John 17:20-26
 "Saying Good-bye"

      Jesus had just finished his last supper, he washed the disciples' feet, and then he gave the disciples final instructions about what to do while he was away.  The 14th through the 17th chapters of John are often called Jesus' "Last will and testament."  In Chapters 14, 15, and 16, Jesus instructs his disciples about what to do after he is gone.  After he gives his disciples these instructions, Jesus prays.  In the first five verses of chapter 17, Jesus prays for himself. In verses 6 through 19 of chapter 17, Jesus prays for his disciples.  Finally in our Gospel reading for this Sabbath, I believe that Jesus prays for you and me.  What is Jesus' prayer for you and me?  His prayer is that we might be one with other believers.  Why is this so important to Jesus?  In verse 21 Jesus prays: "so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

      Jesus prays for Christian unity because he believes that if we could be one with our brothers and sisters in Christ, unbelievers would become believers.

      The question is, how are we to be united; what is to be our model and standard?  We find the answer in the first part of verse 21 as Jesus prays,  "that all of them may be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you may they also be in us..."

      In other words, we are to be personally and intimately connected with other believers in the same way that Jesus is connected with God (one in the same).  This is Jesus' prayer for you and me, that we may be one with other Christians.  I hope and trust that you and I believe that God answers prayer, but the real question this Sabbath morning is will you - will we - answer God's prayer?  The remarkable thing about this section of Scripture is: it tells us that it is up to us to answer Jesus' prayer.

      Now the remarks that I am about to make are rather sensitive, and I do not want or intend to offend anyone; however, I remember it well and I believe that many of you may remember and all of you may have heard of the days when Catholics and Protestants could not and did not associate with one another.  Heaven forbid that a Catholic or a Protestant should ever date or marry one another.  (Or a Seventh Day Baptist date or marry a member of any other denomination.)  (Or a Baptist - A Seventh Day Baptist - what is that?)  We like to believe that those days are over, yet that is not really true.  Today, we even have factions in denominations with self-described liberals and conservatives fighting each other.  We have some denominations wondering whether another denomination's members really are true Christians?  We have church groups fighting over what appears to the outside world to be minute theological points and struggling to agree on whether or not they will enter into ecumenical agreements.

      This Sabbath's morning reading tells us that not only does such fighting look like hypocrisy to the outside world; it also grieves God.  Too often when church groups talk about "Christian unity" they are like the country preacher who said, "When I mean Christian, I mean Bible-believing Christian. When I say Bible-believing, I mean born again, and by that I mean to have the Spirit indwelling, and the only place in the world you can find that is right here in this church."  When we cannot get along with other Christians, the church universal is hurt and unbelievers decide that we are hypocrites because we do not practice what we preach.

      Now, I invite Yvonne (the language accent expert) to join me, and we would like to introduce you to a Swedish couple from the old country: Ole and Lena.

      The first story is related to the fact that our Seventh Day Baptist denomination has convened in Lindsborg, KS, for General Conference on several occasions, and this year we are going to Springfield, MO, which is about a day's drive from Lindsborg.  This story is about Ole and Lena coming to America by ship and their arrival in New York City harbor.

      Ole says:  "Lena, yust look at dat, vill you.  Ve have had so many letters about America, and how vonderful Lindsborg is, YA!"

      Lena says:  "Ya, Ole, yust imagine if dis is New York City what Lindsborg vill be like."

      The second story is about their attendance at a missions report weekend with the missionaries from their church.  This was 50 years ago when movies were considered sinful.  There will be a "Picture Show about Africa."

      Ole says:  "Ve vill sit here and listen to the missionary report.  Ve will vatch the pictures and if dey are still, ve stay."

      Lena says:  "Ya, and if dey move, ve go!"

      The third story is told of Ole and Lena who were on their way to Florida for a vacation and to check out the area for possible retirement.  During their trip Ole and Lena drove through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.  Ole and Lena became absolutely enthralled with the beauty of the Smoky Mountains.

      Lena said to Ole,  "Oh Ole, look how beautiful it is here."

      Ole said,  "Ya Lena, ve have to get out of the car and stop and take a look."

      Ole and Lena parked their car right next to a stand that rented bicycles "built for two" and in an impulsive moment they decide to rent one of the bicycles and ride to the top of the mountain.  Ole and Lena started up the mountain.  Ole was in front and Lena was in the back - get the picture?  As they rode up the mountain Ole was standing on the pedals, huffing and puffing, sweat was pouring down his face until finally they made it to the top.

     When they got to the top of the mountain, Ole looked at Lena and said,  "Oh boy, dat vas tough.  I did not think dat ve vere going to make it."

      Lena said,  "Oh I know Ole, I was so scared dat ve vere going to roll backwards that I had the brakes on all the way."

