Not of the World

​7th Sunday of Easter – B                                                                                LSB #’s 725, 730, 585
Text – John 17:14
 
I have given them Your word, & the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 
 
NOT OF THE WORLD
 
 
It’s uncomfortable  to experience the sensation  that you’re not fitting in.   It can be especially common during childhood  as young people learn all the ins & outs of   interpersonal relationships.  As God has granted each of us  different talents & abilities,  some are more gifted in the area of relationships.   In a sinful world  those differences are certainly magnified. 
As an adult,  & having watched the protests on major university campuses,  I have a definite sense  that I do not fit in  with the people of that world.   As I’ve gotten older,  that sense, regarding the world,  has been growing  even apart from the current protests. 
A lot of things have changed in our culture over the past 20 years.   Yet, we should keep in mind that those changes are not at all noticeable  to people who are currently 20 years old  or younger.   To them,  life has always been this way.   They have no other experience  to compare it to.   In the 1960’s,  it became popular to refer to that as ‘the generation gap.’ 
To say that things have dramatically changed in our culture during the past 20 years  is a statement of perspective.  Older people can say that  because they grew up when things were different.  Younger people do not have that perspective  because they have not lived  through the changes.  That generation gap causes problems  as a culture tries to navigate its future. 
Jesus knew the problems His disciples would face  in navigating their future.   He chose them & trained them in order that they would found,  what today  we call,  the Christian Church.   Since that Church is not of this world, Jesus knew there’d be a dramatic difference in perspective between His followers  & those who rejected following Him.   Jesus describes that difference as hate: “I have given them Your word,  & the world has hated them  because they are not of the world,  just as I am not of the world.”  (John 17:14 ESV)   The Gospel text is a prayer Jesus prayed as He was about to experience the profound  hatred of this world.   He & His disciples were soon leaving for the mount of Olives  for another session of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. 
Within 24 hours,  Jesus would hang,  dead  on a cross at Golgotha.   As the Son of God, He did not ‘fit in’ with the world,  & the world made sure that Jesus paid the price for it.    Our culture today  is increasingly trying to make Christians pay a price  for the fact that we do not ‘fit in.’   When I was growing up in the 1960’s & 70’s,  it wasn’t that way. 
I’m not saying there was no hatred for Christians in those days,  but it certainly was not as out in the open  as it is now.   Today,  people who are simply proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ  are being prosecuted for ‘hate speech.’   Ironic, yet entirely consistent with Satan’s manner of working,  in the world’s hatred of Christians,  it says we  are guilty of ‘hate speech.’ 
If a person is suffering the effects of cancer,  they’re relieved  when a doctor gives the diagnosis & prescription of treatment for it.  They’d never think to refer to that diagnosis as hate speech.   Yet, that is exactly what the world does  when anyone diagnoses its sin & prescribes the cure for it.   Christians can say that with certainty because our own  sinful nature  hates Jesus. 
We know all too well  what it is to rebel against God’s diagnosis of our own sins.  However, that does not disqualify us from pointing the way to the true life found in Jesus.  In fact, our own sins make us even more qualified to point the way because you & I have experienced the healing found in Christ & in Him alone. 
If you’re looking for advice on how to endure the prescription & treatment for cancer, you get far more relevant information from someone who’s gone through that battle themselves.  You’d never accuse them of being a hypocrite for giving you suggestions.   The world does not hate people who’ve struggled with cancer & speak of the cure.   The world does hate  people who’ve struggled with sin & found healing in Jesus Christ.  My use of the word hate in that context may seem a bit harsh,  but I’m only repeating what Jesus said in the sermon text:
“I have given them Your word, & the world has hated them  because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”  Jesus prays to the heavenly Father because He knows the effect that the world’s hatred  will have upon His disciples then,  & His disciples now.   In whatever manner you label it,  you do experience the world’s hatred when you follow Jesus. 
To help you recognize that, here’s a prayer that was sent to me: “Listen, Lord, a mother’s praying  low & quiet: listen, please.   Listen what her tears are saying,   see her heart upon its knees;  lift the load from her bowed shoulders  till she sees & understands,   You, Who hold the worlds together,  hold her problems in Your hands.” 
