, when commenting on John 15, suggests it is as if we are saying, "It is not God who chooses us, but we seek him and make God our friend, that we may glory in that He has received much good from us. That is what all the word does in seeking to merit God's grace by previous works." It is as if our merit goes first and God's grace toddles along afterwards.

The gospel says though, "You did not choose me but I chose you" (John 15:16). Repeatedly in the gospel stories, we find that Jesus picks those least likely to be picked on the playground or anywhere else. He chooses them for no merit of their own. He chooses them because they have no hope other than God. Is it really any different for any of us? We don't choose God, God chooses us.

So why is it so hard to accept being chosen?

Have You Met Many Eunuchs Lately?

I suspect you haven't met many lately and so we may wonder if there is anyway that we can identify with this character in the story. The Ethiopian eunuch is far from home and a stranger in the land of Judea; he is a man of some stature and power as a court official from the court of the Candace; we know he has money because he has purchased or somehow received a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, which would not have been an inexpensive purchase, and he's literate because he's reading the scroll; he is also mutilated and scarred, made into a sexual deviant so that he will be safe around the queen.

Philip has been fighting through a variety of barriers in his preaching and teaching and that pattern continues as he encounters the Ethiopian eunuch. He is redrawing the boundaries of Israel to include those who are excluded. It is a powerful message for the church today and one which I hope we heed.

We need to heed this message not because we will be wrong if we don't, or somehow find disfavor with God if we don't, but we need to heed it because we are all at one point in time or another outside the boundaries and desire to be included. Our desire is to open the circle to welcome others just as we have been welcomed. We are all broken, scarred and mutilated in one way or another, and we are all welcomed into God's reign. This is good news that we need to hear as much as anyone else. Jung says something about finding the path to wholeness via a path of wrong turns.

Regardless of the circuitous path we travel, thanks be to God that they all lead to our Divine Source of Being.

Gone All Week

I didn't get the chance to post anything this week given that I was out of the office most all of the week with meetings and visits.

I look forward to returning to the regular routine next week and getting some posts here then.