Acts 1:12-26; 1 John 5:9-15; John 17:11b-19

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

How are Christians to interact with the world around them? This has been a question the Church has tried to answer for centuries. We know that the world is opposed to God. To be a part of the world means being opposed to God. Thus, we don’t take part in many worldly festivities. On the other hand, God doesn’t want us to run and hide. We don’t section ourselves off from the world simply because we don’t partake in it.

This is one of the many paradoxes of the Christian faith. Two statements that are seemingly opposed but must both be held as true. Christians are opposed to the world and separate from it, but Christians are a part of the world. If we’re to ever understand what the bible teaches, sometimes we learn that we must hold truths in tension.

As the Church celebrates the ascension of Jesus on Thursday (forty days after the resurrection), we remember how Jesus prepared his disciples and us for his departure. Our Gospel reading for this Sunday shows us how Jesus prayed for his followers, those who believe in him. His prayer includes even the church today! “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one,” John 17:14-15. Jesus’ word separates Christ’s Church from the rest of the world. Jesus prays that his church, his followers of all ages wouldn’t be a part of the world, because he wasn’t part of the world.

When there’s tension in the faith, there’s a good chance that we will mess it up. The temptation for every Christian is to veer off the path to the right hand or to the left. Our two main responses to Jesus’ words are either to separate entirely from the world, or to merge entirely with it. These are the two errors that we must avoid. As Christians, we don’t abandon the world. We don’t abandon those who don’t believe because we were sent to share our faith with them. On the other hand, we can’t give in to all the world’s ways. We can’t bury our head in the sand and act like everything happening in the world is in accord with God’s word. We must be cognizant of the evil and sin that lurks around every corner in the world.

As Christians, we are in the world, but not of the world. Jesus was not of the world, but he was sent to the world. Jesus came to us to tell us about all the evil and sin that remained. Though he was in the world, Jesus would remain distinct, separate from the world as it’s savior. Jesus went to the cross to show us the opposition God has to our sin. But it was by the cross, by God’s wrath outpoured there, that he now sanctifies or purifies us. By Christ’s cross, by his word spoken to us, he purifies us of the evil in the world that we may have life in heaven. This is our faith, that we are no longer members of this world or the kingdom of this world, but of Christ. Yet, for a time, we still remain here. We still live in a sinful and fallen world that we may testify to the grace, mercy, and forgiveness given to us through Christ!

Pastor Sorenson

Prayer:

O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!