Sermon for 7th Sunday of Easter – “Farewell”, preached at the Eucharist, Sherborne Abbey on Sunday, 12 May 2024 by The Reverend Robert Green (Acts Ch 1: v 15 – 17, 21 – end; John Ch 17: v 6 – 19).
Recently I finally decided to write down what I would like for my funeral. Over the years I have told many others to write down their wishes, and I realised it was high time that I did the same. In doing so, it set me thinking about the end of this earthly life, which comes to us all. Already when we reach a certain age we begin to notice that we are beginning to have certain physical limitations. I can no longer bound up a flight of stairs, and generally the pace of life begins to slow down. On another level, the number of things that are important become fewer, and those few things are extremely important. What we might want to say to friends and family about the past, and to express our love for them, and to give thanks.
In our Gospel passage this morning, Jesus is bidding farewell to his disciples. It is part of a final prayer just before his arrest and trial. He realises that his earthly ministry is coming to a close. No longer will he be travelling, preaching, healing and teaching, for his world like any person getting close to death, is becoming smaller. In this part of the prayer Jesus focuses on those close to him, and his deep desire for their well-being, and, what matters most to him. We discover what intimate relationship he has with God the Father, and an intimacy that he wants others to share. “All mine are yours and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.” Then he prays for their protection from the evil one, not that they might be in a bubble of safety, but in all the trials and difficulties of life they might know the constant presence and protection of God. “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one.” The disciples belong to God. They have been set apart – sanctified-, and God’s glory will be revealed through them.
Not only does sanctification set apart those whom God has chosen for a special task but also it means equipping that person with the qualities of mind and heart and character which are necessary for that task. If we are to serve God, we must have something of God’s goodness and wisdom in us. A holy God requires holy people. Now that may sound daunting, but we must remember that we can never do God’s work in our own strength. If He has chosen us for a particular task, He has also fitted and equipped us for that task if we will place our lives in his hands.
Throughout this prayer Jesus expresses a longing for unity. As Wiliam Barclay has commented, the world cannot be evangelised by competing Churches. Jesus prayed that His disciples might be fully one as He and the Father are one; and there is no prayer of Jesus which has been so hindered from being answered by individual Christians, and by all the Churches than this prayer. Where there are divisions, where there is exclusiveness, where there is disunity, the cause of Christianity is harmed and hindered, and the prayer of Jesus is frustrated. Our local Churches Together in Sherborne is a very small step to try and find ways in which the churches in the town can work together, and of course it begins with prayer. I well remember when I was a curate being at a clergy fraternal of the churches in the town, and one minister openly said he was not sure whether we should pray together! Thankfully those days have long since gone, and the need for prayer for unity in all denominations is fully recognised and encouraged, as is witnessed week by week when we pray for our fellow Christians in this community.
Jesus’s prayer is full of love and concern as well as trust and courage, and speaks of his leaving this world, and that the disciples “may have my joy among themselves”. We celebrated that leaving on Ascension Day last Thursday, and for the disciples it was an event of awesome wonder with the promise of “Power from on high”. And we too will celebrate the coming of that Power at Pentecost in a week’s time.
Like any parent Jesus longs for his children to be united, and it is this love and unity which matters above all else; unity with God and with one another, love for God and for one another. For me it has been heartening and thrilling to hear that some more recent members of our congregation have received a warm welcome into our fellowship, God’s love is clearly at work. This does not mean that we can rest on our laurels, but rather that it might stimulate us for greater work for God; there is always more to be done. It does at least show us that a church can grow even in these troubled times. My brothers and sisters take heart and may we know God’s blessing in all we do in his name. Alleluia!