May 31, 2014

Ascended, Yet Still Lord of the Church

7th Sunday of Easter, 6/1/14
John 17:1-11a


Ascended, Yet Still Lord of the Church
I. Glorifying the Father in the world
II. Blessing the work of his people in the world


The phrase “in absentia” is not one that we strive to attain, nor do we consider it to be the optimum situation. A president “in absentia” means that a person is still the president of the organization or group, but he or she is not present to lead at this particular moment for any one of a host of reasons.

It can be a phrase used with at least a smattering of derision. You fully expected the person to be there on this day at this time, but he or she is absent—they’re “in absentia”—and now you have to decide how to proceed without them. Man, that’s frustrating! You were counting on them.

I wonder if the disciples and other close followers of Jesus felt that way at least a little. Consider what their hopes had been. They wanted Jesus to stay here on earth, establish a glorious kingdom of Jews, use his almighty power to make this a heaven on earth, and give them positions of honor and glory in that kingdom. But on a Thursday, near the town of Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem, Jesus visibly ascended into heaven even though Jesus had recently assured them that “all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him” (Mt. 28:19).

So, was he still in charge, just “in absentia”? Not at all. Even though he has removed his visible presence from this earth, he is still very really present with us and he is still very really ruling over his Church. As members of his Church by faith in him, that’s our confidence. Ascended, yet still Lord of the Church. That’s the truth that Jesus shared with his disciples as he spoke these words of our text the night before his death. That’s the same truth he shares with us this morning.

Part I.

Jesus begins this morning’s text by speaking about glory. Just what is glory? That’s one of the words that might be difficult to define but we know it when we see it. It seems to me that glory in our world today is often attached to what we’re known for in a positive way. For instance, those of you who are mothers are in your glory when your children are in your presence and all of you are enjoying each other’s company. An athlete or actress or musician is in their glory when they’re being recognized for their outstanding performance. The glory of a CEO is watching his efforts produce a huge profit.

In speaking about glory, Jesus prayed, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” What’s this mutual glorification all about? Let’s take them one at a time.

First Jesus prays for his Father to glorify him. Later on he defines just what glory he means with these words, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” Jesus is speaking about the eternal glory which he possessed as true God. That glory was not always evident while Jesus was doing his work here on earth. In fact, he purposely didn’t make use of it. He set it aside. But now the time had come for him to take it up again. That would come three days after he spoke these words—the crack of dawn on Easter. It continues for all eternity.

But Jesus also speaks of his Father’s glory. You and I have never seen the glory of the Father, but we’ve experienced it. The Father’s glory is wrapped up in who he is and what he does. Chiefly, the Father planned the salvation of sinners and he carried it out. Jesus prays for the Father to enable him to let the world see that glory.

Are you with me still? Listen carefully. The Father’s glory shines when his attributes are known in the world through the Holy Spirit working through the Church. Let me repeat that. The Father’s glory shines when his attributes are known in the world through the Holy Spirit working through the Church. That’s a mouthful. Like good Lutherans, we ask, “What does this mean?”

First, it refers to the fact that the Father did something completely undeserved when he sacrificed his Son for the sins of the world. Every sinner in the world should have been punished for his own sins; instead God punished his Son for them. That’s not foolishness; it’s saving wisdom and the Father’s glory is revealed to us in that truth.

Next, the Father’s glory is seen in the fact that he didn’t leave a single sinner outside the plan of his salvation. Jesus didn’t only die for “good” people; he also died for the worst of people. He didn’t only die for the sins of Christians; he died for the sins of all people. That truth is in keeping with his will to save all people. Since he loves all people he wants all people to spend eternity with him in heaven, even those who want nothing to do with him and even oppose him. That’s not foolishness; that’s the glory of our God.

And it’s now our mission to let people know about it. God the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of people as we proclaim the saving good news of Jesus and administer the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. So, the Father is glorified when we hear and share his word and sacraments here. The Father is glorified when you share his word with your family members and friends. And the One behind it all is our ascended Lord Jesus.

Jesus is ascended, yet still Lord of the Church, glorifying the Father in the world.

Jesus wants to glorify his Father in the world by causing the Father’s gracious attributes to be revealed. And that’s what Jesus is doing among us right now. That’s what Jesus does among us in our lives away from here when we ponder how gracious and good and loving our God has been to us. But the opposite is also true. When we despise God’s grace, when we consider ourselves better than others, when we wrongly conclude that other things are more important at any moment than our relationship with our God, when we choose to fall into temptation, when our lives are at odds with God’s holy will, then the Father is not glorified. Thankfully, he doesn’t withdraw his love or grace from us. Thankfully, he uses his law to lead us to see our unworthiness and to repent, and then to receive his gracious forgiveness by faith in Jesus. And then Jesus is doing his work as Lord of the Church. Ascended, yet still Lord of the Church.

Part II.

About 2 decades ago the movie entitled “Home Alone” appeared in theaters across the country. I’m sure many of you have seen it. The main character, a young boy named Kevin, is left home alone while his family and relatives fly away on a Christmas vacation. It isn’t long before his mother realizes she has left him behind by mistake.

In his prayer to his heavenly Father Jesus clearly states that he will leave his disciples behind but not by mistake. It’s his intention. He states, “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.” Those are the final words of our text, but don’t forget what Jesus said about his disciples in the sentences prior to that.

First, he said, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me.” Jesus is speaking about his disciples and he calls them the Father’s gift to him. In doing so, Jesus recognizes the Father’s hand of blessing in giving him this group of men to work with these past few years. At times we wonder if they were more of a hassle than a blessing to Jesus, but Jesus here clearly expresses his appreciation to the Father for them.

What made them such a blessing in spite of their failures was this: “They have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.” They believed that Jesus was the promised Savior from sin. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, that was rather rare. It’s fair to say he was rejected by his own people. But not by these disciples. They believed in him as their Savior.

And now they would be a blessing to the world. Jesus said, “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. And glory has come to me through them.” In a little more than 50 days from the night Jesus spoke these words, the disciples and others would turn the world upside down with the message of the crucified, risen, ascended and ruling Lord Jesus Christ. Thousands would come to faith in Jerusalem and then those believers would spread out, taking the saving message of Jesus wherever they went. And Jesus would be glorified as the world’s only Savior from sin.

That’s still our work—to bring glory to our Savior as he uses us to bring others to faith in him. That means this is still Jesus’ prayer for us. And he himself is answering that prayer as he blesses our work in his kingdom. Ascended, yet still Lord of the Church, blessing the work of his people in the world.

Jesus is not in absentia when it comes to the work of his Church. He doesn’t leave us on our own to face Satan and our world by ourselves. Contrary to what we might think at times, Jesus is not unconcerned about what’s going on in our world and in his Church. Nor is he uniformed. Instead, he knows exactly what we’re facing and he sends us out with his blessing. He can and will use every one of your efforts in his kingdom. That might be as simple as sharing with a little child that Jesus is her Savior. It might be as difficult as calling a loved one to repentance. It’s your encouragement of others in their walk of faith. It’s your prayers for the work of the church. It’s your love-filled offerings. And the ascended Jesus is behind all of them, still Lord of the Church, blessing the work of his people in the world. With support like that, we can’t fail. Amen.