Sermon: What Is Glory?

Lectionary: Easter 7(A)

Texts: Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35; 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11; John17:1-11

Assumption - Christ, Mary, Saints, and Angels in Glory
Antonio Allegri da Correggio, ca. 1526-1530

What is the greatest threat to the community of the followers of Jesus Christ? We might easily be led to think it is the external threat from demonic persecution as the reading from 1 Peter 4 and 5 seems to imply. And in response, reading that we are to be more “steadfast in faith” (1 Pet. 5:9) we might think that we this means better definition and policing of our faith boundaries. We might want to keep a closer eye on who and what are inside and outside our boundaries.

The reading from Psalm 68 seems to support the idea of those who are God’s people and those who are not. The psalm calls for the warrior God to fly out against the enemies of God’s people and destroy them. The psalm reminds God of God’s dealings against Pharaoh and the Egyptians during the Exodus, and God’s provision for God’s people in the wilderness as examples of why God needs to act now.

But are external threats the most dangerous to the community raised up by Jesus? Immediately prior to his arrest and crucifixion, what was foremost on Jesus’ mind about his community?

Foremost on Jesus’ mind and concern is the unity of his community. He prays, “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:11b) Further on, past where today’s reading ended, Jesus continues his prayer, “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who 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.” (John 17:20-21)

Internal strife, conflict, and divisions are the most significant threat Jesus sees that will threaten his community. Two thousand years later, we can see that Jesus’ fears were well founded. We have become experts at defining and policing boundaries, both between those who profess belief in Christ and between those who do and those who do not. Wars have been waged in efforts to prove that might is right. Christians have not only been persecutors of those outside the faith, but those within, who believed different things.

Christians, at our best, reflect to some degree the glory of Christ. At our worst, we become devils devouring our own. We need no external threat to destroy ourselves. Rather, the truth is that Christians have often been at their best during times of collective hardship.

The author of Ephesians gives us examples of devilish powers. “… Our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

The portion of 1 Peter read this morning is written to leaders of Christian communities that are experiencing hardship and some kind of persecution. Between the two portions that were read, the writer directs the leaders to be examples of service to those under their charge. True leaders of the community of Jesus Christ are marked by their humility, service, and care for those that they have been entrusted; they reject prideful ambition, power, and material gain.

What is glory? The word is commonly used to describe things such as triumph, honor, fame, renown, brilliance, and splendor. When Christians use “glory” in association with God and Christ, it often follows our common usage. God’s glory and Christ’s glory is frequently associated with the manner of Christ’s second Advent, pictured as a conquering king, destroying his enemies and bringing justice to his followers by vindicating them. This image lines up well with the first part of today’s Psalm reading.

But Jesus, who frequently redefined and reimagined traditional readings and interpretations of scripture, does the same with the concept of God’s glory. In the gospel of John, Jesus consistently speaks of God’s glory as being revealed in Jesus’ life and his crucifixion as the culmination of God’s glory. This is the furthest thing from traditional understandings of glory as victory, triumph, and honor. What then, is God’s glory?

Although the words of Psalm 68 are found clothed in tribal and nationalistic language, within we find hints of God’s glory. And it has nothing to do with God conquering and destroying other nations and peoples.

Rather it is found in the portions that read, “Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity… Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished; your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.” (Psalms 68:5-6a, 9-10)

God’s glory is God’s desire to be one with humanity – to reconcile with God’s enemies. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) This is the gospel of Christ – to be reconciled to God.

But if we are divided amongst ourselves, if we keep dividing, if we keep creating boundaries, if we keep defining and policing who is in and who is out – if we cannot reconcile amongst ourselves, our witness to the world is diluted at best and destroyed in many cases.

How can we recover, restore, and resurrect unity of Christ’s community?

The first is to believe and live the truth that God desires to reconcile with all. There is no one outside God’s grace. No matter how despicable and evil a person’s thoughts and actions are, God still desires to awaken them to their true heritage as a child of God. We cannot treat as enemies those who God does not.

Secondly, we must understand who our true enemy is. Our enemy is not fellow human beings. As the author of Ephesians tells us, our enemies are not “blood and flesh.” They are, rather, the power structures and systems that feed on fear. Fear leads to the need to define insiders and outsiders, to create scapegoats, to power struggles, conflicts, violence, and wars.

