A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, IL; Sunday, May 24, 2009
Acts 1: 15 – 26; Psalm 47; I John 5: 9 – 15; John 17: 11b – 19
Consecrated…..
The word “consecrate” (or consecrated) appears in our gospel reading today, as Jesus says, “And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
Have you been consecrated? If so, when? If so, for what purpose?
Let’s unpack this word “consecrate” (and its synonym “sanctify”) a little.[1]
We begin with the definition (as it’s found in Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary):[2]
Consecrate: 1. to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of God; 2. to make something an object of honor or veneration; 3. to devote of dedicate to some purpose; 4. to admit or ordain to a sacred office, especially to the episcopate (bishops).
Sanctify: 1. to make holy; set apart as sacred, consecrate; 2. to purify or free from sin; 3. to impart religious sanction to, render legitimate or binding; 4. to entitle to reverence or respect.
When we use the word “consecrate” in our Episcopal Church’s context, we usually use it with reference to the ordination of a person as a bishop. For example,
“So-and-so was consecrated to be Bishop of ____Diocese.”
All well and good: That’s one of the definitions Webster’s give us.
But do we lose some of the other meanings of the word “consecrate” when we apply it only to the ordination of bishops?
I think we do, and the loss of meaning of the word “consecrate” and its applicability to the wider mission of the Church – which is the Body of Christ, that is to say, the people who make up the Church - is the focus of this sermon today.
So, let’s explore this word a bit more.
But before we do so, we ought to pause for a moment to remember the context of today’s passage: It falls about in the middle of what Bible scholars often call “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer”. This prayer, which occurs at the end of Jesus’ final teaching to His disciples, ends that discourse, and immediately precedes the beginning of His betrayal, trial, passion, death and resurrection. It is an extended prayer, for it occupies all of chapter 17 of John’s gospel account. Furthermore, Jesus’ prayer has three different foci: Jesus prays for Himself (verses 1 – 5); he prays for His immediate disciples (verses 6 – 19), and He prays for those who will come to believe in Him as a result of the testimony of His original disciples (soon to become apostles) (verses 20 – 26).
Now, we return to the matter of “consecrate”, “consecrated” and “consecrating”…..
Jesus says in the portion of His prayer that we heard today that He “consecrates himself.” Looking at the wider context in which this statement appears, we can see that He is referring to His coming betrayal, trial, suffering, death and resurrection. In John’s gospel account, this is Jesus “Hour”, that period of time stretching from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday morning, that period of time when Jesus is most in control. It is that period of time when the Son is “Glorified”, when Jesus reigns from the Cross.
And so, Jesus is “setting himself apart” for a specific purpose, the purpose of glorifying God in His suffering, death, and resurrection. This understanding fits with one of our definitions, given above.
But Jesus then continues His statement by saying that He is “consecrating himself” in order that His disciples might be “consecrated in truth”.
What might that mean?
The two words, “consecrate” and “truth” go together.
To understand the consecrating action, we must understand the business of truth.
To understand a bit about how “truth” functions in the Fourth Gospel, we should back up to John 1: 14, where we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” And now, in our passage today, we read, “Sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth.” (verse 17)
So, then, the word that Jesus speaks has the power to make clean (sanctify/consecrate) Jesus’ disciples.
Outlined, the connection is:
- Jesus, the eternal Word of God (see John 1: 1), comes, and brings to us the Word that He has heard from God the Father (see John 14: 24).
- This Word, spoken by Jesus, the eternal Word of God, has the power to cleanse us from sin (remember that that is one of the definitions of the word “sanctify”). Hear Jesus’ words, recorded in John 15: 3: “You are already clean by the word I have spoken to you.”
- Being made holy, we are now set apart. We are dedicated to a specific purpose, the purpose of going out into the world to share the word that we have been given by the eternal Word, Jesus Christ.
So, the answer to the second question, posed back at the beginning of this sermon, “Have you been consecrated?” is “Yes, we have been consecrated, all of us. We are ‘set apart’ for a holy purpose, the purpose of making God’s great work in sending Jesus Christ into the world known to those who do not know Him now.”
That’s our task!: To make known the word of God in Jesus Christ.
Since Jesus sent out His original disciples-now-become-apostles, we, too, become apostles,[3] for we are sent out, just as they were.
Now, we must turn to the first question, also posed at the beginning of this sermon, which is: “When were we consecrated?”
There are many possible answers: Some of them are:
- At our baptisms: We say to the newly baptized, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked as Christ’s own for ever.”[4] So, in the waters of Baptism, we pass through the waters, following Christ in His death, and we are raised to a new life in Him, in a resurrection like His (see Romans 6: 3ff for St. Paul’s explication of this concept). Rightly so, Holy Baptism is often called “The ordination of the laity”, for in Baptism, a person is “set apart, dedicated” to God’s service. The waters of Baptism cleanse the person of the stain of Original Sin. That’s sanctification/consecration at work. But the individual is also claimed by Christ, and is commissioned to do things for the Lord. Cleansing and sending are two essential parts of the baptismal rite.
- When we dedicate/rededicate our lives to a specific ministry/mission: Wisely, the Book of Common Prayer provides for a service in which a person is commissioned for a specific ministry. Entitled “A Form of Commitment to Christian Service”, it may be found on page 420. Anytime we undertake a new ministry, or recommit ourselves to a ministry, we are “reconsecrated” in the sense that we are “set apart for God’s purposes” as we carry out this ministry.
- When we undertake the liturgy of Reconciliation: Though we’ve been claimed as “Christ’s own forever” in the Sacrament of Baptism, we are still prone to the temptation to fall into sin. That’s why we confess our sins regularly as part of our corporate worship. But sometimes, the extent of the sin is so great, so pervasive, that the rite of The Reconciliation of a Penitent[5] is required to allow a “repurifying” effect to take place. The sorts of sin we have in mind here are those that are sometimes called “besetting sins”, sins that obscure our relationship with God to the point that ministry and witness to God become ineffective.
- When a person is set apart for ordained ministry: As we said earlier, this is the most common association we Episcopalians make when we think of “consecration”. Yet, as important as the ordained ministry is to the Body of Christ, the Church, we would do well to remember that the first Order of the Church is the laity. It can’t be said too emphatically or clearly: The first Order of the Church is not the bishops! Nor are the “real Christians” only those who are ordained. The Church’s witness and ministry would be so much more effective if its lay members regained their place of importance by claiming their rightful place as “consecrated ones” who are set apart for the work of God.
So, in closing, we might reflect on this question: “How well are we living out our consecration vows, made to the Lord?”
Those vows include the ones we made at our baptisms. They include those promises we have made to serve the Lord better, living out the gospel day-by-day. They include those unique and special ministries which we undertake. They encompass our work as lay members of the Body of Christ (remember that the ordained also continue to do the work of the laity, as well, for that work is never forgotten or left behind upon ordination), too.
May God cleanse us from sin, and purify us for His service.
May God commission us anew for His work in the world.
AMEN.
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[1] The Revised Standard Version (RSV), which we use most frequently in our public reading of Holy Scripture, uses the word “consecrate”., while the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) uses “sanctify” (as does the Authorized Version). In the Greek, these words are the same word that appears a verse earlier (verse 17), where Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth.”
[2] These are parts of the definitions which appear in my edition of Webster’s, the ones that seem to apply best to the context of our gospel reading.
[3] The word “apostle” comes from the Greek, where it literally means “ones who are sent”.
[4] Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page 308.
[5] See page 447, Book of Common Prayer.
