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May 16,  2010 The Seventh Sunday of Easter Also Called The Sunday After Ascension Day Year C Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 John 17:20-26 Click here for sermons from previous weeks The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired) The Gospel for today is the conclusion of Jesus' great high priestly prayer. He prayed this prayer just before going from the Passover dinner to the garden, where he would agonize about his coming death and then be arrested and led away to his trial and crucifixion. So, the prayer was almost like a farewell speech to the disciples, with a very big difference: Jesus knew it would not be a permanent farewell. He knew that he would die, of course, and he also knew that he would rise again on the third day, and spend more time with the disciples before ascending to heaven, to return to his Father and ours. But the disciples didn't know these things, in spite of Jesus' many attempts to prepare them for these events. Jesus' impassioned prayer for them, that they, and we who follow them, might be one in mind and spirit and love, just as Jesus himself and God the Father are one, must have made a mighty impression on them, especially the next day as they buried Jesus' body and looked back on their time with him. That prayer for unity is something that we should all ponder, especially in relation to ourselves. Jesus prayed that God would help not only the disciples, but those whom they converted, and those who came after them---US---to be united in mind, heart, work and goals. But, you know, that is not the way that most people live. In fact, most of us make an unconscious assumption that "everyone thinks pretty much the way we do." And then, we are shocked and scared when we find out that even our nearest and dearest do not agree with us on everything. It is a very disquieting thing to find out that your spouse does not completely agree with you on what a good marriage should be like, or on how to raise your children. It can be a dreadfully painful discovery to find that your sibling has very different views on political, economic or ethical issues. Families have split up over this lack of unity. Friendships have become enmity because of this lack of agreement. We have all heard stories, for example, of how during the Civil War two brothers fought on different sides of the conflict, or of how husband and wife for years and years have walked to the polling place to cancel one another's' votes. The gospel for today gives us yet another example of this problem of lack of unity. The owner of the young slave woman assumed that everyone would agree on the fact that he was entitled to make a profit from the slave girl, who after all was his property. You buy property and you expect to make a profit from it, right? But Paul and Silas didn't see it that way. They saw the slave girl as the beloved child of God, not as a piece of income-producing property. Never mind that she had some sort of emotional or mental condition that enabled her to prophesy. Never mind that her owner felt entitled to make a profit by charging people who wanted to hear her prophecies about them and their future. Paul and Silas saw it differently: here was a child of God, who through the indwelling of some demon was able to make prophecies. Obviously, from their point of view, the thing to do was to free her from the demon and allow her to be, again, what God had made her to be: a happy, healthy person. So, forthwith, they ordered the demon out, and the girl could no longer prophesy. Well, of course her owner had a different view of this proceeding. While Paul and Silas saw their action as freeing the girl from demonic possession, the owner of the young woman felt that they were interfering with his right to make a profit from his property. So he hollered for the cops, of course, and started ranting and raving, and Paul and Silas ended up being thrown into prison. Before we decide that this is a quaint little tale with no meaning for us, let's stop and think for a moment. When was the last time you read in the paper or heard in a news broadcast about unions complaining that all the good jobs had gone overseas, and that foreign workers were being paid sweatshop wages to do the work that American union workers used to make a good salary doing? When did you last read or hear about an absentee landlord who ignored the city codes and made a big profit by renting apartments with mildew, leaking roofs, broken elevators and windows, or cockroaches to poor families? What was your reaction the last time you heard a joke about models, or about casting-couch interviews? It seems that this lack of unity in thinking is still very much a part of our lives today. And there are families that are divided, in fact churches that are divided, over such things as same-sex marriage, participation of women or of various racial or ethnic groups, or people of different life styles, in the leadership of churches, and there is, of course, much in the news lately about exactly what it means that America is a "melting pot" and whether that is a good or bad thing, and what to do about people who come here seeking freedom from various kinds of economic, political or religious oppression. Of course, in all the above examples from our modern life, each side assumes that the other side sees things the same way as "we" do...and is shocked and upset to find that the other's opinion differs markedly enough to put the two sides into direct conflict. It is apropos to note that a well-known cleric replied to an interviewer's question recently by saying, "My sister and I get along fine now that we are grown up...as long as we don't discuss religion, politics or economics." I can almost hear Jesus repeating, quietly in the background, his prayer for unity. If only we could all be one in heart and mind, in goals and in hopes, just as Jesus and the Father are one. If only. Jesus left the upper room, and went to the garden of Gethsemane, and prepared for what he knew was coming: betrayal, trial, torture and death of a most horrendous kind. And that is, of course, exactly what a lack of unity can lead to. There is no unity possible between self-centered sin and other-centered love. There simply is no common ground between "look out for number one," and "loving one another as God loves us," ... let alone "loving others by loving God." You cannot love both God and Mammon. You cannot have unity with others that you are fleecing out of their last penny and their last breath of life. What we, as Christians, need to do, is work towards the goal of making it possible for every person, of every race, color, gender, handicap, occupation or sexual orientation, to be able to live as a beloved child of God, free of economic, political and social oppression of every kind. Nobody should have to work in a sweatshop, not here and not in Asia or Africa. Nobody should be a sex slave to anyone else, or be forced to earn a living through such slavery, or any other kind of slavery. Nobody should be forced to live in substandard housing, or find food in dumpsters. Nobody should be bullied or looked down upon or made fun of, for any reason having to do with their being...color, IQ, nationality, sexual orientation, handicap, occupation or parentage, or the weird birthmark on their face, or the way they limp when they walk. And everyone should, really should, be willing to listen to the other guy's side and opinions, without derogatory comment or criticism...listen, not to contradict or insult, but to understand. That is the road to the unity that Jesus prayed for. That is what he meant by "thy kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven." That is what life will be like in the New Jerusalem John describes in the book of Revelation, whose light is God himself, and whose sunshine is the Lamb that is Jesus. Amen. Back To Top Home