The
Collect for The Fifth Sunday after Easter,
commonly
called Rogation Sunday.
The
Collect.
O
|
LORD, from whom all good things do
come; Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may
think those things that are good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the
same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
23 And in
that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye
shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye
shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the
time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew
you plainly of the Father. 26 At that
day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the
Father for you: 27 For the Father himself
loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from
God. 28 I came forth from the Father,
and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and
speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and
needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest
forth from God. 31 Jesus answered them, Do ye
now believe? 32 Behold, the hour
cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and
shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that
in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of
good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:23-33)
Language itself is an essential tool in learning and communications. Many today
advocate to a downgrade in biblical literacy to the level of the street. But
Christ teaches an aspiration to higher understanding and wisdom than common
street language can afford. He spoke in parables and proverbs as a
beginning point to 1) separate the vulgar goats from the eager lambs; and 2) to
teach in similitudes and allegories those great heavenly truths that His
hearers could not understand without deep thought and further learning. But He
gave them a starting place through the use of parables and proverbs. As a good
Teacher, Jesus taught from the known to the unknown – not from the unknown to
the unknown as many modern theologians attempt to do out of pride and
arrogance. He spoke in terms the people could understand in the simple ways
that would lead to profound understandings as they grew in knowledge and truth.
But Christ never lowered the holiness of his language. He used terms of respect
and high regard for all whom He addressed. He never irreverently referred to
His Father as ‘Dad’ or the Holy Ghost as ‘that helpful fellow.’ He used
classical language in all of His speaking. We use such language on legal
documents, why not when addressing the Supreme Law-Giver?
In
the 23rd and 24th verses of our
text today, Christ makes reference to a certain day. Which day is it? An
ambassador makes treaties and agreements in the name of the sending authority.
Christ came and fulfilled all the terms of our redemption. He completed that
work on the cross at Calvary and, three days later, by rising from the Tomb. He
is our Justifier. He is our Redeemer. He is our Savior. He is our Advocate.
When Christ was physically present with the disciples, they felt free to ask of
Him anything. Christ prayed to the Father for our benefit; but in His glorious
ascension, we may approach the Father directly in petitioning for our needs.
However, we must approach God the Father with a Letter of Introduction. That
letter is Christ. Whatsoever we ask of the Father, we ask in the name of the
One who has qualified us to ask.
Let
me ask you, “What does the following mean from verse 23: Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will
give it you? If we desire
something out of our lust or greed, is God constrained to great that prayer?
Contrary to the charismatic religions, God is NOT at all going to grant those
petitions. What Christ means by “ask in my
name.” That means with my authority, with my concurring will,
and in the same Gospel intent I have taught you. We will not ask for anything
that does not comport with what God wills for us if we have taken on that Mind
of Christ to think and to act. In the verses immediately preceding the Gospel
text today, the disciples are desirous to have some mystery of Christ revealed,
and that is something that Christ is always pleased to grant – that we KNOW Him
better, and His will.
King
David perfectly understood those things of God that are waiting in abundance
for our sincere prayers of faith. “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not
want.” A little lamb may have no knowledge that he needs protection
from the ravishing wolves of the mountain, but the Shepherd knows and provides
that want. Want is a word that means ‘necessity!’ Whatever it is that we need
to preserve our lives – physical and spiritual – day by day, the Good Shepherd
supplies. We do not know, like the little lamb, all that we need, or all that may
be harmful to us. But the Shepherd knows, indeed. David also said: “…. they
that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. (Psalms 34:10) We
shall LACK nothing that is a “good thing”. If we receive, not, perhaps it is
because we ask amiss or out of a heart that regards iniquity. If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: (Psalms 66:18) Ye
ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your
lusts. (James 4:3) Is our God a captive audience for our every desire?
Is not prayer two-way communication? When we pray, are we careful to examine
our hearts for the response God whispers? Is it OUR will for which we pray, or
is it HIS will for which we pray?
Remember that Christ has opened the Holies of Holies up to us so that we may
approach God directly without an intermediary other than that Holy and
Sacrificed Son of God – Jesus Christ. At His death, was the Temple Veil not
torn from TOP to BOTTOM – not bottom to top? Only God could make the
invitation, and He did so symbolically by the tear in the Temple Veil.
