They Are In the World
John 17:1-11

Last weekend Clifford and I traveled to Hot Springs, Arkansas to hear Garrison Keillor perform his 1,177^th live radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion.  In between Guy Noir and Lives of the Cowboys and of course, The News from Lake Wobegon, all kinds of wonderful music was performed including an old-time Negro spiritual. 

Conventional wisdom has led us to believe that the slaves sang these songs in order to focus on eternal life rather than on the difficult lives they were forced to live in this world. This was one of their reasons but there was more to it than that. The spirituals expressed their belief that God was with them in this world, too. They believed that with God’s help, freedom and justice awaited them “over Jordan” — a code name for the Ohio River.

Today’s gospel reading is unusual in that Jesus is not addressing the disciples nor a crowd of people nor is he speaking directly to any human.  As we know from last week’s scripture, Jesus had been talking to the disciples assuring them they would not be orphaned but rather would be given an advocate in the Holy Spirit. After this long discourse on the night before he died, he no longer is talking to the disciples but is praying to God. We and his disciples in that room are privileged to “listen in” and “overhear” what he is saying to God.  Perhaps what the disciples heard didn’t make much sense to them at the time.  But it would be a great comfort and hope to them later. Although they would still be very much in this world, they would not be alone.

On Thursday, we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. From the events of Holy Week and for forty days after Easter Sunday, the disciples have been on a roller coaster ride. Their beloved Lord, and ours, died on the cross, rose again and has been among them for forty days. How difficult it must have been to have him leave again. They and we are still in this world. As our collect says today on this Sunday after Ascension Day:  

O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:  Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before.

In the prayer Jesus prays in today’s gospel, he says very clearly, “And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world … Protect them in your name.”  Jesus knows the real test of the disciples’ faith is yet to come.  He won’t be standing next to them in human form to lead and guide them. The promise of Pentecost is yet to come…

The crucifixion without the resurrection would be the story of a man who died for what he believed in — the story of a martyr.  The Ascension without Pentecost would be miraculous but the way would be empty and lonely for those who remained and do remain in this world. In that time between Ascension and Pentecost the disciples were suspended in a time of both hope and despair.  How could they ever manage alone? For them, for those who followed, including us, were and are not without comfort. He sent his Holy Spirit to comfort us and those who came before us and will live after us.

As I thought about Garrison Keillor singing that old Negro spiritual, it triggered a memory from long ago.

There were four boys and one girl in our Indiana farm family.  The family on the farm next to us boasted of four girls and one boy.  They were just an ordinary farm family like the rest of us but I thought the Rader family was very special in two ways.  First, they put on the best Halloween parties in Oslo Township in their barn every year.  Their second claim to fame was that the attic of their very old two-story farmhouse was a station or stop on the Underground Railroad.  Mary Jane, Kay June, Connie Jean, Eva Joan and Kenny John would proudly show us the hiding place in their attic. I never knew if the story was true for sure but I didn’t think the Rader kids were smart enough to make it up.

I looked at a map of Underground Railroad routes this week and sure enough between 1810 and 1850 one did go right through that part of Indiana where we lived. We learned some things about slavery and the Underground Railroad in grade school but we didn’t learn everything.

I’ve always assumed that the Negro spirituals like “Deep River” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” were based on the promise of eternal life.  I thought that they were emotional and mental escape songs — songs of hope for a better life in the world to come.  I knew some of the songs were “work” songs something like the chain gangs sang.  They allowed the slaves to coordinate their efforts — to work in unison.  What I didn’t realize was that some of the spirituals had hidden meanings.  For example, “My home is over Jordan” refers to eternal life but it also refers to the Northern side of the Ohio River — the promised land of freedom.  The slaves sang to remind themselves that a better life would be theirs in eternity.  They also sang to remind themselves that God was with them in this world as they sought freedom and justice. Of course, they couldn’t express these thoughts and feelings openly so they did it covertly.

As much as we anticipate eternal life, we still live in this world.  The disciples were still in this world after the Ascension.  The slaves were still in this world.  We still live in this world. Jesus said, “I am no longer in the world but they are still in the world.”

When we played Underground Railroad with the Rader kids, there was always some dissension about who would play which role.  At first, we all thought it would be fun to be the runaway slave, but it was hot and cramped in that little hiding space in the attic. And although we didn’t want to admit it, that role was very scary.  And it seemed pretty boring to be the kid who played the mother who sat in the rocking chair in front of the door that led to the hiding place.  You just sat there and rocked and held somebody’s baby doll but then your heart would start pounding. It was also a dangerous role.  It seemed exciting to be the man who led the slave toward the next “station” or stop on the route. But we soon learned that role was pretty frightening too, especially if you were caught by slave hunters with their dogs.

We didn’t play Underground Railroad very much.  I think that even if we couldn’t articulate that this game of ours was a story of real and difficult life, we sensed it.  As an adult I realize that this was a real and difficult search for freedom and justice by all those involved.  I also realize that these journeys were undertaken by faith. Pentecost had followed Ascension. Those slaves and their allies had a comforter among them. They weren’t left comfortless in this world.

As we deal with the realities of this life — the price of gasoline and food, a new deadly bacteria among us, negative and depressing politics, illness and suffering, and just everyday stress, we don’t have Jesus in this world walking beside us in his physical body.

We are very much in this world, but we aren’t without comfort. The Holy Spirit is within us and among us. The Holy Spirit is in this world to guide us and protect us.  If we really look, we can see the face of Jesus in our fellow travelers. They can be as Jesus to us.  We can be as Jesus to them.  We are very much in this world but we are not alone.

Thanks be to God.

Amen

The Rev. Betsy Porter
St. James’ Episcopal Church
7 Easter
The Sunday after Ascension Day
May 4, 2008

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