Finally, the only way out of the cycle of violence and death is to understand and live the resurrection life. The resurrection life is one where we put to death all the things motivated by fear and instead live by trusting in God’s abundant provisions. When we are freed from fear, we are freed from the need to protect ourselves. We are free to serve and give of ourselves, even to those that may seek to harm us, just as Jesus served and prayed for those that crucified him.

Jesus prayed,

“As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world… The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one... I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17:18, 22, 26)

When this takes place, the concluding verses of Psalm 68 will be fulfilled as all people come for reconciliation to God,

32 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, Selah

33 O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.

34 Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel and whose power is in the skies.

35 Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God! (Psalm 68:32-35)

References

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Van De Laar, J. (2026, May 7). An Invitation to Erotic Aliveness: A Reflection on John 17:1-11 for Easter 7A. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/an-invitation-to-erotic-aliveness

Van De Laar, J. (2026, May 11). Lectionary Reflection for Easter 7A on Psalm 68:1–10, 32–35. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-easter-765

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

Sermon: Thoughts and Prayers

Lectionary: Year C, Easter 7

Texts: Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26

“The moral arc of the universe bends toward justice – but only if someone helps bend it.” [1] – Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas

This past week was the kind of week that causes even the most faithful Christian to pause and wonder, even if only in their minds, if God exists, and if God does, does God care about us?

The week opened with a report in which it was confirmed that the largest Christian denomination in the United States[2] has for decades dismissed and covered up child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and rape within not only the churches in its denomination, but among several of its past and present denominational leaders.[3] An article headline at The Atlantic read, “No Atheist Has Done This Much Damage to the Christian Faith.”[4] In a paragraph midway thorough the article, Peter Wehner, the columnist wrote,

“It’s nearly impossible to overstate how much damage these new revelations—these necessary and long-overdue revelations—are doing to the Christian witness. No atheist, no secularists or materialists, could inflict nearly as much damage to the Christian faith as these leaders within the Christian Church have done.”

This is yet another in a repeated pattern among too many churches and denominations. Institutions and their leaders seem to always prioritize their own survival and longevity over caring for the people. Those who dare accuse them are dismissed, shamed, denounced, and called liars, furthering the abuse that the victims have suffered. I’ve personally seen this in churches and church schools I’ve been a part of in my past.

Before the ink was dry on this and many other articles and commentaries that had been written on this topic, they were pushed off the pages by a massacre in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children and 2 teachers were killed by a gunman.

In its aftermath plenty of “thoughts and prayers” were offered to the victims, their families, and the community. Yet if the past is any indication of the present, many offering such “thoughts and prayers” will do nothing towards implementing measures that could reduce the occurrence of these horrific killings that seem to be so regularly occurring that only a few rise to national consciousness.

Here are just a few gun violence tragedies that took place in just the past four to five weeks:[5]

• May 24: Uvalde, Texas – 19 children and two teachers killed at an elementary school
• May 14: Buffalo – 10 people killed and 3 wounded in a supermarket
• May 15: Laguna Woods, California – 1 person killed and 4 critically wounded at Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church
• May 15: Houston – 2 killed and 3 critically wounded at an open-air flea market
• May 13: Milwaukee – 16 wounded in downtown Milwaukee
• April 27: Biloxi, Miss. – 4 killed at a motel and another killed during a connected carjacking

If this were truly a “Christian nation”, as some Christians (erroneously) claim, would we be seeing any of this? Do the value claims of so-called pro-life Christians extend to children in schools and churches? While emphasizing liberty and freedom, how come the emphasis seems mostly to be on that which is associated with power and violence, rather than securing liberty and freedom through safety and care of the young, the weak, the vulnerable, and the marginalized?

I am angry. But I also feel helpless. And even hopeless. The church and Christians have failed and continue to fail so many times, that during times like this week, I even question the value of the church and the faith on which it supposedly rests. I’ve never seen so many pastors and Christian leaders drop the f-bomb and other 4-letter words this week. We are exhausted. We are numb. It feels like all the visible powers are stacked against justice, goodness, care, compassion, and love.

Speaking of swear words and such profanity, it should be noted that their use is not inherently a violation of the third commandment (“don’t take God’s name in vain”), although during my childhood and youth I got the idea that it was. I supposed it was related to some swear phrases using “god” but somehow the third commandment was broadened to include any profanity.

But the third commandment and its violation does have relevance to the present issue. Both Jewish and Christian sources offer us examples of what violations of the third commandment look like.

