Reflection on Isaiah 6:1-8 and John 3:1-17

 

Isaiah 6:1-8

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said:

 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said:  “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

John 3:1-17

1Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Reflection

God is so much bigger than I can possibly understand.  And, that is a good thing.

Isaiah captures this idea perfectly as he shares his vision of visiting the throne room of God in the temple.  God is so big that when Isaiah tries to get look at God, all he can see is the hem on the very bottom corner of God’s robe.  Isaiah gets to be in the presence of God, gets to experience God, and even gets to talk with God after he is cleansed with a burning coal to the lips, but Isaiah is not ever able to even see beyond the hem of God’s robe, much less God’s leg, hand, or face.  God is so much bigger than I can possibly understand.  And that is a good thing.

It is a good thing, because it forces me to be careful when I talk about God.  All Isaiah can talk about and all Isaiah knows for certain concerns the hem of God’s robe, and the things that God said to him.  He can fully talk about the Seraphs, with their six wings, and their holy song, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3).  He saw them.  He experienced them fully.  But, God?  Isaiah can only share what little was shared with him.  Isaiah only knows what God has given him to know.  Isaiah can tell about the destruction that will come upon his people, and the promise of new growth after the years of destruction.  Isaiah has been empowered to talk about that, but is equipped to say no more than that.  And, that is a good thing.

After-all, what would things be like if I, or Isaiah, or any of us thought we completely understood God.  Then we would be powerful.  We would know all truth.  People would have to come to us and people would have to listen to us and trust in us because we would know the fullness of God. 

And the problem with that is that no one should put that much trust in Jira Albers.  I could not find one of my socks the other day.  I searched and searched.  I found it later in the fridge next to the milk.  No one should put that much trust in Jira Albers; and no one should put that much trust in you…no offense; and no one should put that much trust in our earthly leaders, and no one should put that much trust in even the great prophet Isaiah.  Isaiah admits as much when he approaches those huge threads, weaved together to make the hem of God’s robe.  “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).  Isaiah’s lips did need to be cleansed before speaking with God, and especially before speaking for God.

In some churches, before the sermon, you will hear the pastor pray Psalm 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”  I pray it each Sunday before I even step out in front of you, because I know that God is so much bigger and so much more than my humble words can possibly express.  I pray that my words can even come close to the reality that is the love and righteousness of God.  After-all, I can only share what I have seen and what I been given. Given that, if we want to be honest in our religious lives, we have no choice but to be beggars, looking up to God, praying for a morsel of truth and grace.

God is so much bigger than we can possibly understand, and that is a good thing.

You see, there are so many things that God does and accomplishes that we simply do not understand, but we see them and they cause us to simply stand in awe.  Isaiah stares up at the hem of God’s robe, and he is in awe.  The hunter feels the predictable evening breeze and watches as the wonders of creation move about just beyond against the reds and oranges of the setting sun, and he is in awe.  The woman finds healing when she thought there would be none, and she is in awe.  The siblings sit, swinging in the porch seat together when they had once vowed that they would never speak again, and they stare at each other in awe. 

It makes me think of the song, How Great Thou Art:

Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Nicodemus hears about the water being turning into wine, and he is in awe.  He learns of Jesus’ courage in standing up to the powers of his world and he learns of Jesus’ desire to bring the temple back as a place of prayer rather than a place of commerce, and he is in awe.  Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night and says, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”  Nicodemus has heard of the wonders of God through Jesus, wonders of something so much bigger than he, and the awe that has struck him causes him to come out of the night into the light of Jesus.  He wants to know more.  He wants to see more.  He is in awe.

Jesus answers Nicodemus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”  Jesus can see it in Nicodemus.  Jesus can see his awe.  He sees how his amazement at the wonders of God has moved Nicodemus to wander in from the darkness, toward the light.  Jesus knows that the Spirit has been working on Nicodemus like the wind.  Jesus says, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).  The Spirit has blown on Nicodemus allowing him to glimpse briefly God’s kingdom, and he sees that God is so much bigger than he can possibly understand.  And, that is a good thing.

