"With One Accord"

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today we gather, as did the apostles, after the fact of our Lord's ascension into heaven, beyond the sight and sound of humanity. He is risen from the dead – at this fact we rejoice. He is ascended into heaven – this fact is cause for rejoicing, but is just as likely to cause some melancholy. For what comes now? The apostles were told to go back to Jerusalem and wait. And what should they do while they waited? What should you do while you wait for the Lord?

“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.” Note two things about this verse. First, the apostles were of one accord. They were literally “of the same thymus”, that is, of the same soul, life, or desire. That is to say, the apostles were united in desire and will, and certainly in action. For with one accord they were devoting themselves to prayer. As one Greek lexicon renders it, they were “persisting obstinately” in prayer. They were united, and they were stubborn about adhering to the prayers of the brethren. Nothing could divide the apostles in those days, while they waited for the will of the Lord to be made manifest.

But what is the nature of this accord with which the apostles, the women, and the brethren of Jesus were united? Is it merely a bond of affection? A mutual consolation and wish for similar goals? Is it a common bond of grief for the One whom they all loved and lost?

"That They May All Be One"

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.” Jesus prays this, as part of His High Priestly Prayer on Holy Thursday.

He prays for the Church, and He prays for you. Jesus prays for those who believe through the apostolic Word, by the work of the Holy Spirit. He prays for you, each of you individually, and all of you corporately, as the members of His Body. This prayer, which our Lord prayed on the night in which He was betrayed, is for you. He prayed this for you, as He gave His disciples His own Body and Blood, which He still gives to you to make you one with Him.

When you consider the past two millennia and some of church history, it is an amazing feat the the one holy catholic and apostolic Church still exists.

The World Hates You

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

No one likes to be hated. Sure, it may seem as though some enjoy perturbing others to such an extent that they desire to be disliked and disdained. There have always been, and always will be, shock jocks and public displays of vulgarity. But everyone wants and needs to be liked, to be loved by someone. But that is not what you can expect from the world around you, according to today's Gospel lesson.

Today, you have heard Jesus say, “I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them.” The first half of that sentence is great, wonderful news. You have indeed received the Word of the Lord which Jesus Himself came down from heaven to give to you. And you have not received it once, or briefly, but over and over, in many ways and various forms.

Kept in the Name

Christ is risen! Alleluia!

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To be in the name of someone or something is no light matter. When the president of the United States of America speaks officially, he speaks in the name of 310 million Americans. When the Pope speaks ex cathedra, he speaks in the name of God, allegedly. When a lawyer enters a plea or brokers a deal, he speaks in the name of his client. In this spirit, the president of the Republic of Ireland is, by constitutional limitation, not allowed to speak officially or to leave Ireland without express permission of the Irish Parliament. To bear the name of someone is a weighty matter, and certainly even more so when it is the Name of God that you bear, which indeed you do.

"Whom God the Father Chose to Send"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What does it mean to be one, or to be united? It seems that a great many things today are “united”, at least in name. The United States of America. United Van Lines. United Auto Workers. The United Methodist Church. All these entities say they are united, but what does that mean? What does it mean for us to be united, to be one?

“And this is eternal life...” What is eternal life? For us to ask that is a bit like asking a person born blind, what is green? And, depending on whom you ask, you will get different answers.

For a great deal of people in this world, eternal life means simply nothingness. The goal in life is to be released from the prison of matter and time and space and simply to be nothing. Nirvana, bliss, being at peace with the universe. Whatever you want to call it, it seems attractive. After all, there is no judgment, no right or wrong, no ending or beginning, just being.