This
is the last Sunday of our Easter season.
Christ has risen. Christ has
reassured us. Christ has now ascended
into heaven. Next Sunday we will
celebrate the arrival of the gift that Christ promised us – the coming to us of
the Holy Spirit (our advocate, counselor, helper, and comforter) at Pentecost,
remembered in our tradition as the ‘birth of the church.’
This
morning, we’re hearing about sanctified succession – the holy hand-offs, if you
will, of God’s mission to Jesus, from Jesus to his followers (including us) and
from one follower to another.
Today’s
Gospel lesson (John 17:6-19) is a continuation of John’s telling about the last
night that Jesus was with his disciples before he was handed over to death –
before his resurrection and ascension, and before the coming of his gift of the
Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus began by
washing their feet, he broke bread with them, instructed them in many things
and commanded them to love others as he has loved them, and now he’s praying
for them (and for us) for protection, unity, consecration, and joy. He reminds them that while they ultimately do
not belong to this world (we belong to God’s kingdom), they are to work and
witness in this world.
Today’s
first lesson (Acts 1:15-17,21-26) speaks of Joseph called Barsabbas (‘son of
the Sabbath’) also known as Justus. What
came of this guy, one of the two considered to assume the twelfth seat among
the disciples, the seat left vacant by Judas? By seeming random chance, he wasn’t the one
chosen for this special position. The twelfth
seat among the named disciples in the inner circle went to Mathias instead. Was Barsabbas bitter that he ‘lost’ out? What did he do with the rest of his life? Did he continue in the apostles teaching and
the breaking of bread? What was his
mission? Does it matter that we hear
nothing else from him in the Scriptures? (note: church tradition says that he went
on to become a bishop in Roman Palestine was eventually martyred)
In
fact, when you think about, we don’t hear much about most of disciples and
followers. And yet we know that it was
their steadfast faith and courage that enabled the early church to grow and
continue in Christ’s name. In fact, isn’t
this true for most of us today. How many
of us will ever be catalogued among the saints remembered by name? And yet we are to move forward, commissioned
by and sanctified in Christ, loving our neighbors as Jesus has loved us.
This
past week I was immersed with young adults from our campus ministry programs in
a social-services mission program in downtown Wichita (https://www.facebook.com/thelomission). Working in small teams, each day they were
sent out to work in two of three ministry programs (one the morning and a
different one in the afternoon) and they ate their lunches at ESS/Venture House’s
building off 2nd Ave (http://www.esswichita.org/) alongside people coming
in off the downtown streets and ate dinner one evening among hundreds of
outcasts coming into the Lord’s Diner, a mission to “recognize Christ, to love
one another, to share life, in the breaking of the bread” operated by the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Wichita (http://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/the-lords-diner/the-lords-diner-home).
These young adults ‘missionaries’
worked the ESS/Venture House front desk greeting people as they came in seeking
assistance, sorted through financial records for people participating in the ‘representative
payee program’, observed behavioral modification education with at-risk youth, collaborated
the Methodists preparing pallets of food items for families in need, learned
about the sociology of poverty and some of the basics of non-profit social
services from the leaders of ESS/Venture House as well as our Wichita-area
refugee ministry, shared breakfasts with the sisters of the Congregation of St.
Joseph (the Roman Catholic order who hosted for the week in their guest house),
worshipped and prayed together in the evenings, and served in teams with staff
and members of the Breakthrough Club (http://www.btcwichita.com/), an innovative
environment that enables career development, social growth, and wellness for
people with severe mental illnesses.
Essentially,
these young adults spent their week with people on the margins – the ‘least of
these’ – folk most of us would prefer not think about much less mingle with our
invite into the family: lower class, uneducated, unshaven, smelly, homeless, hungry,
out of work, and mentally ill. And, as
importantly, they also spent their week with people followers of Christ will
have not been named or numbered among the inner circle of twelve – they worked
alongside countless volunteers who give of their time to serve others;
alongside professional women and men who have dedicated their lives to serving
the poor, hungry, lonely, and needy; and alongside each other, encountering
some difficult ‘truths’ together while still forging ahead as a team in Christ’s
name.
The
hearts of these young adults have been broken open a little more – expanding their
capacity to really feel for others. They’ve each discovered something valuable
about the reality of mutual vulnerability as an authentic base to enable greater
dignity and social and emotional healing and redemption.
Through
challenging immersion in the harsh realities of urban poverty they’ve seen more
clearly how our mission is all about repairing relationships – ours toward God
and ours with each other.
In
today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus prays to God for us and uses the language of
giving – giving of our lives in sacrificial service; giving of words of wisdom,
comfort, and encouragement; and the giving of sanctity (ultimate importance,
holiness) through personal encounters with the truth of God’s love incarnated
(in Christ and through our continued actions in his name today).
Like Barsabbas
and so many other unnamed followers, we may never be recognized as part of the ‘inner
circles’ and remembered by name in the history books. And, that ultimately doesn’t matter because
the good news is that God has already included in the larger circle of the body
of Christ. Having been seen exactly as
we really are (warts and brokenness and all), we are nonetheless declared holy
and sanctified members of this heavenly family, our mission is to seek out / to
reach out to those who are considered out of the margins all-together and to
invite them back in.
As
these young adults did in Wichita this past week, we’re invited to more clearly
see the truth that the needs of our neighbors and our most honest needs are
really much the same. With that
heartfelt perspective, we’re then compelled by the love of Christ into mission to
repair broken relationships and bring everyone back into healthier community –
one family / one body in his name.
As Jesus
says in today’s Gospel lesson, just as he was sent by God into the world to
demonstrate the true nature of God, so we are sent by him into the world to be
witnesses to the truth of God’s love for all of us and the sanctification of
any/all who believe in God’s love incarnate.
Come
Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of
your love and the courage and commitment to love others as Christ has loved us.
AMEN.
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