When
God gave us the Ten Commandments, we were not ready for the implementing Rule
of Love that we must develop to understand those Ten Commandments. He allowed
us to fumble and stagger under our futile attempt to be righteous under the
Law. Once we had learned that we were powerless to gain heaven by our own
righteous works, Christ came in the fullness of time to teach us that without
LOVE, there could be no true obedience to God. We must Love God with our whole
being, and our neighbors as ourselves. This was the implementing Rule of Love
that will enable us to keep the Commandments – all of them – of God. Love is
the OBJECT, the Commandments the EVIDENCE of that LOVE. “….love covereth
all sins. (Prov 10:12) This is no invitation to hedonism, but we cannot
obey the Commandments of God without those two implementing Commandments of
Love for God and Love for our neighbor. No one will violate the Law of God if
He keeps the First Law of obedience in Love of God, and the second in Love of
neighbor. Christ came speaking in parables and proverbs as a fundamental
approach to our ignorance of the spiritual law that attends the legal law. Now,
He speaks clearly to our hearts once we have passed the barrier of ignorance to
love. 25 These things have I spoken unto
you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in
proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. The
Ascension of Christ into the glory of Heaven was not a matter of despair to us,
but a benefit and blessing. Rather than always speaking to us in human terms,
He now speaks in spiritual and heavenly terms through the agency of His Holy
Ghost – our Comforter. Instead of speaking in our ears, He now speaks in our
hearts. They physical evidence of His death, Resurrection, and Ascension opened
the audible channels of our hearts to hear truths that cannot be uttered in
simple language. The end-proofs of His Divinity in rising and ascending are a
stamp of authenticity to all else that He uttered while with us in the Body.
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto
you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved
me, and have believed that I came out from God. All that we pray
should be in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Ark and Advocate.
He is right beside the Father and has His undivided attention. He constantly
intercedes for us when we offer our Godly prayers. And those Godly prayers
receive the same respect and consideration of God as if Jesus had asked it of
Him. How can this be? Because God loves you in the same way He loves His only
Begotten Son. If we love Jesus and claim that redemption He has made available
to us, God the Father views us as His own Son because it is the covering Blood
of His son that He beholds when He looks upon us.
We
are strong in words and often, unfortunately, weak in courage and faith. One
who believes too quickly may also be disillusioned too suddenly. The disciples
claim to believe all that Jesus has said and are steadfastly convinced of who
He is. However, the following events of the arrest, trial and crucifixion of
Christ disarms their courage and results in their fleeing from Christ in
terror. How fickle is the heart of man. Those same ones who threw down palm
branches shouting Hosanna just a couple of days earlier would be gathered on
the paddock outside Pilate’s judgment hall shouting ‘Crucify Him. His
blood be upon us and our children!” How chilling!
Knowing the hearts of His disciples, Jesus knew precisely the hearts of those
disciples then, just as He knows your heart today. 29 His
disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.
30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that
any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
You took a vow at your Confirmation, perhaps your Baptism and your Wedding of
certain things. How tenaciously have you kept those bold expressions of
fidelity and faith? We weaken over time in the face of threat, dangers, and
temptations. It is for this reason that we need to consume our Daily Bread from
Heaven in god’s Word. When the soldiers marched into the Garden at Gethsemane
to arrest Christ, when hundreds or thousands were gathered without the Hall of
Pontius Pilate screaming for His death, when they saw the horror of the
crucifixion – it was then that their hearts grew fearful and faithless. But
those same disciples showed no such fear in the course of their lives AFTER the
Resurrection and Ascension. They now had unchallengeable evidence of who Christ
was, and their faith was firm even unto death. Peter denied Christ once he was
physically separated from His Person. But once Peter had been blessed with the
constant Spiritual Presence of Christ with the benefits of the Holy Ghost, he
never again wavered. Do you have that assurance and courage?
Christ knew their weakness, and did not condemn them for it. He knew what they
would later do, and how they would die for His Gospel. 31 Jesus
answered them, Do ye now believe? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall
be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not
alone, because the Father is with me.
This prophecy was fulfilled within hours of its being spoken. But
when one is left alone by all men, the Presence of God is of far greater worth
than all the world. When you may be the ONLY one who stands upon the promises
of God – when all others deny the Word – you will be standing on the Immovable
Rock with God. When the dust settles, you will still be standing there while
the world vanishes into the mist of doubt.
Why
did Jesus speak so frankly of their coming failure? He did so to bolster their
faith, and OURS. When we have been clearly told of all that may befall us in
this life for our testimony of Jesus, we will be armed to withstand the
withering gales of wickedness and deceit. Jesus ALWAYS knows more and better
than we can know. He KNEW the coming betrayal and passion. He KNEW the burial
and Resurrection. So He abides their ignorance until their faith is made
invincible in the facts of His Resurrection and Ascension.
In spite of the heartaches and troubles the world may send your way, we have
One who has conquered every power of the world and furled their flags. He tells
us in prophecy of all troubles that may lie ahead. This is to bolster our faith
when the moment comes and recall that Christ went before and won the victory
for us. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye
might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world. Unlike those who claim that Christians
will be taken out before the hard times roll, Christ teaches us otherwise. We
can even see the pitiful and ungodly plight of Christians in China, in North
Korea, in Vietnam, Pakistan, Iran, etc. Christ forearms us by forewarning us: 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the
councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my
sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what
ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit
of your Father which speaketh in you. (Matt 10:17-20) Did you believe
these times were limited to that of the Apostolic Age? Are these things not
happening now in many parts of the world, and there is an odor of the same
beginning to arise in our own Beloved Land. BEWARE!