In Judaism, reciting a blessing from God and then failing to follow through may be considered a transgression of the third commandment. The most common example given is offering a blessing over food but then not partaking of it.[6]

The Epistle of James includes several examples in chapter 2 where a person claims the faith of Christ yet their actions show that their use of the name of Christ is in vain:

2 My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality. ² For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,” ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts…?  ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor person…

¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? (James 2:1-4, 6a, 15-16)

Jesus himself taught that there would be those who use his name in vain:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

To transgress the third commandment then, has little or nothing to do with profanity but about: 1) offering a prayer or petition to God without corresponding action that demonstrates that the person praying is doing their part to fulfill the prayer or petition; and 2) claiming to be a follower of Jesus while taking actions that are incongruent to his life and teachings.

“Thoughts and prayers” that are offered for victims of abuse and victims of violence – for the most part I take them to be well-intentioned. Some may be just platitudes, but I imagine most are sincere expressions. But without corresponding action to follow through, they become meaningless words at best, and at worst, hypocrisy and even sin.

Does this mean we shouldn’t pray for victims, their families, communities, and the nation? If prayer is offered as a performative act or to quiet guilty consciences, perhaps it would be better to not pray at all. But there is a purpose for prayer, and our gospel reading from John offers a way forward.

In Jesus’ prayer recorded in John chapter 17, he prays that God will glorify him just as he glorified God during his years of ministry among the people. Jesus then prays for his disciples to be unified and be one. Jesus has given his disciples God’s word and has sent them into the world. But the world hates the disciples just as the world hates Jesus, because of the word and truth that they now proclaim. The glory that God has given Jesus, Jesus gives to his disciples and all who come to faith because of the word of God proclaimed by the disciples. And it is this glory that is the foundation of unity.

We usually associate power and might with ‘glory’, and we conjure images of Christ as a conquering king to destroy evil and establish a new kingdom of righteousness. And in other writings found in the New Testament, that may sometimes be the case.

But not in the gospel of John. For the gospel writer, the glory of Jesus is the cross and his crucifixion. It is not the kind of might or power that the world expects. Jesus’ glory is intimately related to sacrificial love. And by extension, through Jesus’ prayer, the glory of Christians is not about how powerful and influential we can be in the world, but how much sacrificial love we can have for the world.

What did sacrificial love look like in Jesus’ life? Jesus respected women. He paid attention to children. He cared for grieving widows. He took notice of the poor. He did not ignore or dismiss people with disabilities and disease. He fully accepted those of differing nationalities and race. On the other hand, he was critical of those who showed favoritism and those who marginalized, oppressed, and abused groups that were considered “less.” He was not afraid to publicly shame those who thought they were honorable and defend and lift those who society saw was dishonorable.

By violating cultural expectations and norms, by challenging the status quo, Jesus’ actions threatened the gatekeepers of power. In their honor-based society, the very basis of their position and security was challenged by Jesus. Jesus dared to expose the rot in the system and of those who supported the status quo. For them to retain their honor, Jesus would have to go. If he would not go quietly away, he would have to forcibly be removed. And that led to Jesus’ crucifixion – a death so shameful, his entire movement would be destroyed – or so they thought.

Yet it was this dishonor and shame that was the ultimate demonstration of the extent and depth of God and Jesus’ love for all people and all creation. Jesus does what he must do to play his part in answering his own prayer. The readers of Jesus’ prayer in John 17 must look to Jesus’ example to see what it means to share in his glory and be one with one another. Jesus’ prayer is not calling on God to act and then simply waiting for something to happen. Jesus’ prayer is a call to action for himself and for all of his disciples from his very first ones to all that would follow in turn.

Prayer always includes a call to action. Even the Lord’s Prayer, recited weekly, is a call to action for those who pray it. How can we help hallow God’s name? How can we bring the kingdom to earth today? How can we carry out God’s will today? How can we provide for one another’s daily needs? For what do we need to ask forgiveness from someone? How can we remain strong in the face of temptation to succumb to evil?

Do our actions even matter anymore? Hopelessness and nihilism are common refrains during the last several days.[7] Evil and violence keep repeating, and nothing changes. Attempts to make any change are blocked at every turn, or so it seems. The last thing the gatekeepers of power want is change. They benefit from things the way there are. They do not want change.[8]

Yet we are told and know that Jesus will bring about a restoration of righteousness and justice. Our reading from Revelation is one of those texts.

