1 DATE: JUNE 5, 2011 SERMON TEXT: JOHN 17:1--11 SERMON TITLE: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD" Two weeks ago we held the pre-school graduation here at the church. It is one of my favorite ceremonies of the church. One of the things that the children do when they graduate from St. Paul s is to put their wishes into the wishing well before receiving their diplomas. You have heard me reference this experience before. Their wishes are what they want to be when they grow up. It is really a precious moment. This year as I watched the class of 2011 graduate I talked with a parent as the children deposited their wishes and received their diplomas. It is important to mark the milestones in the lives of our children. By doing so we show our interest in what they are doing, and we applaud them for the work they have done, even if the work consisted only of learning how to walk in a straight line and raising your hand to ask a question. Some of you will witness a graduation of greater significance as high school seniors are recognized throughout the county. With bands playing and speakers speaking and cameras flashing, some of you will watch as your sons and daughters are recognized for their work. Their work has been of a more significant nature than learning to walk in a straight line or raising their hands to ask a question. By now they should have that stuff down pat.
2 What they have learned by now should have either prepared them for further education, a job, or some other significant encounter with the real world. When you attend such an event for your own child, what is one of the first things you do when you get your program? You look to find your child s name, don t you? Regardless if it is a preschool graduation or graduation from high school or college, parents want to see their child s name. It makes us feel proud. Can you imagine how meaningless it would be if the newspaper reported that 10 children were on the honor roll in the 10th grade at Fleetwood High School, and they did not give the names? How deflating would it be if we were only told that a certain resident of Oley had graduated with honors from Oley Valley High School? What gives these reports significance is the name of the person. Their accomplishments only have meaning when there are names associated with the accomplishments. We as parents revel in the success of our children. We are proud, but more than proud, we are honored when our children are successful. We are indeed glorified by our children when they are involved in anything that is special. As parents, we vicariously participate in the triumphs and the victories of our children.
3 The glory we receive from our children does not stop with their educational years. It continues into their adult lives. I have heard many of you speak with great pride as you tell me about your children, where they live and what they do. I see the sparkle in your eyes as you proudly speak of the glory your adult children bring you. It may sound like we are being a bit self-indulgent this morning, but I assure you this is not the case. I am attempting to lift up to you one of the prevailing motivations we have for procreation, and that is that it is a means of attaining honor and glory. The most profound and precious experience of life is the relationship that exists between parent and child. It is a relationship we all participate in. A fundamental product of this relationship is the honor and the glory that parents receive from their chidden. This glory is illustrated in the story of a man who was extremely proud of his six children and his wife, who bore them. He was so proud that he constantly referred to his wife as "mother of six," even in public. On one occasion he told his wife upon preparing to leave a party, It is time to leave, mother of six." And in disgust she replied, Okay, father of four." The theme of family and the glory that children bring is a constant and
4 reoccurring theme in the Old Testament. The covenant that God made first with Abraham and with all the patriarchs to follow was that if they would choose Yahweh as their God, He in return would give them land and descendants. To test Abraham s faith, God threatened the life of the glory of Abraham, his son, Isaac. Jacob s heart was broken when Joseph, the son who glorified him, was feared dead. But his glory was restored to all its splendor when it was discovered that Joseph was alive and quite well in Egypt. The glorification that parents receive from children continues in New Testament scripture. God chose the institution of the family as a means to introduce the Son of Man into the world. Jesus came in his entire splendor for one purpose and one purpose only, and that was to glorify his heavenly Father. Would we be saying too much if we were to say that the totality of the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ was to glorify his Father's name? In other words, the sole purpose of his miracles, his teaching, his preaching was simply to glorify his heavenly Father. Consider the raising of Lazarus. When Jesus is confronted by Martha and Mary as to why he did not come sooner when he learned that Lazarus was dying, Jesus says to them, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you
5 would see the glory of God?" Consider the words of Jesus' prayer in chapter 17 of this morning s gospel. Knowing that what awaits him is an agonizing and horrible death on the cross, he prays to his Father in heaven that the Father might be glorified by his actions, that his suffering and torture may be a means of glory and honor to God the Father, that in his obedience to death on the cross, God is glorified. Our own children s accomplishments seem pale in comparison to the actions of Christ, do they not? Getting the lead in the school play, being a member of the honor society, owning a successful business, building a beautiful home, fathering six children, seem hardly worth mentioning, let alone comparing these actions to the death of Christ on the cross. And we should not compare them because one has nothing to do with the other. Our human relations are based on our own selfish, self-centered wants and desires. The earthly desires that Jesus possessed were selfless. The reason that Jesus was willing to die on the cross, the reason that Jesus would be a part of such a senseless act was so that you and I might believe. The desire of Jesus was that in bringing glory to the Father in his preaching, in his teaching, and in his miracles, the followers of Jesus would believe and would also have the desire to bring glory to the Father as well.
6 We sometimes forget, and it is good to be reminded, that we as a church are the body of Christ. We are here and our only purpose is to carry on the teaching, the preaching, and the miracles of Jesus Christ, and in doing so, to bring Glory to God not glory to St. Paul's, not glory to the United Church of Christ, not glory to Fleetwood, but glory to God. We must constantly remind ourselves of this and gauge all that we do and say with this in mind and constantly ask ourselves, "Is this to the glory of God?" Therefore, brothers and sisters, I commend you for your willingness to serve God. Many of the things that we are about at this church bring glory to God, our Father in Heaven. Our food pantry, our mission outreach, our Christian Education and Youth programs all bring glory to God. I challenge you to be even more conscious of our mission as a living, breathing body of Jesus Christ. Remain focused on our calling to be disciples to all of God's people. And I caution you. Remember that all that you say and all that you do as an individual, as a fellowship conveys the health of our relationship with God, our Father, the one we intend to glorify with our actions.