Heavenly Father, by your Spirit may we hear your Word, and know your love, and be one with you, as you are one with the Lord Jesus. In the name…
What is it you pray for? What is your deepest wish? Your heart’s desire?
Often in our prayers we are of course praying for others, and rightly so – but what is it you most desire for yourself that you would ask of God?
The truth is we don’t always know what we really want – deep down – we’re not sure what’s best for us. There might be all kinds of superficial things on our wish list – but you know when someone asks you what you want for your birthday – and suddenly you can’t really think of anything important or special to ask for!
If we start to look deep down inside ourselves, the sorts of things we truly desire might be – good health, a life where we can make a difference and know that we are making a contribution to the sum of human happiness, finding happiness or contentment for ourselves and others, a loving relationship, family life and friends…a community and a purpose, our own identity and sense of place… to know that we matter to someone else, that our lives are important, significant.
Jesus’ friends – his disciples, do come to find all this in their lives and in their following Jesus.
Today we hear how Jesus prays for them, speaking directly to his Father in heaven and praying that they may be protected. Jesus knows he is soon to die and be taken from his friends – and he wants them to be safe and to be reassured.
In the world in which we are living now – this is as comforting for us as it would have been for them – we can be sure that Jesus prays for us, his friends, for protection.
And he prays too that we may be one, as he and the Father are one – this is the best way to be safe, to be protected – to stay close to Jesus, to be one with him and the Father.
The disciples, despite their often lack of understanding of what Jesus is often saying, their bewilderment about the events that unfold around them – still are there following Jesus because they recognise that in some unique way that they have never encountered before in any other human being, that God is with Jesus.
When they are in Jesus’ company – God is there, and somehow they are closer to God than they have ever been. In Jesus, they experience God in an active, exciting way that makes things happen – things come alive, often literally, when Jesus is there. There is in all this, a unity, and a life force.
Next week, as we celebrate Pentecost, we will remember once again how the gift of the Holy Spirit first came most fully upon the disciples. The Spirit which came in great power as wind and flame and set everyone’s tongues singing and their feet dancing with joy.
One of the evident gifts of the Spirit is unity – when the disciples spill out onto the streets of Jerusalem in their excitement they are able to speak every language of those who have gathered in the city for the great festival.
As each person hears the good news about Jesus Christ is their own language, they are caught up into one with each other and suddenly their deepest desire is to be one with God.
In this special time of prayer leading up to Pentecost we join in with Thy Kingdom Come – a global prayer movement that joins us together with people all over the world – we are joined together in prayer, and in praying for others whose deepest prayer and desire may be to be known and loved by God, even if they don’t yet know that is what they are seeking.
This week our Archdeacon Alison and Director of Mission, Charlie are walking around the edges of the Diocese on a pilgrimage of prayer, meeting people on the way, praying for them, and bringing us together in prayer across our Diocese, as Thy Kingdom Come brings us together across the whole world.
And today we are brought together across the world and made one in the family faith as baby Lydia comes to be baptised. In baptism, she becomes one with Jesus, and so through the power of the Spirit, one with God.
A little later in this service, we are going to hear an amazing song, sung by Lydia’s family, in the Namibian language Oshiwambo. The language of her heritage brings our two nations together in our common understanding of the words of Jesus. The song is about how Jesus calls everyone, whoever we are, wherever we are from, he calls us all to him, and he calls the children too – let the little children come to me, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs. He calls us all, we are all children of God – and he doesn’t want us to get lost, in the confusions of the world.
When we are baptised, we are answering this call of Jesus, and we follow him, who will lead us and save us.
Today we give thanks that he is calling Lydia to come to him, to follow him and to grow up in his love and under his protection.
He calls our name and makes us his own. And our names are important in our human stories too. Lydia is named after her dad’s eldest sister and Grandma… her name in Greek means ‘beautiful one’ or ‘noble one’.
And she has a very special second name too – Pombili – which means ‘peace’ in Oshiwambo.
What wonderful names to be Christened with! Beautiful noble one, you carry the peace of Christ already within you, you offer the gift of peace to all who love you. And Jesus is calling you to him, to be one with him, as he is one with God the Father – so that in your peace and in your beauty, you may bring joy to those who love you and you may be safe and protected, each day of your life.
What is it you pray for? What is your deepest wish?
In all this we are united – as we long for love, for peace and protection.
Let the little children come to me – Lord, we pray for Lydia today, and for ourselves – all your beloved children, known and loved by you – may we be one as you and the Father are one, in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
Service: Reverend Michelle Dalliston. 12th May 2024. (St John’s Church Peterborough UK)
Readings: Acts 1.15-17, 21-end; Psalm 1; 1 John 5.9-13; John 17.6-19
To watch the video of the Oshiwambo song sung at the service today, follow the link below: