Lifted Up in Glory

Based on John 17:1-11
First delivered May 24, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            One of my favorite cartoon characters growing up was Yosemite Sam, the rootinist, tootinist, shootinist, bobtailed wildcat in the west with the fastest gun north, south, east and west of the Pecos! When he would finally catch up to Bugs Bunny he would aim his shotgun and he would bellow out, “Say your prayers, you long-eared galoot!” That’s a standard trope in old westerns, that just before somebody is killed, the executioner tells them, “Say your prayers.”

            Jesus wasn’t about to face the executioner. But in the unfolding of the narrative in the gospel of John, Jesus was about to begin that journey when he gets arrested. He knew his hour had come. So, he gathered his disciples together for a last supper and gave them his farewell address, all the things they need to know, a pep talk to encourage them as he prepares to finish his ministry and return to his Father in heaven. Between his farewell address and his arrest, Jesus shifts his gaze from his disciples to heaven and he says his prayers, putting his future into the hands of his Father, as we read in verse 5: “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.” In other words, he is saying, “my work is done. Bring me back to you.” Just before Jesus’ arrest, we get to overhear Jesus’ prayer to his Father. As Jesus faces his coming death, he entrusts himself to God. No fear. No pleading for the cup to pass from him. No, in John’s version, Jesus is cleareyed about what lays before him. He knows that his hour has come. He is about to finish his work, the purpose for which he was sent. So, he simply prays. He prays for himself and he prays for his disciples…for us.

            Something that jumps out at us when we hear this prayer is the word “glory.” “Glorify your son,” “I glorified you”, “glorify me with the glory that I had”, “I have been glorified in them.” I find the word “glory” or “glorified” six times in these eleven verses. Just before his arrest and death, Jesus is focused on glory, his glory and the Father’s glory. At this major turning point in Jesus’ life, when the hour has finally come for his arrest and crucifixion, and then his resurrection and ascension, no fretting, no anxiety, no sadness, only glory.

            What does glory mean? When I think of glory, I think of lifting someone up, giving them praise. For example, when we give glory to God, we are giving God praise. We are lifting God up. But we don’t just give glory to God. Any of us who have been blessed to be parents have surely given our kids glory every now and then. There have been several times in my life where I have watched one of my boys do something great and, yes, I’m the dad that shouts out in the crowd, “That’s my boy!” That’s giving glory. To receive glory is to receive praise and adoration.

            I don’t know about you but when I am given praise, when I am lifted up, when I am glorified by others, that is a real shot in the arm. It turns a grey day into a day with a bit more color. It gets the juices flowing. To be praised just does wonders to our energy level. It is a powerful motivator. I wonder if that is what Jesus is getting at in vs. 1, where he asks his Father to glorify him, to give him praise, to lift him up so that he has added energy to fulfill the work ahead of him, so that he may glorify, lift up, his Father. It’s a give and take. When we receive praise, it gives us energy to keep going, and it prompts us to return the praise. I am thinking of when musicians receive lots of praise from their fans when a new record comes out. Not only is that affirming for the musician, but they will express their praise to their fans. They will say things like, “I have the best fans in the world.” Of course, fans eat that stuff up. It just makes them appreciate their favorite musician even more. It’s a virtuous cycle of mutual praise. Not a bad thing.

            So, the first thing Jesus prays for is for God to give him glory, to praise and lift him up, so that he can have the energy and motivation to face the hour ahead of him, to see it through, so that he can give his Father all the glory for what God has accomplished through him. The second thing Jesus says in his prayer is that he is completing his work. We read in verse 6, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me.” That was Jesus’ work in a nutshell, to reveal to the world who God is. By making known God’s name, Jesus is not talking about God’s literal name. He is talking about God’s character and identity. Jesus reveals the character of God, which is love and life and truth. He has made God’s name known to those God gave Jesus to proclaim it to. Jesus has formed a community of believers, of people who have come to believe Jesus is who he says he is, a community that loves each other. Look at verse 10: “All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.” How have they glorified Jesus? We find the answer in 13:34-35: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” It is their love for one another that caused people to know that they are disciples of Jesus. “See how they love one another,” the people say. “Who are they?” “Those are disciples of Jesus.” “Wow. Jesus must have been a great teacher.” Their love for each other led to Jesus getting the glory. Jesus’ work is done. He has demonstrated the character of God and assembled a community of believers who will continue this work of demonstrating the character of God when he leaves and returns to the Father. And in so doing, the community of Jesus followers continue to glorify Jesus, to give praise to God.

            Jesus asks the Father to give him glory. He has reported to the Father that he is completing the work the Father sent him to do. Last, Jesus places this community into the hands of the Father for safe keeping. Verse 11: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” “Holy Father, protect them.” Is there anyone who can protect us more than God? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. When Jesus left them and ascended back to heaven, he did not leave them to fend for themselves. He did not tell them to figure it out and hope for the best. He did not tell them that now it’s all on them, and they better not mess it up because God is counting on them. No, Jesus placed the community into the hands of God. There is no more secure situation than that.

            And that’s the good news for us. In these uncertain times where it seems we are trying to take one step forward in a thick fog, there is one thing that we can be certain of. We are securely in the hands of God. See, when Jesus prayed this prayer 2,000 years ago, he wasn’t praying only for the community that he had personally brought together. He is praying for the community of Jesus followers that extends across time. When he prayed that prayer, he was thinking of you and me.  He was including us in his prayer. So, our future is secure in the hands of God, no matter what happens in the days ahead. Not only that, we can keep loving one another, which reveals to the world the character of God. Not only that, we can ask God to glorify us, to lift us up so that we can keep doing what we are called to do and, in return, give God all the glory. We don’t know all we need to know and all we need to do in these crazy times. But we do know that love is always the right thing to do. We do know that when we love, God is saying “That’s my boy! That’s my girl!” We do know that our future with God is secure, no…matter…what.

            When we were children, and we found ourselves in a crowd, with people walking this way and that, it would have been pretty easy to get separated from our parents and maybe even get lost. So, what did our parents do? They reached down to grab our hands. They would say, “Hold my hand.” And then, hand in hand, we make our way through the crowd. It made us feel safe that mom or dad were holding our hands as we made our way through that confusing crowd.

            God’s hand has ahold of us. As we make our way through this confusing time, we can’t always hold hands. Physical separation won’t let us. But we can hold each other in our hearts. We can hold each other in prayer. And we can be certain that God holds us, carries us, each one of us, with God’s hand. Glory to God.