Devote Ourselves to Prayer - Redeemer Episcopal Church

John 17:1-11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

17 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you,’ 2 since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

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. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; 8 for 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. 9 I 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. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. 11 And 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.

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This sermon was preached and recorded for a certain context in a certain time (Redeemer Episcopal Church for the 7th Sunday in Easter), but we believe that God can and will speak outside of our own limitations. I hope that it can speak to you in whatever space you are in today. You can read the sermon below, listen to it at this link, and see the sermon preached at this link. 

Let us pray. God of in-between times, be with us now in our waiting. Comfort us in our prayer and call us to further devotion in this time, trusting in your promise of hope and peace. Amen. 

When I read all of the scripture for this morning— the first reading, the psalm, the epistle, and the gospel— I hear a common thread about difficult times, changing, and challenging times. 

In the Gospel text we just heard, Jesus prays for his disciples, his friends, for the last time before he is betrayed and handed over to the authorities. This are about to get really messy for everyone involved. They are about to lose their teacher to death on a cross. 

In Acts, we see another turbulent time for the disciples. They have once again found themselves without their teacher. 

Ascension Day was this past Thursday, when Jesus was taken up into heaven to be with God the Father for eternity. 

Up until that time, Jesus was with his disciples again after being resurrected from the dead. What an incredible time that must have been for them, to have the fullness of joy after seeing their friend and teacher be killed. 

But now he is going to leave them again. After only being with them a short time.

This week in our lectionary season, Jesus has ascended to heaven and Pentecost has not yet come.

We heard last week that Jesus told his disciples that once he was gone, he would send the Paraclete— the advocate, friend, comforter, the Holy Spirit— to be with the disciples. But that happens next week. 

It’s in this in-between time where we find ourselves this morning.

This week… we wait. So there are ten days in our liturgical calendar where we wait again, like Holy Saturday, to see what God will do next. 

It strikes me that what the disciples do during this time is they constantly devote themselves to prayer. All together, Acts tells us, the disciples gathered in a room apart from everyone else and devoted themselves to prayer. 

It is not some new age way of worshiping that Father Wiley has called us to when he encourages us to create a worship space in our own homes for prayer and devotion. It is not bizarre that Heather, our formation director, and Hannah, our youth director, have encouraged us to pray with our families during this time, providing opportunities for faith formation in the midst of our work and family life. 

They are following the examples of the disciples. They are following the example of the first Christian church, the one that waited desperately for a time when they could safely go back into the world and proclaim the wonder and good news of Christ Jesus. It sounds familiar…

I imagine it was a long few days for them— as they waited to see what God would do next, clinging to the promises that Jesus had, indeed, fulfilled in the resurrection. And now clinging again to his promise that he would send someone else, a comforter, an advocate, a friend, to continue to guide us and give us wisdom. 

And in this long, difficult time, what do they do? They stay with one another and they devote themselves to prayer. They’re not praying because they believe it can solve some kind of problem. They probably aren’t even praying that Jesus come back or things go back to normal. They devote themselves to prayer because they know that when God feels far away, we pray. When God feels far away, we talk to God and feel closer. We talk to God and we ARE closer. We listen for God and feel comforted. Prayer is not some holy problem solver. It is a practice of putting ourselves deliberately and intentionally in the presence of God. In a time right after the disciples literally watched Jesus be raised to heaven, when he left them once again, what else are they supposed to do? 

We, too, are in a similar liminal space. I remember in the beginning of this season, thinking that this would only be a short time away from everyone. A few weeks, perhaps— maybe it would even be a sort of welcomed vacation for me. I hunkered down and began making preparations for when we would come back together. I began busying myself with all sorts of things. 

I don’t like feeling out of control, so I began finding problems I could solve on my own. Things I could do or fix. I told myself I would complete all of our house projects in these few weeks. I began staying up too late, distracting myself with mask-making and reading news articles. I was constantly looking for ways to spend my time so these couple of weeks would go by faster. I was constantly finding problems that I could solve in an effort to keep my mind away from the helplessness I was feeling. 

And then the weeks drew on and I began to realize that this would be a marathon instead of a sprint. And I began to notice myself drifting away from scripture, drifting away from my usual habits of prayer and devotion, drifting away from the assurances of God and God’s promises for us. I was busying myself in an effort to distance myself from God, thinking I could solve this pandemic on my own.  

So it feels appropriate that we are in this time in our church year and hear these stories of the disciples while we wait anxiously for government officials to give us more information, while we wonder what comes next for our careers, the economy, our health, and our church. I have found myself unsettled and wondering what, exactly, am I supposed to do while I wait? 

Well, what else are we supposed to do but follow the example of the first church and devote ourselves to prayer? To keep alert and to notice what God is doing next, clinging to the promise of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit. So that soon, we might emerge once again into the world, renewed in the Spirit once again, to proclaim the good news of Christ Jesus with new joy and hope on our lips. Amen. 

