April 2024 Calendar of Events Hope Lutheran Church Floodwood
Seventh Sunday of Easter, Cycle B
1. 20 May 2012 7th Sunday of Easter Princeton, NJ
I will be heading out this coming Friday on a two week trip with my good friend, Fr. Richard Rohr as he
embarks on a final speaking tour through Europe. Our travels will take us from Assisi, through Switzerland,
Germany, and ending in Romania. My role is to get us from place to place without getting lost, have him
arrive on time for his talks and in between, find some places of interest to enjoy. Since these are all
destinations I have yet been to, I was quick to purchase a number of travel guidebooks. These and books
like them are great to give you an idea of where you are going, what to do if you get lost, where to nourish
yourself, what sites to see and how to be sure to get home.
Well, as the Easter Season nears to a close that is exactly what the Gospels of this season have given us
these past weeks. Stitched together, they provide a kind of guidebook or outline on what it means to be a
follower of Christ - a baptized Christian. Each of our Christian journeys began at the baptismal font like the
one in the center of our Church – the same place where we have begun our Lenten and Easter Sunday
liturgies. It is the place where the baptismal waters were poured over our heads. Thus the reason why these
past weeks we have begun our Sunday liturgies by sprinkling water on everyone from the font. This, to
remind us that we are baptized in Christ. But to also remind us that the journey just begins there - for all of
us have been sent forth as disciples to teach the good news. And our travel guide, our tour book, for this
journey is these Easter Gospels.
The Sunday right after Easter, Mercy Sunday, we heard Christ asked his disciples to go forth and forgive
others, just as he had done. And this direction and empowerment was given to all his disciples, all his
followers, not just the apostles. The following week the risen Christ appeared to travelers on the road to
Emmaus where he broke open scripture to them and their eyes were opened to the presence of Christ in the
breaking of the bread. On Good Shepherd Sunday we were told that Christ knows each and every one of us
and that he will never abandoned us – even those who have been declared, by some, not to belong to the
flock. Then, two weeks ago we heard the famous passage of the vine and the branches….reminding us of
our connection to God and need for dialogue and prayer to ask for what we need. And just last week we
heard the gospel where Christ makes it clear that we are chosen by him – each and every one of us, just as
we are.
In short, this collection of Easter Gospels teaches us that we are connected to the Christ – the one who
knows us, loves us, forgives us and feeds us.
Which brings us to today’s gospel – this poetic and rich passage from John. Since the 16th century this 17th
chapter of John has been called the High Priest Prayer. It is the final prayer Jesus says before his arrest.
The prayer, while directed to God, is for all future disciples. The prayer is for you and for me. And his prayer
was simple: that all of us are to spend our lives as Disciples of Christ by being in the world and not of the
world.
And what does that mean!?
To answer that, perhaps it is best to take a look at the 1st century Johannine community that wrote this
gospel. For they lived in a group-oriented, unified society that confronted the world not merely with a set of
1 Deacon Jim Knipper
2. doctrines and creeds but with an alternative way of life. They lived counter-culture and sought to draw
people out of the world and into a Christ based community. Even though persecuted for their beliefs, it was
a society where God’s message was proclaimed, lived and realized.
By virtue of our baptism, we, too, are called to build this type of community. A community based on
forgiveness and not condemnation. A community based on being in communion, not at war. A community
based on reaching out to those on the fringes and not to those in power. A community based on being
connected to the Christ and not to one’s ego.
Two weeks ago, 77 year old Rankin Paynter, a successful Kentucky businessman, showed everyone what it
meant to be of the world and not in the world. Rankin was shopping for some store fixtures in a local Kmart
store that was having a going out of business sale. With only a few days before the store closed he asked
the manager what was going to happen to all the good merchandise that was remaining. The manager
indicated that some ‘power buyer’ will come in and purchase all that is left at a steep discount and then resell
it, somewhere else, for a profit.
Seeing the financial possibilities, he filled out the necessary paperwork to become a ‘power buyer’ and came
back the following day. And for the next seven hours four cashiers rang up what was left in the store. Two
hundred thousand dollars later four trucks backed up and emptied the store. Then the question was put forth
to Rankin as to what he was going to do with all of the merchandise? He replied, “We have been put on this
Earth to help each other through life.” Rankin knew that there was much need for these clothes and other
goods in his own community. So without another thought, he donated everything to Clark’s County
Community Services, who, for the first time ever, will be able to provide coats, gloves and hats to all those in
need that they serve.
Rankin got it right. He knows what it means to be of the world and not in the world. He inherently followed
the guidebook given to us this Easter Season. Of what it is like to be a disciple of Christ. Of what it is like to
serve one’s community.
We all gather here each weekend knowing that one day we will pass onto a new life. But for now, in this life,
we are called to be a people who form a Christ based community. A people who are in the world, not of the
world. A people who, using the words from the ordination rite, are ones who:
Believe what they read
Teach what they believe
Practice what they teach
For using the basic tenets of these Easter Gospels we are all sent forth to be everything God calls us to be –
and nothing more…but certainly nothing less.
2 Deacon Jim Knipper