getting out the WORD

the seventh sunday of easter

the PRAYER. . .

O God of glory, your Son Jesus Christ suffered for us and ascended to your right hand. Unite us with Christ and each other in suffering and in joy, that all the world may be drawn into your bountiful presence, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

the READING. . .

After Jesus had spoken these words [to his disciples], he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you ….”

John 17:1-11

the DEVOTION. . .

“After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come!” And the moment the words leave his mouth, our imaginations run wild! The clouds part! The sky splits! Lightning flashes! And, of course, angels sing! Not by tens or twenties, but by thousands and tens of thousands! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

But we jump the gun … again. As I’ve been pointing out for a few weeks now, when Jesus speaks these words to his disciples, he isn’t standing on a mountaintop somewhere getting ready to sit at god’s right hand. It’s Maundy Thursday. Good Friday eve. At the table. With the disciples. Any ascending he might do is weeks away. And that “hour” we fantasize so much about? Well, after a hundred generations, it still hasn’t come.

Oh, we think the glory is the ever after at the end of the story. We think it’s the pot of gold on the other side of tomorrow. It’s not. Truth is, both the Father and the Son are glorified … in the love! And the time, the place, love shines brightest is that good Friday afternoon. On a hilltop. Outside Jerusalem. You see, it’s the cross that’s the kingdom! It’s the cross that’s the power and the glory! And it’s the cross – and the cross alone – that is that “hour!”

Bob Barndt, pastor

Midland Lutheran Church
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