Finding Christ Outside of the Meal - Redeemer Episcopal Church

Luke 24:13-35 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Walk to Emmaus

13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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This sermon was preached by me for our April 26, 2020 morning prayer service for a specific context to a specific people. I hope that it can also speak to you amid the COVID-19 public health crisis. You can read my manuscript below or you can listen to the audio at this link. You can also watch the entire morning prayer service at this link. 

Let us pray. 

God who is known and recognized in the breaking of the bread, make yourself known to us now. Reveal yourself to us in this time when you often feel so distant. Amen. 

Like many people during this time of social distancing and isolation, I am finding myself having a bit more time for spiritual practices and things I wouldn’t normally have time for while I was working on campus regularly. In my newly found time, I have been helping lead a small group called “Abide.” We meet weekly and one of the purposes of the small group is to notice where God is present around us during this time and share it with our small group members. Because sometimes it feels like God is really far away when we are going through change, grief, or difficulties and we need to be reminded that God is, in fact present. 

So that’s what we do. We get together over video every week and talk about where God is in our lives. 

In the story we hear this morning, two of Jesus’ followers walk to Emmaus and Jesus walks with them, speaking to them, questioning them, reprimanding them a bit, and ultimately being present with them. But it is not until Jesus breaks bread with them that they recognize him. 

It’s hard for me to not relate to this story intensely. I, too, recognize Jesus most fully in the breaking of the bread, in the Holy Meal of Christ’s body and blood. I was told a few months ago that I preach about baptism and Holy Communion A LOT. It’s because they are my favorite things in the whole world. And I can be reminded of our baptism each week, but I get to see, and touch, and smell, and taste and even hear the breaking of the body and blood of Christ Jesus every week. It is so tactile and moves me so much. I sometimes joke that I became a priest just so I could be the first in line at this holy table. 

I know that is has been incredibly difficult not being present here at the church building to gather with one another in worship. I feel it too. But even more than that, we have been away from this table for so long. We have not been nourished by the body and blood for such a long time. We may have forgotten how it tastes, feels, sounds, smells, and looks. We may not even fully realize how much our hearts long for it right now. I feel it too, my beloveds. 

And I also recognize that I had taken it for granted. It was the way I MOST recognized Christ, which made it much more difficult for me to recognize Christ anywhere else. How can anything be as beautiful and perfect a reminder of our Jesus’ presence with us? 

And now that we cannot gather for the meal, this feast, now that we are not able to come to this table, are we able to recognize Jesus? 

Oh dear friends, it is difficult. When we have our normalcy and our routine is ripped out from under us, it is difficult to find God in the mess. But God does hear our cries and supplications. And even if we don’t recognize him, Jesus is with us along this road that is so full of disappointment and grief. 

Jesus is walking alongside us, bidding us keep walking, asking us to continue to hope. Just as Jesus was present on the road to Emmaus, he is present here with us now. Not even death could keep him from us. 

But I am reminded that this journey to Emmaus happens on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. On the same day that the women run from the tomb proclaiming the risen Christ, there are those who doubt and wait for more to be revealed. There are these two on the path stretched out before them, grieving the death of their friend and teacher, unable to comprehend the good news of the resurrection, unable to recognize their savior walking beside them. 

All this is to say that sometimes resurrection takes a while. Sometimes resurrection takes a few days, perhaps even several weeks. “Sometimes new life comes in fits and starts,” Debie Thomas tells us, “sometimes seeing and recognizing the risen Christ is hard.”

God is with us, even when we don’t recognize it. God is actually even more present with us when we don’t recognize God’s presence. 

Yes, of course, God is in the breaking of the bread, but God is in so much more than just that. 

That small group that I talked about before is called “Abide” for a reason. We come together each week as a small community to abide with one another, to abide in God’s presence, and remind one another that God abides with us. God is present with us when we gather in community and we need each other to be reminded on that because we so often forget. 

We forget that God is in morning prayer each Sunday, God is in our gathering together even if it is physically apart from one another. God is in the Zoom Bible studies and the food pantry ministry. God is in the text you send to your lonely neighbor and God is there on the evening walk with your family. God is there in the protective masks and the quiet, patient conversations you have with your children. 

As much as we long to be in this building together again, and I know we long for it, because even though I stand here, I long for your faces and your embrace and your presence. As much as we long to be here in this place we are reminded over and over again in this time that God is not confined here.

God is present in the meal, oh but God cannot be limited to the meal. And I thank God for that difficult but comforting reminder. 

I leave you with these wise words from Debie Thomas: “So keep walking.  Keep telling the story.  Keep honoring the stranger. Keep attending to your burning heart. Christ is risen. He is no less risen on the road to Emmaus than he is anywhere else.  So look for him.  Listen for him.  And when he lingers at your door, honoring your freedom, but yearning to feed you, say what he longs to hear:  Stay with me.”  And invite him in. Amen. 

