Bearing the Mark of Christ – 21 May 2023

John 17:1–11

This prayer in its entirety is divisible into three parts: Jesus' prayer for himself (1–5), as he is about to ascend to glory on the throne of the cross; Jesus' prayer for his disciples (6–19) that unity, joy and victory over the evil one would be their passion and their lot; and (20–26) for the whole people of God through the world. Although they do not follow these exact divisions, all the lectionaries roughly follow this outline for each of the three-years.

Jesus prays that he might be glorified, not for his own sake, but ultimately to bring glory to his heavenly Father. Through his glorification, Jesus would have the authority to offer eternal life to those who have faith in him. In ascending to God in glory, Christ is able to intercede for us, to represent us before God. Christ's glory found in his unity with the Father becomes our glory in our unity with Christ. –– Todd E. Johnson

This prayer in its entirety is divisible into three parts: Jesus' prayer for himself (1–5), as he is about to ascend to glory on the throne of the cross; Jesus' prayer for his disciples (6–19) that unity, joy and victory over the evil one would be their passion and their lot; and (20–26) for the whole people of God through the world. Although they do not follow these exact divisions, all the lectionaries roughly follow this outline for each of the three years. –– Amandus J. Derr

1 Peter 4:12–14; 5:6–11

The first epistle of Peter reminds us not to think of our glorification in terms that are too cozy. We are told that we are blessed at the same time we are cursed. We are invited to rejoice at any persecution that comes our way because of our faith. God will sustain us through our trials and validate us when Christ returns. –– Todd E. Johnson

Acts 1:6–14

The challenge of the message of the ascension is to realize that God's healing and redemption of humanity has begun. Our humanity has been brought into the presence of the glory of the almighty God in Christ's ascension, and by virtue of this all humanity has been validated. For this reason all human beings having been created in the image of God, have had their humanity validated. This means that those of us who bear the mark of Christ by virtue of our baptism must continue this ministry of validating the humanity of all people.

This has direct implications on how we minister to other people. Poverty, human trafficking and slavery, genocide and all of the other realities that dehumanize people in our world, directly contradict that value and glory that God has bestowed on all people. How can we respond when the problems are so large and complex? For this week we are invited simply to gather, assemble as the community of faithful, whoever we may be, and cling to the hope and promise of the risen and ascended Christ. . . –– Todd E. Johnson

Todd E. Johnson served for a number of years as associate professor of worship, theology, and the arts at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, and is now the Senior Pastor of First Covenant Church in Seattle, Washington.

Amandus J. Derr served for twenty-two years as senior pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church (ELCA) in New York City.

Homily Service 41, no. 2 (2008): 155–162.