All mothers – believing & unbelieving – cry in this world,  & not just because of sin in general.  They cry also because of the hatred generated by sinful hearts.  All human beings face the reality of hatred, but as children of God,  you & I are called to respond to that hatred with God’s love.  It doesn’t mean we allow injustice, but we should lead the unjust to Christ. 
Satan & the world will at times paint themselves as tolerant, loving & kind.  They label Christianity as the hateful & intolerant force in this life, but they do so from a sense of hatred.  We don’t always recognize that.  At times, we are deceived.  When Jesus tells us that the world hates us, He’s not exaggerating, nor is He speaking in hyperbole. 
Satan wants you hanging on a cross,  dead  along with Jesus.   At times, the world does act in complete ignorance.   At other times,  it is willfully seeking to destroy the blessings that Christ brings through His church.    At all times,  Satan is working to devour us  in whatever manner he is able.  Mothers, even on Mother’s Day, weep because of Satan’s work.  God has placed Christian mothers in this world to lean upon Him as they fulfill their vocation in the raising & nurture of children.  And God gives the rest of us  opportunities to support & encourage those Christian mothers in the fulfillment of their duties. 
One of Satan’s greatest lies is in telling mothers that they can be set free  through aborting their child.  The world today truly does hate us  for diagnosing that sin & pointing to Jesus as the cure.  And we,  in our sin,  often do fail to support, encourage & forgive mothers whether they keep their child  or have an abortion. 
We are not hypocrites for being sinners while pointing others to Christ.  As Christians,  we are hypocrites when we know Jesus & are afraid to speak about Him as the cure for any & all sin.  So in this prayer before they leave the upper room, Jesus prays that His Father would protect us from the evil one, Satan himself. 
Jesus also prays that we would have His joy fulfilled in us.  He prays that His Father would sanctify us in the truth.  The Holy Spirit does that when He calls, gathers, enlightens & keeps us in the one true faith.  He is keeping us holy & set apart for Yahweh Himself, so that Satan may have no part  in us. 
Jesus prays for us because He’s leaving us behind in a world where the evil one, though beaten, is still deadly.  Since we have rejected the world & its desires,  since we have accepted God’s welcome into His kingdom, the world hates us.  Our rejection of the world’s ways is an insult to them because the world recognizes that we are rejecting its very character & essence. 
To God’s children, the lies of this world are sickening.  So much of what is spoken & broadcast today is simply not true.  Satan is the father of lies & he certainly fills this world with them.  Jesus clearly tells us that the world hates us, & He tells us why.  How is it that so many people resist believing what Jesus teaches here?    How do we continue to love the unbelievers in our lives while recognizing that their unbelief is actually driving them to hate us, even if they do not realize that?  The only solution is to lean upon the Holy Spirit every moment of every day.  We are bombarded by so many false messages that the voice of truth can begin to fade, or, if it’s still heard at all, its accent seems strange, like a dead language no one understands. 
The voice of truth is usually not the loudest nor the most attractive voice we hear.  Therefore, discerning it with our conflicted heart is not easy.  In Proverbs 9, the voices of folly & wisdom begin their appeal with the same opening sentence: “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”  (9:4 & 16 ESV)   God is highlighting the deception of Satan to warn us of its danger. 
We need to keep clear in our minds that there are unbelievers in the world who will never accept Christ’s forgiveness.  There are also people who are on the fence, Christians who are not of the world, but are also drowning in it.  We need to keep that distinction clear, because it changes how we deal with them, how we love them. 
Our relationship with the world is complicated. As people of faith we jump in with hands & feet to explore the life we’re given, to enjoy love & friendship, to delight in the kindnesses we experience, to revel in the diversity of humanity & nature & how they express the wideness of God’s character. 
But we must also be watchful – watchful of our own selves – that we don’t mistake evil for good.  It is harmful to be drawn into things that appear to be good  but are the opposite.  Still, Jesus promises that His Spirit will be with us.  He assures us that even though we are still in the world, we are not of it,  & that is by God’s design.  Amen. 
 
The world seeks to be praised  & honored by the mighty   yet never once reflects  that they are frail & flighty.   But what I truly prize  above all things is He,  my Jesus,  He alone.   What is the world to me!       What is the world to me  with all its vaunted pleasure  when You, & You alone,  Lord Jesus,  are my treasure!   You only,  dearest Lord,  my soul’s delight shall be;  You are my peace, my rest.   What is the world to me!  Amen.  LSB 730:2, 1.