¹² “See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. (Rev. 22:12-14)

The lection omitted verse 15, but it too, can be a light of hope.

¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Rev. 22:15)

One way of interpreting this is to see this as all in the future. We will simply have to wait patiently through the present sufferings until Jesus returns to restore everything. But I discussed in last Sunday’s sermon how the New Jerusalem and the new age was already being inaugurated and coming into the present. Today’s text is a continuation of that. Jesus is already coming and the new age is something that we have been tasked to help bring about.

The text calls Christians to action. We are to wash our robes. A commentary on this text observes,

“It is an odd directive. It points us away from sky gazing and orients us toward the everyday work of the faithful, in ways that can be interpreted both practically and metaphorically. Doing laundry is not glamorous or exciting. It can be mundane and tedious labor. Yet it is necessary…

The instructions for those who are waiting are to concentrate on the tasks at hand and to be about the work of cleansing a world made unclean.”[9]

When Jesus prayed for his disciples to share in his glory, he meant for them to do exactly the type of work that he had done. He cared for and loved those whom society ignored and oppressed. In doing so he exposed the rot and evil that was part of the system of power and culture. He exposed the hypocrisy of those who maintained the system and who benefited from it. His direct disciples continued his work, and every subsequent generation of disciples is also called upon to continue this work of exposing the rot of power-based structures and in its place seek to bring about a system based on mutual and self-sacrificing love. Power always separates and divides the haves from the have-nots. Love and sacrifice is the only path to unity, the oneness that Jesus prayed for his disciples to have.

We, as Jesus’ disciples in the 21^st century, have been given the same task. Yes, pray and think. But we must also act. We must continue to launder the dirt, the filth, the rot that continues in the world. We must have the courage to be hated for exposing systems and structures that harm and divide. We must fight against the inertia of maintaining the status quo.

We must actively work against violence and work for peace. We must actively confront abusers and empower victims and survivors. We must prioritize people over systems, unjust laws, and unjust applications of laws.[10] We must have the courage to be hated for our stand against injustice, abuse, and violence.

“Thoughts and prayers” are only worthwhile if they are transformed into action to change the world for the better. “Thoughts and prayers” must lead to “laundry day”.

It can be difficult so see the kingdom of God, the New Jerusalem, the glorified Church within and among us. I pray that we will be given the eyes of faith to see reality beyond this physical reality, to see that God is even now working with and through us. And may we be given hope that can overcome the hopelessness that can so easily suffocate us and keep us from action.

The message of Easter is that Christ has overcome death, the grave, and hopelessness. Jesus’ resurrection is the vindication that sacrifice and love will overcome evil and hate. But only if we ourselves are willing to die to the ethics of the world. We must be resurrected into the new life of love and sacrifice found in Christ. May our hope remain strong in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

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[1] The Altars Where We Worship (trippfuller.com) (https://trippfuller.com/2022/05/20/the-altars-where-we-worship/)

[2] Largest Christian Denominations in America: The Top 100 – Christianity FAQ (https://christianityfaq.com/largest-christian-denominations-america/)

[3] Guidepost Solutions’ Report of the Independent Investigation — Task Force Updates (sataskforce.net) (https://www.sataskforce.net/updates/guidepost-solutions-report-of-the-independent-investigation)

[4] The Southern Baptist Convention's Double Trauma - The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/southern-baptist-convention-abuse-report/630173/)

[5] Mass Shootings in 2022: A Partial List - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (https://www.nytimes.com/article/mass-shootings-2022.html)

[6] Berachos, Guides - Berachos - Beracha Levatala - Din - Ask the Rabbi (dinonline.org) (https://dinonline.org/2011/03/01/berachos-beracha-levatala/)

[7] A Culture That Kills Its Children Has No Future - The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/uvalde-texas-robb-elementary-school-culture-death/638435/)

[8] Straight White American Jesus, podcast episode: May 27, Weekly Roundup – Guns Over People (GOP). (https://straightwhiteamericanjesus.com/series/straight-white-american-jesus/). This episode has excellent observations and commentary by a couple of scholars who study the intersection of religion and culture on both the Uvalde massacre and the SBC abuse report.

[9] Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2, Easter 7, Revelation, Pastoral Perspective (Kindle version).

[10] Here I am thinking about different kinds of ethical frameworks: deontological vs. teleological and virtue ethics.