We wonder why the Spirit does what it does and blows on the people it blows on, and we are in awe.  We wonder at the bigness of God’s love, that it encompasses the entire world, even those we would rather it not.  We wonder at the shocking revelation that God has no desire to condemn.  Condemning is what the world does.  Rather, Jesus comes to save.  How does the Spirit work?  Who does the Spirit touch?  How does Jesus save the world?  It is all so big! 

It is so big that it simply causes us to look up in awe, and that is a good thing…that is a gift from God…because when we are looking at all the wondrous things that God is doing we are not focusing down on ourselves…we are not wrapped up in ourselves and our own goals and our own pains and our own cares.  The awesome wonders that God does and the things that Jesus says which cause our mouths to open…the things that simply blow our minds…are all gifts that allow us to focus on the things that truly matter in this life: the life changing acts of Jesus, the love of God for the world, the willingness of Jesus to lay down his life for us, and his refusal to condemn.  They all cause us to realize that all we see is the lower corner of the hem of God’s robe.  God’s love and grace is so much bigger than we can possibly imagine.  And, that is a good thing.

Oh Lord, my God
When I, in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

- Carl Boberg

Reflection on Ezekiel 37:1-14 and Acts 2:1-21

 

Ezekiel 37:1-14

1The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”

 

Acts 2:1-21

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
  ⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

 

Reflection

The Lord’s hand fell across Ezekiel’s shoulders and Ezekiel felt the familiar push of God.  Through a wind of the Spirit, God whisked him away.  The violent wind blew dust, swirling around, and as the dust began to settle Ezekiel suddenly found himself in the middle of a dessert valley. 

Mountains of rock and sand surrounded God and he.  And, before them was a gruesome scene.  Littered across the rocky ground in front of them were bones; human bones; bones that still clung to scraps of what used to be Israelite clothing.  They were the bones of his people who were no more.  Their nation had been devastated.  They were no more.  Ezekiel stared at the bones of his people.  The bones looked brittle; so brittle that even a small breath would demolish them to dust.  “All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again” (Ecclesiastes 3:20).  His people were dust, almost.  The bones were dry, but they were still there; serving as gravestones to the people who once used them.

“The Lord said to [Ezekiel], ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’” (Ezekiel 37:1-3).

Can these bones live?

When we think about the thriving centers of life that use to be our churches and then look around at the empty pews of our churches, we ask, “Can these bones live?”

When we think about the way things used to be in our communities and then look around at our divided and crumbling society, we ask, “Can these bones live?”

When we think about how our lives used to be, those who used to be with us and are no longer, how we used to thrive and be happy, how the smile came easily and the pain did not press so hard against our heart, and then we look down at our tired and worn bodies, we ask, “Can these bones live?”

“Can these bones live?” we ask, not knowing the answer.  “Maybe, they cannot,” we wonder.  Maybe, they are dust, and to dust they shall return, we ponder.  Maybe the time for these bones has past, for good.

But, it was not Ezekiel, standing among the bones of his ancestors who asked the question, “Can these bones live?”  Another look at the Bible reveals that it was the Lord who asked the question.

And, that makes all of the difference, because God already knows the answer.  God already understands what God can do.  God already knows how the end of the story is going to be written.

And, that is the problem with us whenever we are left on our own, staring at the dry bones in our lives.  All we see is death.  All we see is a dead end.  All we see is a period at the end of the last sentence in the last book of the series.

But, Ezekiel was not the one who asked the question.  We did not ask the question.  Humans did not ask if the bones can live.  God asked the question.

“[The Lord] said to [Ezekiel], ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ [Ezekiel] answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’  Then he said…’Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord’” (Ezekiel 37:3-6).

And, then it happened.  Ezekiel began to tell the bones that they shall live and have breath.  Instead of staring at the bones in despair, Ezekiel does as he is told and speaks to the bones as if they can hear, as if he believed that they may have a future.  He told the bones that they can have breath and live again.  He told the bones that they can have a future.  He told the bones that the Lord is able to restore anything.

