Bible readings: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 103; 1John 4:11-16; John 17:11-19
In the Gospel, we have an account of the prayer of Jesus for all of us His disciples.
He prayed that none of us should be lost (Divine Preservation).
He prayed that we should be protected from evil in the world and eternal damnation (Divine Protection).
He prayed that the Father may consecrate, keep us in truth (Divine Consecration).
Today, I want to reflect on the statement that Jesus made twice within these short verses.
He says, “They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.”
Today, dear children of God, we are being reminded that we do not belong to the world, yes, we are in the world but we do not belong to the world.
What is the implication of this? What does this remind us?
A. We are citizens of heaven:
We may be citizens of a nation in this world but our most important citizenship is heavenly.
Heaven is our true homeland (Philippians 3:20, Hebrews 13:14), as we live each day; we must live with the joyful hope of heaven. Nothing in this world should make us forget or forfeit our true home; we have a wonderful family in heaven (Ephesians 2:19). We ought to all long for our homeland where we shall be united with members of our heavenly household.
B. We are here for a purpose:
We are in this world earth for a purpose. This we must always keep in mind and not be distracted.
We are on earth for two things
I. To influence the world positively- to make the lives of people better, to introduce the culture of the kingdom here on earth, to be the salt and the light of this world.
II. To prepare for heaven: We are here to prepare for heaven. This world is a preparatory space for us.
This is how we can understand all our privileges and pains. Our privileges are to help us make the lives of others better and to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).
Our pains are to purify us, to purify us from our venial sins, from temporal punishments due to our sins, to purify our love for God and prepare us for eternal union with God (read 2 Corinthians 4:17). Whatever we suffer in this world is only preparing us for an eternal weight of glory.
C. We are here for a short stay
We must always remember that this is not our permanent address (2 Cor 5:1), no permanence in this world, no experience, whether joyful or sad is permanent, no relationship is, our stay is not. We are journeying towards the end and after the end of our earthly stay; we face the reality of eternity.
D. We must not conform to the pattern of the world.
Our values, hunger, appetite, yearning, craving principles, language, vision, preference, our entire culture must not be dictated by the world or seek to conform to the standard of the world (Romans 12:2). Many Christians are even more worldly in their thinking, language, appearance, ambition, vision and values than even those who belong entirely to the world. We are here to influence the world and not the other way round.
E. We must not be lost or distracted in the world.
We must be careful not to be lost or distracted in this world, not to be too attached to anything or obsessed with the attractions of this world.
This is the prayer of Jesus for us today and this prayer He continues for us even from his position at the right of the Father (Hebrews 7:25), He continues to pray that the Father may preserve us from being lost, from being distracted by the pleasures of this world, from losing our focus, from shortchanging our eternal inheritance.
However, we must also be careful how we live. We must not be careless with the grace and privileges we have received from God, we must not allow the attractions of the world to take our eyes away from our identity and destiny.
A particular religious order sent two priests abroad on a mission. One of them got distracted by the vain prospects he had never been exposed to before, within a short while, he left the priesthood, studied nursing, married a nurse, they have two children, to cut the long story short, he couldn’t find joy in his marriage, he is living a very miserable life, making life miserable for those around him, he became a staunch alcoholic, his wife divorced him, everything about him is now very pitiable, wretched and sad, he is in the middle of nowhere, he can’t return to the priesthood, he doesn’t know how to move on in life, he is presently in psychiatry.
The life of this ex-priest and the life of Judas in the first reading of today are warning to us. Jesus also prayed for Judas but Judas chose to be lost.
The second reading says God has loved us so much. This is good news, but then, we have a responsibility to remain in that love and not give room for anything that can distance us from the reality and experience of that love.
The message of today can be summarised or represented by these 5 Ps.
Purpose, positive influence, preparation, pains/privileges and paradise.
We are in this world for a purpose. The purpose is to have a positive influence on this world and in the lives of those around us and to prepare for heaven. Our privileges and pains are part of the preparation. Privileges help us to store treasures for ourselves, pains purify us for a place in paradise where Jesus has gone to prepare for us.
Dear child of God, keep in mind, we do not belong to the world more than Christ belong to the world.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka Gukena Okami on May 16, 2021.