Seventh Sunday of Easter - Video of Divine Service and Sermon Text

7th Sunday of Easter - Video of Divine Service - St. Luke, Rensselaer


 The seventh Sunday of Easter   

Acts 1:12-26  
1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11  
John 17:1-11


Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia! 

O Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

The prayer that we commonly call THE LORD’S PRAYER is found in two places: Matthew 6 and Luke 11. Sometimes it can be a surprise to Lutherans that the doxology that we end the Lord’s Prayer with, “For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen,” is not found in either Matthew 6 or Luke 11. These are words of praise that were added on later. The earliest written record of Christians using this little doxology is found in the Didache. The word Didache means “Teaching.” It is shorthand for the longer title “Teachings of the Twelve Apostles.” The Didache is one of the writings that we have from Christian leaders that are the generation after the Apostles. 

Another surprising factoid about the Lord’s Prayer is that the prayer that Jesus taught the disciples is not a distinctively Christian prayer. Jesus’ name is not a part of the prayer. Jesus directs his followers to pray directly to our heavenly Father. Every aspect of the prayer that is recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11 can easily be prayed by a Jewish person. They won’t because of who taught the prayer. The Lord’s Prayer can also be prayed by anyone who recognizes that there is a heavenly Father and that all that sustains us, including forgiveness of sins and protection from evil, comes from this heavenly Father. A person who has an unorthodox, non-biblical, view of Jesus can easily recite these words and mean every word. 

I say all of this for a reason. Because we say the Lord’s Prayer so often, we can easily forget that Jesus prayed another prayer that is just as profound and just as essential to our spiritual lives. This prayer came unbidden from the Apostles. We are not we told to repeat this prayer regularly. Nonetheless, Jesus prayed out loud, in the midst of the Apostles gathered in the upper room on Holy Thursday, so that they could hear and remember. 

In some circles, all of John 17, from which our gospel reading comes, is known as “THE OTHER PRAYER THAT JESUS PRAYED.” This other prayer is a distinctively Christian prayer. Jesus addresses our heavenly Father. However, he says things in this prayer that make it clear that Jesus is essential for our salvation. 

In his teaching ministry, Jesus clarified the intent and purpose of the Torah. He clarified for the legalistic minded Pharisees that what he, the Holy Spirit, and the Father, desire is that the Law of Moses be lived out of love, not just because “thus it is written” and because keeping the law perfectly is how one merits oneself to God. Through this prayer Jesus continues his teaching. In case they have not yet moved from hearing to faith-filled understanding, he makes plain that confession of Jesus as our heavenly Father’s Son and that his death on the cross is essential to our salvation. Jesus prays, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” 

Back in John 3:16-17, in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said that our heavenly Father sends the son for the salvation of the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” In John 17, Jesus plainly states that He is the Son and that He is the Christ. 

In this “other prayer” Jesus identifies himself as the Son of our heavenly Father. Jesus stands before them as their savior. Because the apostles do not yet have a clear vision of what is about to transpire, he soon makes clear that this Passover meal is unlike any that the Apostles will ever have. Jesus uses the phrase, “The hour has come.” His moment is here. He has fulfilled his responsibility to draw attention to Himself and to God’s will through His teaching, healings, and miracles. He introduced himself to Jews and Gentiles. The time is now right according to the Father’s wishes that Jesus enters his passion. 

In the eleven verses that comprise the Gospel reading, the words glory or glorify are used six times. Glory means praise and honor and renown. It can also reference beauty and splendor and an exalted state. Jesus knows that he is headed to the cross. In the cross, his sacrifice will honor the Father’s will that all people be saved from the finality of death and the ramifications of their sins. Jesus takes up the ugliness and horror and suffering of the cross to reveal the beauty and splendor of God’s love for you. Jesus’ obedience unto death points to God’s immense love for His human creation. His incarnate Son is sacrificed to atone for your sin. Jesus pays the penalty that you deserve. From now on, when the Father looks upon those who confess Jesus as Lord, he does not see sin, He sees Christ’s blood. His righteous anger passes over us. Christ Jesus covers us with His righteousness. The Father loves us. The Son loves us. This act of love for us glorifies the Son and the Father. 

Holy Thursday in general and this prayer in particular is Jesus offering a lengthy goodbye to the Apostles. The disciples will see Jesus as the resurrected Christ. They will also see Jesus ascend into heaven. But, he assures them and us, that He continues to minister through prayer. He prays that we continue to respond with faith to the promises God made to us in Holy Baptism. He prays that we continue in the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. He prays that we continue to grow in faith and draw strength from our fellow congregation members. And, that through our words and lives, that we glorify God. 

Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia! 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. 


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