St. Gregory’s Church Woodstock

Sunday, 24 May, 2009, Seventh Sunday in Lent

The Rev’d Susan Auchincloss

John 17: 6-19

For today’s reading go to:http://bible.oremus.org

Some of you may be saying to yourselves: what was that about? I confess that I found this Gospel reading a bit theoretical at first. It becomes clearer if we put it in its overall context. It becomes clearer still by means of an image. With the help of context and image, I hope this prayer – for this reading spells out Jesus' prayer for us – I hope this prayer will inspire us to new and greater life.

So first, how does this reading fit into the Gospel as a whole? The Gospel, as John wants to tell it, has two main protagonists, so to speak, which he calls the Word and the world. In the prologue to the Gospel he introduces these two themes. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” That is theme one. Theme two follows a few verses later. “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.” The rest of the Gospel will spell out the interaction between these two protagonists.

As far as the structure goes, the Gospel is divided into two parts, which scholars have called the Book of Signs and the Book of Glory. The first part, the Book of Signs, which includes the first twelve chapters of this Gospel, has to do with the world. In this part, we see Jesus trying every way he can think of to shift people who are living in the world, to living in the Word. He does sign after sign, such as turning the water at the wedding feast in Cana into wine, or multiplying the loaves and fishes. Gradually he does build up a following of men and women for whom the balance is beginning to tip: from living under the rule of the world to living in the freedom of the Word, of Christ.

The turning point comes at the last supper. The second part, the Book of Glory, starts at the point in the Last Supper where Judas Iscariot goes out to betray Jesus to the religious authorities. Judas leaves, and Jesus makes a 180 degree turn. Now he turns his back on the world, and his whole focus is inward, on the Word; that is, on the truth he is trying to impart to the disciples. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 take place in the upper room, as Jesus and the disciples are still reclining around the table where they have just eaten the Last Supper. They are chapters full of teaching. Then in Chapter 17 – today’s chapter – Jesus turns from the disciples and addresses himself to God in a passionate prayer for them, for he knows that they do not yet have full knowledge of what he is talking about. We could put it this way: Jesus has given them the Word, but they have not yet realized its full meaning.

Now, what is that meaning? And here we turn, as I said at the beginning, from the context of today’s passage to an example that helps explain it. Are you familiar with the program on the National Geographic channel called “The Dog Whisperer” with Cesar Millan? Each episode shows Cesar’s work as a dog psychologist. He is not trained in psychology, but learned about dogs growing up on his grandfather’s farm in Mexico. As he explains it, he learned to put himself inside the mind of a dog and experience the world as they do. He has become famous for his ability to help problem dogs become well-behaved dogs.

In one episode he was called in by a couple, Patrice and Scott, who owned a stray they had picked up, named JonBee. JonBee was fine outside and on walks, but as soon as they entered the house JonBee would turn vicious and attack Scott. They had tried two trainers before Cesar to no avail. JonBee had bitten one of them four times, and both of the trainers had advised the couple to get rid of the dog.

Cesar met the dog outside the house and all was well, even when Cesar put a leash on him. They came into the house, and then JonBee went ballistic. Snapping, snarling, leaping, twisting, lunging – the dog was indefatigable, driven by fury. All this time Cesar held his end of the leash at arms length, containing the scope but not the force of the dog’s fury. It looked like a fight, but there was no aggression on Cesar’s part. In fact, the dog was throwing a tantrum and Cesar was simply providing boundaries for it.

Psychologists speak of tantrums in terms of dysregulation. Regulation is the term they use for the natural ability children – and all of us – have to adjust to disruptions. Some upset occurs, the normal tenor of our mind is broken up, but then we automatically regulate ourselves again; so that even if the upsetting event recurs it does not disrupt us as much, and in time, not at all. Tantrums take place when the child is unable to regulate herself or himself. Whatever the upset was, it keeps reverberating, with its intensity increasing, and a tantrum results. Cesar understood this intuitively, like a good parent. He kept the dog from doing damage to itself or others and waited for the tantrum to run its course. When JonBee began to calm down, Cesar closed in on him and began to caress him with firm but gentle hands. His hands told JonBee: you are safe; I am here for you. Finally JonBee was lying on his side, and as the camera focused in on his face, that face did not register defeat, but relief.

Cesar also takes problem dogs to his Dog Psychology Center where he trains them together with other dogs. At one time he was holding 47 dogs of every breed and size together in one, large concrete yard surrounded by a green chain-link fence. Cesar pointed out various dogs: there was a bloodhound who was really, really aggressive with its owner; there was a German shepherd who relentlessly scratched and bit her owner; there were two dogs who had killed other dogs; there were two dogs from New Orleans who had attacked humans. The list went on – pit bulls, rotweillers, bad actors every one. Yet all were relaxed and happy in the yard; in fact, one of the dog killers was nuzzling a French bulldog and both were happy. Cesar said, “What you are witnessing right now is a group of dogs who all have the same state of mind.”

William Barclay, who has written a commentary on this Gospel, defines the world this way. The world is “human society organizing itself without God.” Think of the world these problem dogs came from, the world that made them problem dogs. Doesn’t that pretty well describe it? Society organizing itself without God? It’s chaotic and it can give rise to dysregulation, tantrums, and vicious aggression.

Note also that while the gospel of John sets up two protagonists, the world and the Word, they are not mutually antagonistic. The world hates the Word, but as for the Word, it’s quite the opposite. John writes: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to the end that everyone who believes in him may have everlasting life.” It’s like Cesar and JonBee; Cesar felt no antagonism toward JonBee, only compassion; and when JonBee came to believe in Cesar he was able to leave the world – that is, the inner chaos and ferocious behavior – behind.

For Jesus’ disciples, Jesus served as that green chain-link fence. He made a place for them where the world was kept at bay. He provided a safe haven where the Holy Spirit could be instilled in them and developed – a place, where, as Cesar put it, they could all have the same state of mind. But now Jesus knew that he was soon to leave them. Once again they would be exposed to the full force of the world. Were they ready? He was not sure, and so, as we just heard, he prayed for God to protect them – to keep them one, as they had been one when he was there to surround them with his presence. Note that Jesus does not pray that they would be kept separate from the world, only that the evil one – that is, the spirit of discord and strife – would not overcome them.

When we go apart to pray, we go to renew in ourselves the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. This is exactly what Jesus did, again and again. You could think of it as Jesus going inside the green chain-link fence, getting apart from the world, letting the Word penetrate him and strengthen him; shedding the world’s tensions and chaotic influences, preparing himself to go back out into the world as a bringer of safety, of peace, hope, love. This is also our charge; for in his prayer for his disciples, Jesus did not only pray that they would be protected from a spirit of discord and disunity; he went on to pray, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” In other words, we in our turn must become green chain-link fences; that is, through our presence offering safety and peace, hope and love in the world of our own day. We are only able to do this as a result of practicing our faith, especially daily prayer; so that like Jesus we become bearers of the Word to the world.