Good Morning Friends,
We are not like we used to be. And let me tell you something. That is a good thing. A very good thing, because it is all bringing us closer to understanding and experiencing how we might honor and experience a bit of the honor given to Jesus and Paul in today’s text as they in their farewells set the stage to glorify God in the being of who they were made to be. So, this morning we contemplate in preparation for Pentecost what is too complicated to address in a single devotional but is the chief end of humans to learn. So, I would like to get you to think about this weighty subject, even if it prompts you to get out your concordances and commentaries on the word of the day. The topic is important, because our own individual and collective sanctification is intertwined in the divine mystery. And so, let’s get to work being and becoming, as we ask, What Is The Only Glory that Lasts?
Scripture: Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.
Acts 20:28-38 (NRSV)
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
John 17:11b-19 (NRSV)
The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19 (NRSV)
Message: In the Psalms and the life of David God really lays it on the line for us as to what is meant by God’s Glory as opposed to a person’s experience of glory. Here we come face to face with the reality that to know God, we must first know ourselves and our sinful nature. The definition of the term though is a bit tricky. But let me give it a shot as to what Glory is and is not. We sing about it in the doxology, but I doubt people give it much thought for it is nice to claim a bit of the praise and not give it all to God. Still, we are the crown of God’s creation. So, it helps to distinguish between our sense of glory and the Glory of God manifested in Jesus. You probably remember the first time you did something exceptionally good, and your mom or dad noticed it and gave you a hug and told you it was wonderful. And even if you cannot remember that exact moment, you can recall at least one time when something you did received honor or praise from someone you respected, and the feeling it generated was really, really great. When someone thinks of the word glory that is the kind of experience we imagine. The feeling felt by the one honored or glorified is what fuels the entertainment and sports industries and even a lot of politics, way more than the money. When we are glorified, we want more of the same. Part of that desire comes from the unfulfilled feelings we have. Sure, getting an award or scoring the winning goal or making a big sale gives you a temporary high, but it can also leave a bitter taste in your mouth. It is not enough to fill our life with joy that lasts no longer than a good meal. That kind of glory is a bit hollow, and the reason is that we were made that way by God so we might be in union with God. There is a hole in the Gospel that needs to be filled in our own being. And the beauty is that God equips us with a basic desire to be more holy and become one with the Trinity as Jesus prayed we would. So, when Jesus, who is both true God and true human, says “Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son,” He is praying for that fulfillment. He knows how His glorification is real… His enthronement will come about. He will be nailed to a cross and lifted up with the cynically written but divine-inspired proclamation above His head: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” On the cross He receives His glory with the utmost pain and humiliation, and He offers it to the Father so that now, two thousand years later, He can as always draw all humans to Himself, and through the water and blood of his body the beginnings of the church universal. Here Jesus makes us one with Him and the Father in the Spirit, and we with each other. And though we get a taste of it now, we believe that we will realize Jesus’ prayer for us to have a heart, home, and hope in the divine harmony.
And So, Glory is union with Jesus that comes in all our humility, tears, and trials as we walk on the Glory Road realizing the road is not all paved and that the gate to the way is often gone if we take our eyes off the prize. The beauty is that Jesus was made perfect in his suffering and the reality is that our growth in becoming who we were made to has its share of suffering too. And for us it is a hard and heavy task, impossible to bear alone, but in union with Christ every pain, panic, pandemic… every bankruptcy, forced isolation and insolvency is possible to overcome. Triumph comes when we testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Friends, right now, we are in the middle of a mess, but God can sort it out and we can learn from it. For in it we are to believe in the holiness of God despite all the trials. And we are to believe in the infinite value and beauty of what God has created. So, do not forget that we have been created in the image of the divine and when we act as a witness to this glory, we get to know ourselves and God too. Friends, The Glory Road has a lot of rocks. Maybe that is why Jesus built the church on them. It makes the challenge worthy of God if we join with others realizing that the whole earth is full of God’s Glory for us to enjoy. Jesus is glorified. We do not make Jesus more glorified, but we can share in the experience for we are made in God’s image for the kingdom purpose of passing on what we have learned about what it means to be who God meant us to be.
Pray we become the people God made us to be. Pray in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and its fire we are refined for a glorious purpose. Pray we point to the love of Jesus in response to the opportunities placed in our path each and every day. Pray we are honest about where we are and whose we are realizing how we must change for we are not all right but that is ok. Pray in this mindset for serenity as a pathway of peace. Pray we acknowledge that though we do not add to God’s glory, God’s zeal for us is to think and feel and act in a way that points to the divine glory shining and visible in our lives as we glorify God in the light of Christ in us. Pray the glory of this radiance of his holiness, the radiance of his manifold, infinite worth and valuable perfection guide our steps to know God and experience God. Pray we are trusting in God’s promises as a way of witnessing our belief that God is trustworthy. Pray we accept the realities of life and have courage to face them with wisdom in realizing how we can make an impact in the lives of others as well as our own. Pray we surrender to God’s will and path of glory, trusting that God will make all things right so that we might be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with God in the next when we see the fullness of God’s Glory.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 