And, the voice of Ezekiel falls on the man staring at the bottom of the empty bottle, and he hears that he can have a life again.  And, the voice of Ezekiel falls on the family that cannot move on after the child’s death, and they take a deep breath of fresh air once again, as if for the first time since the tragedy.  And, the voice of Ezekiel falls on the organist of the church with few singers, and she starts playing again as if she were in a basilica on Easter morning, with the rafters rattling and the voices booming. 

And, the voice of Ezekiel falls on the dry bones, and rather than blowing apart into dust they become white, calcified, and hard.  The bones start to move and take shape.  Muscle and skin raps the bones and human bodies start to take form once again.  They become humans, almost.  They are dead humans; empty shells without life.

And, then Ezekiel remembers the Lord’s promise: “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live” (Ezekiel 37:5).

“Say it,” the Lord encourages.  “Say: ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’”

And, Ezekiel says it and they all live.  They stand up on their feet and live.  The people of God, who were lost to the dust just moments before are back!  They are brought back, just like that, with a breath from the Lord.

“Lord give us that breath,” we cry.  “Lord breathe in us again.  Make us new again.  Bring us up from the grave and restore us again.”

And, the Lord does.  We see it again and again in the Bible as the Lord does.  First the Lord brings back the house of Israel.  The Lord says, “I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.  I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).

And, the nation of Israel comes back.  By, Jesus’ time religious life is strong, and the desire to be the Lord’s people is even stronger.  It is so strong, in fact, that God chooses that time out of all times in the history of the world to send the Messiah, God’s Son, Jesus, the savior of the world. 

Even when Jesus is apparently snuffed out of existence, leaving behind a scared remnant of believers, God breathes new life into the world once again, raising Jesus to life.  And, this leads to that day when God’s wind blows on those fearful disciples, filling them with a fire that burns for the Lord.  Just when God’s Word seemed lost, it was breathed onto the world once again.  It allowed the disciples to speak in different languages so that the news of new life that the Lord promised could spread far and wide.  The Bible says, that the people gathered on the day the Spirit was breathed onto the world once again were “Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?’’ (Acts 2:7-8).

Whenever it all seems lost, whenever our bones seem dry, whenever it seems that God’s people are no more and will be nothing but a distant story of the past, God breathes the Spirit of life on the world.  It happens again and again and again, and it continues to happen even today.

The Lord’s promise is still true, “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live” (Ezekiel 37:5).  You shall live.  You too shall live!

Is your world turning to dust?  Jesus has a word for you, “You shall live!” 

Is your life broken, seemingly beyond repair?  Jesus has a word for you, “You shall live!”

Is death lingering and pain grinding your spirit into dust?  Jesus has a word for you, “You shall live!”

Death cannot hold Jesus down!  Fear cannot hold Jesus back.  And, dry bones are not dead waste to Jesus.  Your dry bones are the building blocks of something new.  They just need to have some life breathed into them.  They just need someone to believe that they can live again, someone who will say to them, “breathe and live,” and they will.  They just need you, filled with the Spirit of God, to believe that it is not the end and truly believe that all is not lost.

Listen to the voice of the Lord talking to you right now: “Prophesy to all the dry bones that you see around you, and say to them: O dry bones, hear what the Lord says: ‘I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.’”  And, the bones will live.

Reflection on John 17:6-19

 

John 17:6-19

[Jesus prayed:] 6“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14I 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. 15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

Reflection

The family was never the kind of family that said, “I love you.”  Rarely, did they ever even show outward affection, such as hugs.  Public kisses were out of the question.

The family’s sense of spirituality was similar.  As the children grew, the parent’s did take them to church every once and a while, but there was never any talk of God at the dinner table, and there definitely was no open family prayer. 

