Look up
Easter 7
May 21, 2023
Fr. Tim Nunez
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Our Gospel this morning is the beginning of Jesus’ “high priestly prayer.” He has just finished teaching his disciples, a discourse that began with washing their feet all the way back in chapter 13. It ended with his saying, “But take heart, I have overcome the world.” Now, Jesus is consecrating himself and them in prayer. What does he pray first for them?
“That they may know you, the only true God. And Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
That is so tremendously important. Jesus has called them to a specific purpose, which is to share the Gospel, his Good News, far and wide so that it can eventually reach everyone. Now it is almost time to launch their ministries. The world, and life, is going to throw a lot, really everything, at them. We see that reflected in our passage from Peter’s first letter where he writes about “the fiery ordeal” and “sharing Christ’s sufferings.” He adds that “…your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.” They are going to be resisted, rejected, despised and fiercely opposed by many people. They will suffer imprisonments and most of them will die for sharing Jesus.
Peter instructs them how to persevere. “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” He adds that God, “…will himself restore, support, strengthen and establish you.” This is the practical effect of knowing God, knowing Jesus, knowing his name, knowing his words and knowing his Holy Spirit.
Today is Graduation Sunday. Graduates at every level, please note this is not Terminal Sunday. You have not come to an end of your studies. Whatever course life has before you, be it further academic training, a job, the military or whatever you venture to do, you will be learning and building upon what you already know and have experienced. Likewise, you are not graduating from church. You have not come to an end of growing in the knowledge and practice of your faith in Jesus. It’s just begun.
Graduation implies an ascent. You are moving up. You might think of it like a character in a video game. For those of you who don’t know this, lots of video games have characters that you control. Let’s take Mario for example. Mario goes through all sorts of obstacles, and if you direct him to get past them, then you complete that level and move on to the next. Your character will “level up” to face bigger challenges.
Our graduates are each completing a level so now it’s time to level up. If you were to flunk out of college, and you won’t, you won’t ever go back to high school. If a graduate student bails out of graduate school no one takes away their undergraduate degree. Level up!
And for the high school graduates, please note that what Jesus is praying for his disciples is very much akin to what your parents, your priest, your deacon and the rest of your church is praying for you.
Because here is the deal: we love you. We want you to thrive. We want you to do well in your studies, to do well in your friendships and social lives. We want you to learn from mistakes and overcome them. If and when you get knocked down, we want you to get back up and strive for your goals. And most of all, we want you to build upon the foundation of faith and family you have gained at home and here.
And now they are graduating. With these three high school graduates, their parents get that familiar feeling. It’s the same one they had when they dropped their child off at daycare or school the first time and left them with strangers. Or the first time they handed them the car keys and off they went.
These 3 are all going to the University of Florida where they will join over 60,000 other students. But it could be Florida State, UCF, USF, Florida Southern, really any college, or a military recruiting station or job. They aren’t going to high school anymore and a new life is coming at them in some form. (Abbie is moving on to law school at UF, which is an unknown world for her.)
So their parents, grandparents, other family and friends including their church family all share the excitement and hope for them, as well as a twinge of anxiety knowing that they are once again launching their treasures into a new life further out from under their guidance and protection. Their prayers may sound a lot like Jesus, “Protect them in your name.”
I’m convinced that the very best protection they have is precisely what Jesus prayed for his disciples that night, that they know Jesus and through Jesus they know the Father. Our role as a church has been to help their family nurture and exercise their relationship with Jesus.
It’s worth noting that Gabe Chandley, Anna Claire Skipper and Cadence Van Hook, our high school graduates along with Abbie Putnam our college graduate, have all been crucifers. It’s so routine that we may forget how important that is. They have led the procession of the altar party and the choir to open worship of the Lord. They have led the procession when Deacon John physically brings the Gospel down the aisle – leading the Word of God into the midst of the people. They’ve rung the Sanctus bells during the Eucharistic prayer and you all kneel for prayer.
And now they venture from here to out there. I remember so well those first days. I had no idea where anything was. I knew my roommate, we lived off campus so there was no dormitory life. I could not have imagined how the next 3.5 years would unfold. None of us can imagine it now.
There is a simple, physical step to help us reconnect with God as the world throws all manner of strife at us and when life gets so very hard. When we pray, we tend to bow our heads. Sometimes we kneel. Sometimes Christians pray on their knees with their foreheads pressed to the floor.
As Jesus begins this prayer, which may be the most sacred passage in all of scripture since it is the longest prayer we have between Jesus and the Father, John tells us Jesus looked up.
A better translation is, “Jesus lifted his eyes.” It’s not as though God is “up there” somewhere. But just as we look down in humility before God, sometimes it’s good to lift our eyes in hope and thanksgiving. The Gospels tell us Jesus lifted his eyes to pray on two other occasions. One was just before he raised Lazarus from the dead. The other is the feeding of the 5,000. Both of those are time where God showed his abundant love for us. That brings to mind Psalm 121,
1. I lift up my eyes unto the hills*
from where is my help to come?
2. My help comes from the Lord*
the maker of heaven and earth.
Graduates, remember who you are and whose you are. Look up from time to time and give thanks and praise to your Father and your Lord Jesus. Look up and pray for help and for direction when you need it. Let’s lift our eyes when we pray the Lord’s Prayer during the Eucharist.
And remember it always comes back to him. You always come back to him.
AMEN