A crowd had gathered around Jesus, and I suppose many a sermon could begin that way. But, once again, a crowd had gathered. Among this crowd were deriders and those who sought to sully Jesus’ reputation—Pharisees and their disciples, scribes and teachers of the law, perhaps some Sadducees. Never letting a situation go without some instruction—these are his people after all, the ones created through Him, the ones He was sent to—Jesus spoke to the crowd assembled. He instructed, and some believed. To them that believed in Him He said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Yet, there existed in this crowd still others who did not believe—Pharisees and their disciples, scribes and teachers of the law, perhaps some Sadducees—they’ve all been mentioned before. They chimed in, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” (John 8:33) Jesus explained that one who sins is a slave to sin, but if He, the Son, sets them free, they are truly free. He acknowledged that they are descendants of Abraham, yet seek to kill him; they do the work of their father, who is not Abraham. They stood firm, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus responded:

Before the Gospel lesson begins, Thaddeus, one of the twelve, asked Jesus a question: “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Then, as you heard, Jesus gave His response:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word…Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” It sounds simple enough. A mark of one who loves Jesus, who follows Him, who is a believer, is keeping His Word. And why not? If you love someone, you tend to pay more attention to what they say or write; you tend to hang on every word they say, soak it in, and cherish it. So it should be with one who loves Jesus, they keep His Word: they pay attention to it with meticulous detail and are keen to observe everything He says by it.

Conversely, the mark of one who does not love Jesus, and you can read that to mean either as one who hates Him or who is otherwise indifferent towards Him, is not keeping His Word. If you do not like someone or are otherwise indifferent towards them, you will most likely ignore what they have to say. How often do you change the TV channel when someone you do not care to hear is about to speak? Or, perhaps you hang on their every word, looking for something to complain or argue about (definitely not to soak it in and cherish it). And, this is how it is with those who do not love Jesus—they either ignore what He has to say, simply don’t care about it, or care enough to hear it in order to contradict it.

Did you hear Him? Jesus Christ mentioned you in today’s gospel. Hear Him again: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word…” He prayed not only for His disciples, His Twelves—“I do not ask for these only,” He said—but also for those who hear His disciples’ words—“but also for those who will believe in me through their word,” He continued. You, dear hearers, are prayed for by Christ. Soak that in for a bit.

[short time for reflection]

So, by now, you are probably wondering, what is He praying for you to have or to be. “[T]hat they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” He prays for one-ness. Be careful, this is not merely unity, as in a bunch of individuals getting together, but union, as in many becoming one. And this, not only a union of people into some mere organization that is called the church, but one-ness in God—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Take a little time to ponder that, too.

[short time for reflection]

If you were to pore through the Scriptures, you would find periods of time where God is simply silent. There was no thunder from heaven, no smoke, no fire, no trembling mountains—only silence. Not much is said of God’s activity in the time between Noah and Abraham. The Old Testament closes and there was 400 years of silence before John the Baptist, to which even the Apocrypha attests. (cf. 1 Maccabees 9:27) Even in the New Testament, there’s hardly a word from God, even as He walks on earth in the flesh, between the time of Jesus’ Annunciation to His birth, between His birth and baptism, and a little between His resurrection and ascension. Of course, you know that God was active in all of those times, but you read and hear little to nothing of His direct interaction.

You now live in a time referred to as a Saeculum, a Latin word meaning “age” or “period of time.” It is used to refer to a period of time since an event occurred and the death of the last person to witness the event. It is usually used to refer to a period of silence from God; in fact, the 400 years of the inter-testamental period are often referred to as The Saeculum. The Saeculum that you live in is marked by the period of time in which no one living has seen Jesus in the flesh. By the standards set forth so far in this sermon, this Saeculum is another period of silence from God—there is no thunder from heaven, smoke, fire, or trembling mountains, at least, none of which can be attributed to the direct activity of God to mark His presence. The Canon of Scripture is closed, as there is no further revelation from God. Jesus has come, died on the cross, rose from the grave, and is now ascended to the right hand of majesty.

Now, there is silence…only silence.

Last week and today, the Gospel lessons have been portions of Jesus’ Farewell Discourses. What Jesus said in these texts happened perhaps only an hour or two before He was betrayed into the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes; He celebrated His last supper with His disciples back in chapter 13, and in chapter 18 is when Judas brings the Temple guard to arrest Him. Between these two events, Jesus prepared His disciples for the time that He would no longer be with them and His church as He had in the three or so years since His baptism. While He would soon be taken from them to be crucified and die for their sins and the sins of the world and on the third day rise again—events which on a few occasions He had told them about—this time He was also preparing them for His ascension.

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” (John 16:16) “[I]t is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14)

This is not the Son of Man and Son of God predicting His passion again; He’s preparing His disciples and His Church for a prolonged absence, so to speak: Jesus, in a little while, will go to the Father, not to be seen again until He comes to judge the quick and the dead. Until that great and dreadful day, He will have sent—He does send and continues to send—the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to take from what is of Jesus—what is Jesus—and give it to His people, His church, as you heard last week, and to execute His three-fold conviction of the world: of sin and of righteousness and of judgment (cf. John 16:8ff). The Church has lived these last two millennia on Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit has revealed and given Him to Her in the Word and Sacraments; so He has certainly not been absent—in fact, He had promised to be with His Church always (cf. Matthew 28:20)—but He has not been visible (and remains so) with these eyes of sinful flesh, as He had been two millennia years ago.