      That is how it is when Christians cannot get along.  We are headed in the same direction, but we often work at cross-purposes.  Right now I would like to take a moment and say that I am not asking us to compromise our theological convictions simply for the sake of agreeing with others.  Our celebration of and our Sabbath keeping is a very important distinctive and needs to be creatively shared; however, it does not and cannot save us.  However, there is an expression that says, "Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole."  The expression means do not focus on what is wrong, but what is right.  Do not focus on what divides us but on what unites us.  I also want you to know that this message does not come from some wishy-washy pastor who just wants everyone to get along.  This message, I believe, is Jesus' message; it is Jesus' hope and Jesus' prayer.  Jesus' great and main concern was for the lost.  Jesus believed that if his church would be a loving church, nonbelievers would have a greater chance of experiencing God's amazing grace.

      Jesus ate with his disciples and then he washed their feet.  Jesus prayed for strength for his disciples and then Jesus prayed for you and me.  Jesus prayed: "I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.  As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (verses 20-21, NRSV).  OR "My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (verses 20-21, NIV).

      There is a story that I heard one time that is meant to be retold again and again.  This story is about a king who had four daughters and who was leaving for a period of time to take a long journey.  Before the king left he summoned his four daughters to tell them "good-bye."

      In his "good-bye" the king told them that he was going to give them something that would help them rule while he was gone.  He asked them to hold out their hands and then gave each one of them a grain of rice.  The first daughter took her grain of rice (knowing it must be important), wrapped a golden thread around it, and put it in a crystal box.  Each day thereafter she took it out and looked at it.

      The second daughter took her grain of rice and decided that she should probably keep the piece of rice safe, and so she put it in a wooden box and put it under her bed.  (Under the bed is a safe place!)

      The third daughter took her grain of rice and decided that it did not look much different from any other grain of rice and so she blew it off of her hand with a puff of air and forgot about it altogether.

      The fourth daughter knew that there must be something important and significant about the grain of rice, but was not sure exactly what it was.  She knew her father to be a wise man and so she spent a whole year pondering what the significance of the grain of rice might be.  Finally, it came to her what it was that she could do with the rice.

      After many years the king returned from his journey and called his four daughters to ask them what they had done with the grain of rice that he had given them.  The first daughter quickly went to her room, got the crystal box and the piece of rice with the gold thread tied around it and presented it to her father.  She said: "Father, I knew this grain of rice was special, and so I kept it in a special place and looked at it every day."

      The king bowed graciously and said: "Thank you!"

      The next daughter returned her grain of rice and told her father that for all these years she had kept the grain of rice securely under her bed, and now she was returning it safely to him.

      Again, the king received the box, bowed and said: "Thank you!"

      The third daughter rushed to the kitchen, found a grain of rice, ran back to her father and said, "Father, here is your grain of rice."

      The king, smiling, accepted the grain of rice, bowed and said, "Thank you!"

      The youngest daughter was the last daughter to step before her father, but she said: "I do not have the grain of rice that you gave me."

      The father inquired, "What did you do with it?"

      The daughter told him that she had spent a whole year thinking about the meaning of the gift.  She then told him that one day she discovered the meaning.  "It was a seed," she said. "So I took the seed and planted it and grew more seeds, and then I planted those seeds and I harvested the crop.  Now I want you to see the results."  She took the king to a nearby window, opened the window, and there through the window as far as the eye could see were fields and fields of rice, enough to feed their entire small nation.

      The king seeing the wisdom of his daughter gave her his crown with the words, "You have learned the meaning of rule."

      The youngest daughter ruled wisely and well from that day forward.

      In Jesus' good-bye to his disciples in this chapter of John's gospel, he prays that his disciples will continue to be united in his love for them and that they would be kept faithful to the task he had given them to go out into the world on his behalf.  Like all the daughters, we have been given this gift of love in order that through us the world might come to know the love of God in Jesus Christ.  It is Jesus' prayer that the disciples of all times utilize his gift of love and power in a way that is beneficial to all, just as the youngest daughter wisely used the king's gift for the benefit of all.

      Have any of you ever had to take a lunch box with you when you went to school, or Bible school, or day care, or pre-school or worship and Sabbath School.  Do you have a lunch box? Or did you brown-paper-bag it?

      As a child have you ever thought that when you take your lunch with you a part of your home and your parents' love go with you, too?  I bet that they might even ask you as you go out the door sometimes: "Do you have your lunch?"  I have even heard that some mothers put notes of love in the lunch bag when they pack it.

      When we are away from home it is nice to have a reminder of our parents' love and that a little bit of home goes with us when we are away.  It is good to know that our parents take the time to prepare food for us that will help us get through the day.

      Jesus today wants us to know that he gives us reminders of his love for us so that we will know that he is with us.  We are reminded in today's reading that Jesus thinks about us and prays for us.  In reading the Bible we have stories of Jesus' love for us, and we tell those stories again and again throughout the church year.  Jesus left us the Sabbath.  Jesus left us a meal.  We call it the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.  In the meal Jesus reminds us of his love for us and that he keeps on feeding us and caring for us even as he did for the first disciples. Each time we come to worship and attend Sabbath School we remember that Jesus loves us and cares for us, too.

      So, like the youngest daughter, may we, as children of God – Jesus' disciples, be found faithful when the King returns to ask us what we have done with his gift of love, and may we be found answering Jesus Christ's prayer!  Amen.