Years, after the father had died, and when it was apparent that the mother was in her final days, the daughter brought her mother to live with her husband and children.  The daughter had made certain that her family was different.  They were affectionate and loving.  They did pray together.  But, her mother was her mother, and when they brought her into their home, her mother was no more affectionate or religious than years before.  She excused herself to her room before evening prayers without offering hugs or kisses to the kids.  The daughter feared that her mother did not care about God at all, and, maybe even more sad to her, did not care about her or her family. 

Then, one evening just days before her mother died, the daughter walked by her mother’s bedroom door and overheard her mother talking.  Her mother was saying, “Holy Father, protect them when I am gone.  Do not let anything hurt them or tear them apart.  Let them know that they are loved.”

“She loved me, and prayed for me,” the daughter cried.

Over and over again the daughter repeated through her tears, “She loved me.  She loved me.  She loved me.”

There is something very powerful when you know that someone is truly praying for you.  There is something very powerful in knowing that you are loved enough that someone would stop and take the time to talk to God about you.

“I did not know.  For all of that time I did not know, and now I do.  It makes her death easier I think,” the daughter said.  “If only I had known sooner.  Why did she never tell me?”

I did not know the answer.  Maybe, she took Jesus literally when he taught us to go into our rooms and pray in secret.  Maybe, her own family lacked outward affection and prayer, and she simply did not know how, or was too embarrassed to try.  There is just no way to know.  But, the important thing was that the mother did pray for those she loved.  She did care.

“I am glad I could overhear her.  It makes things so much easier,” the daughter said one last time.  There is something very powerful in knowing that you are loved enough that someone would stop and take the time to talk to God about you.

And, that is why I love this prayer in the gospel of John, because Jesus too is about to leave those he loves.  Jesus’ time on the cross is just around the corner, and instead of taking the time to mount a defense, or complete a bucket list, or wallow in despair, Jesus chooses to use the remaining time that he has left on this earth to pray for his disciples.

“Protect them in your name that you have given me,” Jesus prays, “so that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:11).

How often has a death caused confusion and division within those close to the one who died?  How many families have been torn apart because of squabbles about who gets the precious china, or the guitar, or who was the favorite or most devoted child?  Precisely, at the moment when the forces of chaos threaten to tear people apart, when death seems to be pushing us further apart, the Word of God, the whisper that brought life to the universe breathes some words that ask that we stay together.  The world is too hard to go it alone.  Grief is too hard to go through it without anyone.  And, the savior of the whole world takes the time to pray that those he loves will continue on together.  “Protect them…so that they may be one…”

Prayers like that can only mean one thing: we are loved.  You are loved.  In Jesus Christ we are all loved and made a part of one another.  “All mine are yours, and yours are mine” Jesus prays to God the Father (John 17:10). 

As we overhear Jesus’ prayer, as we listen through the door with our ears pressed to our Bibles, we hear the heart of Jesus.  “You are mine.”  Jesus prays confidently, knowing that we belong to him.

There are so many others out there who would claim you.  Your political party wants your undivided love; so that they can claim you and you would follow them.  Your car manufacturer wants your undivided love, so that they can keep selling their cars to you, and you might continue driving their brand.  Even some of your friends or family members want your undivided love, requiring that you to be loyal to them. 

I was once asked if I would please bar someone from coming into the church.  “This is my church!  I was here first!  I need this place to be my space,” they pleaded.  And, though I understood their pain and their yearning to have a place free from this one person they hated, I had to tell them “no.” 

The church of Jesus Christ does not belong to us.  And, even though I say “my church” all the time, this is not “my” church, or “your” church, or “their” church.  The body of Jesus does not belong to “me.”  We belong to Jesus Christ.  The church belongs to Jesus Christ, not the other way around. 

I reminded this person that we belong to Jesus.  Since we belong to Jesus, we glorify, we reflect, we mirror the ways of Jesus.  In Jesus’ church, those we hate are prayed for and included, just as Jesus taught.  In Jesus’ church, the sinner is forgiven and given a second, and third, and fourth chance, just as Jesus taught. 

“I cannot bar this person from the church.  I have no right.” I told them.  “If I was talking to them, and they were asking me to bar you from coming, I am certain that you would want me to answer the same way.”

