Opening Prayer:
Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
John 17:1-11 In what seems a contradiction, Jesus was glorified through torture and death. What can this mean? What does it suggest about faith?
These verses are part of what is known as Jesus’ high priestly prayer, included in John’s Gospel where the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have Jesus asking God to remove the cup of suffering from him. It speaks of the relationship between the Father and the Son and how it takes form in the life of the church. In Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, God would be glorified. God would be known as the Father of Jesus. The “hour,” was the time when God’s glory was revealed through torture, death, and resurrection. What human beings meant for a victory over one who disturbed their world turned into God’s victory over sin and death.
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 How do we talk about God in human terms?
Peter promised his church that they would be able to face the rough times that were coming. Why? Because they knew that glory and power belonged to God. Nations and emperors may think they have the ultimate power; indeed, they may have the power to persecute, even kill the faithful. But ultimate power belongs only to God. So the church can stand firm, knowing we are supported by the greatest power in the universe. The address, “beloved,” reminded the church that they were loved—by Peter, who showed his love in this letter, and also by God. Verse 13 is one of the letter’s great themes. Christ’s suffering is the example for their suffering and the ground of their salvation. Now, given the realties in their world, they shared in Christ’s suffering. Because of this they could rejoice. Later, when they would come to share in Christ’s glory, they could rejoice exceedingly! Finally, 1 Peter 5:9 reminded the Christians to stand firm because they were not the only Christians who were suffering. There is a koinonia (community) of suffering. These Gentile Christians were caught between cultures. Some of the ethical admonitions in First Peter are rooted in Greco-Roman culture. The congregation had to live in the tension between Christian and Gentile ideals. The persecution one suffers, Peter says, includes others in the Christian community.
Acts 1:6-14 When are you tempted to continue gazing heavenward when there is work to be done?
This is Ascension Sunday, the Christian celebration that marks the return of the risen Christ to God. In the New Testament, whenever people “in white robes” appear, something is going to happen. Here there is a promise and an implied message. The promise was that Jesus would return. The disciples went back to Jerusalem, to the upper room, probably the same room where they had eaten the Passover some weeks before. There they began to get ready for the promised power. The eleven are named-Peter and the rest. But they were not the only ones there in the upper room, just as they may not have been the only ones at the Last Supper. There were the women (who had been Jesus’ disciples in Galilee), his mother and brothers, and others. While they waited, they spent their time in prayer, in remembering the teachings of Jesus, and in building a sense of community among themselves.