05-08-15 Sunday Sermon

First Congregational Church
​May 8, 2015
7th Sunday after Easter
John 17:20-26 
“This Glory Infused Life”
Rev. Dinah Haag, preaching


John 17:20-26
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”


Boy did I need to get away from everybody! Family vacations! Whoever thought these things up? I could have even been okay with the idea, but then dad said we couldn’t use any electronics. Rrrr!

Maybe if I hang by this big thing, I could hide on the other side if the family comes in. Cool! Check it out! An organ. An electric organ. I wonder if what dad would say about playing with this.

Kickin’ digs. Whoa - check out that window. Hey, there’s another one right below. Check it - all the windows are stained glass. They probably did that so people wouldn’t stare out the window rather than pay attention. Maybe adults were downers back in the olden days, too. 

At least they have seat cushions. The folding chairs at our church get pretty hard after a while. 

I wonder if this is the time out space when people get caught shooting spitballs at each in the pews. Man, Hanson and I sure got in trouble that time. When old Mrs. What-zer-name got that last one in her hair, I thought I was gonna lose it - until she gave me that stare. I was kinda sorry when she died, tho. 

Wonder what this is. It sort of looks like the weekly announcement page we get at our church, but ours sure doesn’t have all this stuff in it. William Cowper.  Dude, we sure could do a number with that name. Coward, Cowpie, Cowperd…. Maybe I shouldn’t talk too loud. Could be some old geezer wandering around. Probably that Cowper dude. 

Wonder was a Gloria Patri is. Wonder what a tithe is. All this old talk. Makes me feel old just saying the words. 

Check it out - a Bible passage from John. Love that guy. John 3:16. Wonder what that really is. All I ever see at the ball games are the signs that say, “John 3:16.”  I think that that Bible saying comes from there: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Sounds like a bad old movie or the opening to the new “Furious 8” movie that’s supposed to come out next April. 

So John 17:20-26. I’m guessing that’s probably what the preacher talked about last week. I wonder if I can find it. At our church, we never have to look stuff up, because it’s always up there on the screens. Wait - there’s a page number - 1680. John 17: 2-26.

“Jesus Prays for All Believers.” Looks like a chapter name. “My prayer is not for them alone.” That’s cool. 

“I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,” I’m not so sure this Jesus guy has much for me, but I like that he isn’t so self-absorbed and self-serving - not like so many other adults - at least in my world.  

“that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” That they may be one. What a joke! Seems to me, if adults want “to be one” or ‘be at peace,’ they would start by acting like it themselves. They look at my generation and wonder why we don’t want to go to church. Who wants to go hang with hypocrites? At least we know we have issues, as both mom and dad are so kind to point out. 

“May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” “May they - I guess would be all those people Jesus is praying about - also be in us - must be Jesus and God - so that the world - like everybody that Jesus isn’t praying for - may believe that you have sent me.” Sort of sounds like walkin’ the talk, if you ask me. But who would ask a dumb 8th grader?  

“I have given them the glory that you gave me,” Glory, glory halleluia, teacher hit me with a ruler. 

“that they may be one as we are one—“ That’s so weird - Jesus in God and God in Jesus - except that guess I sort of get it - like how I’m more like mom than dad. Sometimes that drives me nuts! If only I were more like dad - able to rough and tough. He tells me to grow up - get a backbone. If only I could tell him how I really feel. If only I could tell anybody - how much I really like being hugged, and talked to, and how I really like drawing, especially making things real, but not too real. My friends tell me it’s just my dumb drawing. But at least no one yells at me in my drawing world.  

“I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. I - Jesus - in them - and you - God - in me. I - Jesus - in them - and you - God - in me. Wow - that’s triangular - or circular. 

So if I - Jesus - is in them - those he was praying for - and you - God - is in me - Then the world - everybody else - will know that you - God - sent me - Jesus - and have loved them (the world) even as you - God - have loved me - Jesus.  Well so far, this makes sense - if you can keep the players straight - or go slow enough. 

“Father, I want those you have given me - to be with me where I am, - and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” Glory, Glory, halle-. Glory. Glory. Now that I think about it, we hear that word a lot at Christmas - like on Christmas cards and stuff, but not so much at other times. Glory. 

Dad said we couldn’t “use” electronics. Didn’t say we couldn’t keep them - just in case. Besides, if I “disobey” him in church, for a good reason, then does that really count as disobeying? 

(phone) Glory: high renown or honor won by notable achievements, magnificence; great beauty, take great pride or pleasure in. “Father, I want those you have given me - to be with me where I am, - and to see my glory - to see Jesus’ honor, to see Jesus’ magnificence, to see Jesus’ beauty? Naw - Jesus - beauty - maybe not so much. To see Jesus’ great pride - maybe. To see Jesus’ great pleasure. 

The honor, magnificence, pleasure, - glory God gave Jesus because God loved Jesus before the creation of the world.”

I hadn’t thought about it before, God loving Jesus before the creation of the world. So God loved Jesus before light, and water and land and humans and creatures. Dude, that’s like forever, man! 

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.” (phone) Righteous - (of a person or conduct) morally right or justifiable; virtuous. Blah, blah, blah. Very good; excellent. Now we’re getting somewhere. Very good, excellent God, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.

I - Jesus - have made you - God - known to them - everyone else, and will continue to make you - God - known, in order that the love you - God - have for me - Jesus - may be in them - everyone else -  and that I myself - Jesus - may be in them - everybody else.” Wow. That’s pretty trippy.  

Says the sermon title was “This Glory Infused Life.” Infused - the cooking channel uses that word a lot. (phone)  Infuse: soak (tea, herbs, etc.) in liquid to extract the flavor or healing properties. Bobby Flay was making Sweet and Sour Succotash, Grilled Sweet Potatoes and a Peach Julep yesterday. Ha - adults want kids to not drink - but they put all these cooking shows out there and I bet they don’t realize how many of them show how to make drinks. 

Bobby said he was infusing the flavor of the peaches, mint and sugar into the drink when he smashed them and added liquid.  Said that the drink would be sweet, minty and peachy. 

So this Dinah-chick - whoever she is - must have been saying that the whole ‘Jesus in the people he was praying for, and God in Jesus was sort of like a drink infused with flavor that everyone else would want to drink because all the other ingredients looked so good. 

Maybe that was her point. Maybe it wasn’t. But if nothing else, God, then I’m getting how you infuse me with Jesus, so that what everyone else sees will draw them closer to you, because you are in me. 

If that’s true, God, then maybe I’m not so dumb as I thought. Maybe you actually “have” something for me. Maybe I’m worth a little more than I think. Maybe I should stick around and see if any of this is true. Maybe there is something to you having a plan for my life, and it’s not all about how I feel at the moment. So I guess, like Jesus, I’m sort of like praying - for all those who see you - in me - even though I can’t see it.

Dang. They’re getting close. Thanks, God, for infusing me. Later, dude. Coming!