“You are mine,” the heart of Jesus declares.  That is the promise.  No matter what happens, all of us belong to Jesus.  And, quite frankly, we need to hear that promise over and over again. 

In our bible story, the disciples need to hear Jesus pray those words also.  Very soon, Jesus will be leaving them.  The cross is near.  So, Jesus prays:  “But now I am coming to you” (John 17:13).  And, again he prays:  “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15).

“Protect them.”  This is the most common prayer that I hear from parents around this time of year.  As seniors head off into the night to have one last party before school is done and friends move on I hear parents pray, “Protect them.”  As those same young adults head off into their own lives, making their own mistakes, I hear parents praying even more strongly, “Protect them!” 

And, Jesus prays it too.  He also prays that the forces of chaos and evil not take hold of our lives.

“Remember everything that I taught you,” parents say as the child leaves, and Jesus prays that too.  Jesus prays that we continue to be a people set apart in this world, who remain with Jesus and stand for everything for which Jesus stood: loving neighbor; praying for the enemy; giving our lives up for our friends; and being a people of love, a people of truth.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (John 17:17-18).  Sanctify means to “set apart” or “set aside” something or someone for an intended purpose.  So, Jesus prays that we be “set apart,” in the world.  He prays that we might be a people who stand up with him and live in the ways of self-giving love that we see in Jesus.

And, that is Jesus’ prayer for you today; that you may know you are loved and will never forget to whom you belong, that you all remain one, that you be protected from evil, and that you live a life, set apart as Jesus’ people.  Be loved, be united, be protected, and be Jesus’ people.  Be loved, be united, be protected, and be Jesus’ people.  Be loved, be united, be protected, and be Jesus’ people.

And so, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to pray that same prayer for you today.  Just imagine that you are listening through the door as I pray for you, as someone who loves you.  You are worth the time.  You are worth the prayer.

Lord, we know that you love us, but sometimes we need to be reminded just how much.  Continue to love your people right here with a love that would go all the way to the cross.  Bind us together with your love so tightly that we do not let each other go.  Protect us from everything in the world that would seek to hurt us and push us apart.  Finally Lord, may our lives reflect all that Jesus cares about.  May we continue to be the love of Jesus right here, right now, where you placed us in your glorious world.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Reflection on John 15:9-17

 

John 15:9-17

 [Jesus said:] 9“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

Reflection

1   What a friend we have in Jesus,

     all our sins and griefs to bear!

     What a privilege to carry

     ev'rything to God in prayer!

     Oh, what peace we often forfeit;

     oh, what needless pain we bear

     all because we do not carry

     ev'rything to God in prayer!

He stood on the bank of the river Bann, watching his fiancé ride over the bridge, approaching on her horse.  She was arriving to what was supposed to be the happiest time of his life the very next day.  Joseph Scriven and this beautiful woman were to be married.  But, she never made it to the other side of the bridge.  He watched helplessly as she unexpectedly slid off her horse, fell into the river, and never returned to the surface.

“Oh, what needless pain we bear,” Joseph writes later as he penned, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.  Joseph knew pain intimately.  It came to him whenever the image of his love falling into the water flashed through his memory.

Running from his pain, in 1844 he moved to Woodstock, Canada.  He thought that getting far away from the horror of that day would help ease the blow.  What he did not realize, until later, was that he did not need to get away.  What he actually need was a friend.  He needed the unconditional love of a friend who would remain with him, even though he was prone to flee.  He needed a friend who would remain with him; willing to shoulder the heavy load of griefs and sins that he was carrying.  He soon came to realize that he already had such a friend: Jesus.  Jesus said:

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide [or remain] in my love.  If you keep my commandments [to love], you will abide [remain] in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide [remain] in his love.  I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete [filled up]” (John 15:9-11).

Though he had wandered, Jesus stuck with Joseph, as friends do, and his friend’s love, Jesus’ love, eventually filled him with joy.

