7 Easter/Year C Sermon/June 1, 2025
Acts of the Apostles 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14,16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26
(Rev Julie Platson)
Opening Prayer (Feasting on the Word Worship Companion)
Holy God, whose voice is heard in the thunder and in the silence, speak to us now, by the power of your Spirit, that we may hear your word for us today; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen
Today’s scriptures have given us so much to ponder. Almost too much, it can feel like at times. But, as I spent time with these scriptures over the past couple of weeks, there was one word, one image that kept coming into clear focus…and that was the word “PRAYER”.
In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we continue to be witness to the power of prayer enacted by the disciples, and specifically today, the bold witness of Paul and Silas…to bring about healing and transformation of peoples’ lives through their prayers in word and actions, and songs and persistence…
Psalm 97, as today’s response to our first reading, is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving…
The reading from the book of Revelation today, is a prayer of invitation to draw us closer, to focus on the One who has been with us from the very beginning, and will be us, in the ages to come…It’s a prayer inviting us to hold on to that vision and hope…that believes that Jesus will come again…There’s a simple prayer in the reading that we can carry with us this week…. “Come, Lord Jesus!”
Maybe begin and end your daily prayers this week, in whatever form they take…with these three words: “Come, Lord Jesus!”
As we continue with our reading from the Gospel of John chapter 17…today’s verses are part of a full, larger prayer that Jesus prays for his disciples on his last evening with them in the upper room, on the eve of his arrest and crucifixion.
He prays with so much love and empathy for them, and with so much love and hope for them to experience for themselves and for those whose lives they will impact, that the love of God made known to him, would be in them too…and that it would be through the revelation of the love of God, made known to them and us, in Jesus Christ, that they would come to believe in the One who truly binds them together with love as one body, one family, one creation
Jesus gives us a pretty clear message about the importance of prayer, in all forms, and styles, and times and places. Not just as we heard in today’s readings, but throughout the scriptures. He’s regularly modeling and leading his followers through a balance of prayer and action…and one of his final teachings for those who will carry on his mission long after he leaves his earthly footprint, would be the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit that would be sent to us after his ascension to heaven, to teach us, guide us, empower us, comfort us, and strengthen us to show us the way to pray and walk in love as one body, one spirit, one hope, here and now, in this time, and in this place…
Yet, Jesus doesn’t go into all kinds of itty-bitty details about how we should pray…sometimes he used words and parables to teach us, and other times, it was through his quiet, loving, compassionate silence, presence, and actions that were a form of prayer, and praise and thanksgiving to God…
In our Book of Common Prayer, we have a section of the Catechism about prayer and some different kinds of prayer…it begins on pg 856 if you want to explore that section further sometime…but, for now, I just call your attention to the very 1st question and answer regarding one of the basic Episcopal Church’s teaching on prayer:
Q. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
This teaching for me…gives us infinite possibilities as to how we can include prayer in our daily lives, in such a way that captures Jesus’ clear message about the importance of prayer, and its’ impact on our own lives, and the lives of those we will encounter throughout our lifetime.
Looking back over the few general things I noted in today’s readings about prayer as the Holy Spirit can teach us now: they are infused with healing and transformation, words and songs, praise and thanksgiving, invitation and visioning, love and empathy… for ourselves, for others, with the love of God, at the very center, made known to us in Jesus Christ, who is revealed throughout the scriptures as the One who can truly bind us all together as one body, one family, one creation…now and for the age to come…
So, pray…pray as Jesus has taught us to pray…pray wherever you are this summer - for yourself, for those you love, for those who anger and frustrate you, and for those you have yet to meet face to face: pray at the beach, on a boat, fishing, walking through the park, at camp, or at a concert, traveling on the highways, the airways…standing at the roundabout to advocate for the most vulnerable…pray for those at AA meetings, when visiting with elders, pray in the quiet of your home, or at church…pray with songs of praise and thanksgiving, pray with the summer psalms, pray at every meal, pray as you open your eyes at the start of the day, pray as you close your eyes at the end of the day, pray with empathy and love for those you hear about on the news…pray for those suffering in places of war and conflict, pray with your tears, to give you a clearer vision of a world where people of all walks of life and cultures can truly be welcomed and respected for who they are…Pray for the day, when God’s kingdom will come, here on earth, as in heaven…pray for the time when we will all be One…One in love with God and another…one body, one spirit, one hope, one family, one creation…now and forever…
Closing Prayer/Hymn: They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love