Easter VII, Cycle B

"Sanctified in Truth"

June 1, 2003

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lessons:  Acts 1:15-17,  21-26; 1 John 5:9-13;  St. John 17:6-19

     In our gospel reading for today, Jesus prays, "I have given them your Word and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world."

     Our gospel text, as a whole, is a great and powerful and meaningful passage.  As with most of the lessons we've been hearing this Easter season, I could preach on this passage for a year or more, never covering the same topic twice.  And yet, we have one Sunday every three years to deal with these words of Jesus from his High Priestly Prayer, prayed on the night of his betrayal, the night before his sacrifice for us, on the cross.  So what does one say about this text, once every three years?  What is Jesus' point in this familiar, yet profound passage?  What is he really praying for here?  Is there one thing that permeates all that Jesus prays for in this High Priestly Prayer? 

     There is, and it's the foundation of all that Jesus says in this prayer.  There is, and it's what we refer to as the challenge to be "in the world, but not of the world".

     That's a phrase we use a lot in the Church, and a lot in our church--as we struggle to live in our world, without selling out and becoming part of our world and our culture.  And it comes right out of Holy Scripture--it comes from the mouth and heart of our Lord Jesus himself--as He prays to the Father--as He prays to the Father about unity, about the Word, about joy, about sanctification, about protection from the evil one.  And Jesus prays for all of this, as he prays for us, and for all disciples, whom he knew would wrestle with how to be his faithful followers.  He prays for all of this, as he prays for all disciples whom he knew would struggle with how to be Christians, fully present in the world, sharing the Gospel, loving and serving in His name, yet not being shaped by the culture at large--not adopting our world's attitudes and ways.  Jesus looked at his first disciples, that first Maundy Thursday evening, and knew that even in that ancient time--before TV, and movies, and the internet;  before corporations and profit and loss statements and the stock market--that even in that ancient time, his disciples would have a hard time remaining disciples, because the world would try so hard to get them to give up their radical Christian ideas, to get them to fit in to the world and to accept the world's values and morals.  And surely, Jesus knew that we, his disciples today, would face those same pressures to compromise and conform and fit in.

     Surely, Jesus knew how we would be pressured NOT to hold fast to God's will with regard to faithfulness in marriage, and purity and chastity outside marriage.  Surely Jesus knew how we would be pressured to NOT be so honest and truthful and principled at work, in business, in the corporate world.  Surely Jesus knew how we would be pressured, at school to wear the right clothes, put on the right make-up, listen to the right music, no matter how un-Christian, how impure, how un-Godly they might be.  Surely Jesus knew how pressured we would be to escape from the pain and hurt of daily life and relationships, by abusing alcohol, and smoking weed, and relying on prescription painkillers to get through the day.  We could go on an on about the pressures brought to bear on disciples in our time, and in every time, as the world and our culture try desperately to get us Christians in line, to get us to fit in, to get us to let go of our strict Christian moral teachings, so that we won't make others feel guilty for their un-Godly, disobedient lifestyles.  But it is enough to say, that Jesus knew full-well what we would face in the challenge to be in the world, but not of the world.  So--on the night before his crucifixion--on the night before his disciples would be thrown into anxiety and confusion and turmoil by his death on the cross, Jesus did the most He could do for his disciples,  to comfort them, and strengthen them, and to upbuild them--He prayed for them.  He prays, still, for his disciples--for us!

     He prays that as we strive to be in the world, but not of the world, that we would be kept in His Word,  that we would be kept in His love,  that we would be protected from the evil one.  He prayed that we would be one in His name, and maybe most importantly, He prayed that we would be sanctified in the truth, the truth which is, His Word.

     It is powerful, that at the end of these prayer petitions, Jesus prays, "Sanctify them in the truth…your Word is truth!  As you, Father, have sent me into the world, so I am sending them into the world.  And," Jesus prays, "for their sakes, I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified--in truth."  This prayer is powerful because in it, Jesus sanctifies himself, for us--he consecrates himself, in truth--so that we, too, might sanctify--consecrate ourselves, in truth--the truth that is God's Word.  And what Jesus is telling us, as we overhear His prayer to the Father, is that being consecrated in the truth that is God's Word, is what will help us, guide us, strengthen us, as we struggle to remain in the world, without becoming of the world.  It is being consecrated--dedicated--sanctified--in the truth of God's Word, that is the only way that we can be faithful, obedient Christians--at work, in the corporate world, at home, at school.  That is the only way our children and teenagers can learn how NOT to be conformed to the ways of the world.  It is the only way that we can remain, Godly, in a world that dislikes, Jesus says HATES, Godliness--by being, in and through Jesus, sanctified in the truth, that is God's Word.  Which is why we are to commit, and re-commit ourselves, to consecrate, and re-consecrate ourselves, over and over again, to the truth--to God's Word.  Hearing it, learning it, proclaiming it, teaching it, obeying it, striving to live it!

     Dr. Martin Luther, himself, encourages us, writing in the Large Catechism, "God's Word is not like some empty tale or fable…but as St. Paul says in Romans 1:16, it is "the power of God", indeed, the power of God which burns up the devil and gives us immeasurable strength, comfort, and help.  Time and paper would fail me if I were to attempt to recount all the blessings that flow from God's Word.  Not only do we need God's Word daily as we need our daily bread;  we also must use it daily against the daily, incessant attacks and ambushes of the devil.  Deuteronomy 6:7 and 8 solemnly enjoins that we should always meditate upon God's word--whether sitting, walking, standing, lying down or rising, and keep them before our eyes and in our hands as a constant reminder and sign.  We need God's Word, daily, to give us immeasurable strength, comfort and help."

     That's what Jesus is praying, for us, in His High Priestly Prayer--that we would be sanctified in the truth--which is God's Word.  That we need it daily, as disciples, to protect us from the incessant attacks and ambushes of the evil one.  That we need it to keep us united, and faithful, as we try, in life, to be in the world but not of the world--as we try to keep ourselves unstained by the world.  But--the Word of God will do us no good, if we fail to read it.  It will not guide us or strengthen us, if we will not hear it read, and preached.  We will not be sanctified in the truth, if we are not in the Word.  So, as Jesus prayed, and the Father wills--let us obey;  let us abide, every day,  in God's Word; let us abide in the Word, that we may be sanctified in truth.