Here is the thing about being filled with love and joy: it is a coffee cup that overflows and spills on others at the table; it is a coke bottle stuffed with Mentos that explodes soda on everyone standing near; it is laughter that seeps through everyone at the most inappropriate of times, like the communion rail, or a wedding, or during the final silent pause during the climax of the Halleluiah Chorus.

About this expansive love, Jesus instructs:

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Allowing Jesus’ unconditional love to spill on others is not hard when Jesus has poured so much of it on us.  Joseph’s love spilled on the people in his faith community to whom he preached, the Plymouth Brethren fellowship, and on the students of the private school that he organized and taught.  To all of them, he gave his time, his talents, and his life.  To all of them, he became a friend, just as Jesus was a friend to him. 

In fact, he became a faithful, devoted friend to the railway construction workers who were building the Grand Trunk Railway across the Canada West.  He sat by the rail-side reading the Bible to them as they worked.  He was there every day for these men, keeping them company, occupying their minds, and giving them faith as they toiled under the blistering sun.  These workers could not come to him to worship, so he went out to them.  That is what a true friend does.

Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13).

Joseph did not die for his friends, as Jesus did, but he did give his life over to them.  But, it was another person’s pain, weakness, and despair that drove Joseph to complete his song.

2   Have we trials and temptations?

     Is there trouble anywhere?

     We should never be discouraged

     take it to the Lord in prayer.

     Can we find a friend so faithful

     who will all our sorrows share?

     Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness

     take it to the Lord in prayer.

Joseph finished his song about Jesus and his friendship, and though it is by far his most popular hymn, it was not included in his collection of hymns and poetic works.  Joseph Scriven published a collection of his poetic works, Hymns and Other Verses, which included seventy-one hymns “intended to be sung in assemblies of the children of God on the first day of the week and on other occasions when two or three are met together in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  But, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” was not included.  In fact, it was never published by Joseph himself.

Instead, it is believed to have been sent into the world by his mother, for whom it was written.  When he heard that his mother was extremely ill, Joseph wrote this very personal reflection on John 15:9-17, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and sent it to his Mother in Dublin.  It shared the Biblical wisdom that he had gained when Jesus was a friend to him during his time of trial and pain.

It touched his mother’s heart so much that she made certain that the song was published and disseminated to others.  As was mentioned before, love and joy has a tendency to spill out everywhere, so that others can bask in the goodness of the Lord.

Unfortunately, Joseph would need to return to the words of his own song as tragedy returned to his life once again.  Joseph’s second fiancée, Eliza Catherine Roach died of an illness shortly before their wedding.  But, Joseph’s friend, Jesus, was with him.  Though Joseph was struggling for a tragic second time, Jesus had chosen Joseph, and Jesus was not going to let him go.  This is the truth that we read in the Bible:

“I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.” (John 15:15-16).

“Take it to the Lord in prayer,” Joseph sings.  You may not know what to do or where to turn when tragedy strikes, but you do not need to know those things.  Jesus, your friend, has chosen you.  Jesus is listening.  Ask and Jesus will hear.  Jesus will take our prayer to God the Father, and God the Father will provide.  After-all, Jesus is our friend.  That is what friends do.

So, as a friend of Jesus, Joseph did not give in to the threat of despair.  His friend still filled him with love in abundance, and Joseph allowed that love to spill all over the place.  Hymnologist Albert Bailey noted that Joseph Scriven, a selfless person by nature, was known as “the man who saws wood for poor widows and sick people who are unable to pay” (Bailey, 1950, p. 495).

Befitting of Joseph’s giving nature, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” still speaks to those who are weak and burdened to this day.  Joseph’s reflection on Jesus’ words about love and friendship still fill us with love and joy in abundance. 

3   Are we weak and heavy-laden,

     cumbered with a load of care?

     Precious Savior, still our refuge

     take it to the Lord in prayer.

     Do your friends despise, forsake you?

     Take it to the Lord in prayer.

     In his arms he'll take and shield you;

     you will find a solace there.

 For more information about Joseph Scriven:

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-what-a-friend-we-have-in-jesus