Called to Be Jesus' AMEN!

John 17:20-26
(shared with the people of Friendship Church, May 23, 2004)

Today’s Bible lesson is part of a prayer by Jesus. It’s up to us to be the Amen to it.

Amen, you know, is a Greek word. It’s found often in the New Testament portion of the Bible. The New Testament was written in Greek because in the first century, Greek was the language of the world, the language of trade and diplomacy and scholarship, the way English is the language of the world today. Amen is a word which can translated variously: so be it; this is absolutely true; this is what we believe; or simply, Yes!

By custom, it’s a word we put at the ends of prayers. We do it to affirm our belief that the God Who has commanded us to pray in Jesus’ Name has heard our prayers and will fulfill His promises to answer those prayers.

It can be used in other ways as well. But, all these uses of the word Amen can get worn out and rob it of its meaning. A little boy was asked what he thought amen meant and he said, “Peace out, dude!”

I have often thought that some Sunday I should write the worship celebration so that every time we would ordinarily say, Amen, we would shout Yes! instead. In fact, let’s try that right now. I’ll make a statement and you respond with the word, Yes! Here goes...We believe in Christ; YES! We can do everything in Christ’s strength, YES! We will give the pastor a million dollars, YES!

Okay, I only meant two of those. But here is the point: Saying Amen to Christ and His authority over our lives isn’t nearly as important as living it.

The prayer of Jesus that makes up this morning’s Bible lesson is a segment of what Bible scholars call Jesus’ farewell discourse. Jesus is on the brink of offering Himself on the cross, the perfect Lamb of God Who will be killed for the sins of the world. In this part of the prayer, Jesus prays that all who follow Him, in every time and place, will be as united as He and God the Father are. He says that when we who follow Jesus are united, the world will see God’s glory and they too, will want to follow Jesus and become part of God’s family.

That’s awesome stuff. And, as Christians believe that this prayer must accord with Jesus' will and that God answers such prayers.

But there is a problem. A man died and was told to join the latest group of entrants who were going to be given a tour of the place by Saint Peter. Peter proceeded to take the group down a huge corridor from which large rooms ran. “Okay,” Peter would say, “you Baptists get off here.” They’d walk a little further, “Catholics here...” Still further, “Methodists...Pentecostals...Presbyterians...” About half of the new residents of heaven were still with Peter when he announced, “For the next 100 yards or so, I want to ask you to keep absolutely quiet, particularly as we pass the next door.” The group did as Peter requested. They passed the door in silence. After they’d walked further down the hall, the group came to another door and Peter announced, “Episcopalians here.” One person got curious though, and raised his hand to ask a question: “Why did we have to be quiet as we passed that one room?” “Oh,” Peter said, “that was the Lutherans. They think they’re the only ones here.”

The fact is that in spite of Jesus’ prayer, we who confess Jesus Christ as Lord don’t behave as if He and His blood on the cross have made us one. A look at the sorry recent history of Northern Ireland, where Roman Catholics and Protestants have fought and killed each other is all the reminder we need of that.

The reason is simple. Imagine for just a second that some time ago, you got a mail from an out-of-town address. It looked like it might be important. But because you didn’t recognize who the sender was and you were so busy, you just filed it away in a corner of your desk to be looked at later. More recently, as you prepared to move, you found the letter, still unopened, along with a stack of forgotten documents. Absently, you open it up and discover that it’s from a lawyer, notifying you that you have inherited a large sum of money. You immediately dial the number at the top of the letterhead and discover that yes, the money is still available to you. They’ve just been waiting to hear from you.

It’s just the same with Jesus’ prayer: The unity that He prays will be exhibited among all Christians is His gift to us. We just have to claim it!

But why should we claim it? I have to warn you that the answer to that question will be of no interest to those who have a “What’s in it for me?” attitude about their faith or about being part of the Church.

The only people who will be interested in the unity for which Jesus prays are those who let Jesus change them from being members of the me generation to those who are part of God’s we generation. Jesus wants us to claim the unity He gives to those who follow Him “so that the world [will] know” Him and the Father.

And that's an important goal for the follower of Jesus. A few years ago, Ann and I wanted to get the deck on our house cleaned and treated. Ann had done it a few years before and wasn’t satisfied that she’d been thorough enough. We asked around and found a company we thought would do a good job. They did. And you know that ever since then, we’ve recommended the same company to many other people. There’s nothing like the testimony of a satisfied customer. Our unity with other believers in Jesus is a powerful testimony that we are satisfied customers. We tell the world that even though we’re sinners who don’t deserve forgiveness and life, Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead to give us those things and has changed us into loving people.

And we want our lives to say Amen to Jesus’ prayer so that the whole world will know that Jesus really can a change a life from the inside out.

Today, we’re honoring someone—actually, two someones, because Tim could never do the things he does without the support, understanding, encouragement, and permission of his wife, Laurel. But let me tell you something: I am so proud of Tim, our youth director. He gives countless hours of time, attention, and prayer to what he does for the young people of this congregation and community and for others. And he does it for one simple reason: He wants to be an Amen to Jesus’ prayer; he wants everyone to know about Jesus’ love. And so, just as God has made Tim part of Jesus’ one family the Church, Tim wants to see that family grow in strength of faith and in the numbers who say, “I follow Jesus!”

A few weeks ago, I was feeling guilty because of all that Tim does and that we can’t yet pay him for it. We were talking on the phone and I was about to apologize to Tim, when he said, “Thanks, Mark.” “Thanks for what?” I asked. “Thanks for letting me do all this!”

That’s an extraordinary attitude!

It’s the attitude of a servant of Jesus.

It’s the attitude needed for each of us to roll up our sleeves and say, “Sure, I don’t agree with everything the person at my church or the person at the next church says and does, but I love them anyway and we work on the same team for the same Savior.”

It’s the very attitude that shows us—and the watching world around us—that the crucified and risen Jesus has taken up residence in our lives and in our congregation.

In coming weeks and months, you’re going to be hearing a lot about a special three-weeks that will be happening in the fall at Friendship. It’ll be called, new beginnings.

It holds the promise of elevating the life of our congregation to greater heights of faithfulness and love and unity. I believe that it can help us to be open to God acting powerfully in the life of our church and our own lives.

If that sounds good to you, I ask you to resolve right now that with God’s help, you will be a living Amen to Jesus’ prayer.

Take some time to tell God that you want to be so united with Christ and all who follow Him so that His love will power your every move and everyone will see the Jesus in you!

That’s what Jesus wants for Friendship Church and that’s what He wants for each one of us!