Word to the Wise
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 7th Week of Easter - Wed
[Acts 20:28-38 and John 17:11b-19]"I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth." [John]
In this portion of Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer" in the Farewell Discourse, Jesus prays for the disciples. The tone seems almost dreamy and ethereal with a kind of repetitive spiraling structure. It is as if the evangelist is weaving his own experience into Jesus' words. Nevertheless, the message is clear enough. The disciples are being sent just as Jesus was sent. Their mission is sacred just as Jesus' mission was sacred. They are to preach the truth about Jesus and his Father with the help of the Holy Spirit.
This "sending forth" will be celebrated in particular this coming Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, but it occurs every day around the world as the sacrament of baptism is administered. When I have preached parish missions, I have always begun with the importance of our baptismal calling. We are "consecrated in the truth" and sent forth to proclaim it in word and deed. Jesus is praying for us. We can't get better help than that! AMEN