How to Love - Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

John 13:31-35

³¹When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. ³²If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.³³Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ³⁴I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

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This sermon was originally preached by me, Rev. Sarah Locke, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on May 19, 2019. To listen to the sermon (with infusions from the Spirit), click here. 

It is a joy to be with you this morning. I am the pastor for Jacksonville Campus Ministry, which is an ecumenical ministry that serves University of North Florida and soon Jacksonville University through the partnerships of seven denominations and over a dozen congregations in Jacksonville. 

I have the extreme privilege of working with young people and students on a regular basis and I love it. I love it most especially because young people ask all the good questions.

Recently, a student asked, “what is the most important part of Christian life?” As any good pastor or teacher would do, I asked it right back. Well what do you think? 

“I suppose it’s important to believe in Jesus and follow his example,” she replied. What does that look like? I prompted. 

“Well, doing what Jesus did. Loving people. That’s what he tells the disciples to do. We’re supposed to love people.” 

She seemed satisfied with that small answer to her big question, and the subject changed to something else. But I kept thinking about it for weeks afterwards. 

We’re supposed to love people. And this was stuck in my head and it was like a pebble in my shoe, or an itchy tag in the collar of my shirt. I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t sit quite right with me. It seemed too simple, too elementary of an answer. 

As I read the text for this week, it wasn’t the simplicity of Jesus’ example and command that struck me, it is the difficulty. 

The gospel text for this morning is one of the shortest gospel texts we get in our whole three year lectionary cycle. And it is possibly the most important. It is certainly the text that best sums up, not just the four gospels, but the entire Bible. God loves you, so love other people. “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And that sounds awfully nice, right? It’s nice to be loved, and it’s nice to love others. But often times I don’t think we take this seriously enough. Within the context of when Jesus tells his disciples, he is not just saying to be nice or kind to folks. He had just humbled himself to the point of humiliation by washing the disciples feet. And right after this, he will be betrayed, stripped, beaten, and hanged on a cross for everyone to witness as they come in and out of the bustling city. Love is not just a good feeling. Jesus is not simply commanding his disciples to play nice with others. 

What would the world look like if we erred on the side of this kind of love? 

Love that sacrifices itself for others. 

Love that is without fear of the unknown or the other. 

Love that forfeits power and privilege. 

Love that believes people’s experiences of injustice.

Love that breaks down walls and crosses borders. 

Love that cares more about the health and wholeness of God’s people than profit. 

Love that risks upsetting the religious elite because it is the way of love. 

Love that honors women’s bodies and the lives of minorities and vulnerable communities. 

Love that not only feeds the hungry and homeless, but fights against the powers that create the hungry and homeless. 

Love that cares more about the wellness of God’s people than church or state politics. 

Love that is more than justice or fairness, more than friendliness or politeness. 

What would the world look like if we, as Jesus’ followers, loved people in the same way that Jesus did? In the same way that God does: 

Without wondering if they deserve it. Or the color of their skin, or their country of origin, or if they have the right paperwork. Or even if they’ve broken the law. We love them. Period. Because that is what Jesus has done and that is what Jesus commands us to do. Period. No exceptions. Not when it is convenient. Not when it benefits us the most. Not when we think folks deserve it. No, we love because God loves us. And God gave Godself for us in Christ Jesus to live among us, minister to us, and be God incarnate among God’s people. 

And because this life of love, this way of love, was too much for us, was too radical and too intense, God’s people hung God on a cross and killed him. So that’s the risk we take when we follow this command. We risk losing our power and our privilege and possibly our lives. 

And we know when we are loving in this way… because our community and our lives begin to look like the passage from Revelation. We begin to live into the reality of a new heaven and a new earth. We see God among us, in one another— in every person we encounter. Death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more. All things will be made new and beautiful and good. Christ has started this work in his life, death, and resurrection, but we are called into that work as resurrection people. We are called and commanded to love. 

And if that sounds like too much for you, if it sounds like too much for us as a community, then I’d agree with you. It is too much. But it is not impossible. We have been equipped for this love in the Holy Spirit that was gifted to us in Holy Baptism. 

We dip our fingers in the water of the font and remember that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit to do this word. 

We come to the table to taste the body and blood of our Lord Christ Jesus and remember God’s love for us.

We confess that we have not loved with our whole hearts, we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. 

We hear the words of forgiveness and acknowledge that we do not have to love perfectly to love powerfully. 

Finally, we remember and affirm that love and the power to love are gifts from God. There is not and never will be a shortage of love. 

So we love. And love. And love. And love and love and love. Until the Kingdom of God is fully at hand and Christ’s glorious name is proclaimed by all. And then we love some more. Amen.