7 Easter, Year B

Acts 1:15–17, 21-26; Psalm 1a; I John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19

A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, May 20, 2012.

“OFFERS”

(Homily text:  John 17: 6 - 19)

 Ever think about the number of different offers we receive?  Life is full of offers, which consist of the ads we see on television, on radio, or over the internet.  The newspapers are full of offers, that is to say, ads which generate the money needed to allow the paper to exist.  The mailbox here at Trinity is full of offers of all kinds:  offers to supply us with a new Sunday School curriculum, to handle all the church’s finances, to give us reduced rates for our young people to attend Holiday World in Indiana (I must admit, that last offer sounds pretty good, now that school is ending and we are beginning to think ahead about the summer’s activities).

The Christian faith that we have begins with an offer.  Jesus states the offer this way in John 3: 16:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Let’s notice a few things about this verse:

1. The one offering the gift of the Son is God.
2. The offering is made to the world.
3. We have a choice to make, whether or not to receive the offer.

As I reflect on it, the meaning of points 1 and 3, above, are easily understood.  But I think we need to pause for a moment and ask “Just what does Jesus mean by the world ‘world’?”
In the Fourth Gospel, the “world” is those who are opposed to Jesus’ ministry and message.  Most biblical scholars agree on this point, and the text of the gospel as a whole confirms that the concept of the “world” is one of opposition to Jesus.  I think this meaning of the term is clear in our gospel text for today.

So, if we return to John 3: 16, we see that God is offering the Son to those who are opposed to the offer.

Turning now to our gospel reading for today, we should be reminded that Jesus is now in prayer to the Father.  Scholars give chapter 17 of John’s gospel account a title:  Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer.

As we look at the text, we notice at the beginning of the passage that Jesus is praying for the ones who have been given to Him by the Father, out of the world.  (Notice that the two groups:  Jesus’ disciples and the world, are distinct entities, for the disciples have been taken “out of the world”.)

So Jesus’ disciples are those who have accepted God’s offer of the Son, having been drawn in the first place by the Father.  The Father’s initiative in drawing the disciples is clear.

Now that these disciples have accepted the Father’s offer, they have some things to do, which we can see in the text.  Their job is to:

1. Remain united in Christ.  Jesus prays that His followers “will be one”, showing the unity that the Son has with the Father.
2. Keep the words that Jesus has given them from the Father.
3. Go out into the world, that place which is hostile to Jesus and to His words, and offer the message of love which comes from the Father.

Ever since those early days which Jesus walked among us and taught us all that He had received from the Father, nothing has changed in this basic formula.

We continue to look to Jesus, who is the “pioneer and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12: 2), for maintaining a connection to Jesus is the key to being able to remain united in witness to the world.  We show our unity with the Son and with the Father by keeping the commandments we have received (see I John 5: 3, which we read last week).  Keeping these commandments is the evidence of the love that the Father has for the Son, and which the Son has given to us.

As we have received God’s offer of the Son and of the Son’s love, we are to turn around and offer this wonderful gift to the world around us.  We are to offer this gift even to those who are opposed to all that Jesus said and did.

Today, little Addie Brinson will receive this gift as she is baptized.  As she enters the waters of baptism, she is buried with Christ in a death like his (see Romans 6: 5), and then is raised to a new and resurrected life with Him.  And as she grows up, aided by her parents and by her church family to come to know and love the Lord (for these are the promises that her parents, her Godparents, and the church family make), she will take her own place in offering this gift of love that Jesus gives her today to others.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son, a gift that is offered to the world even when the world is opposed to the giver and the gift, out of love for that very world. Thanks be to God for the grace to accept this wonderful gift of love, that we might have life, and have life in its fullness.

AMEN.