Second Sunday After Easter – April 24, 2022

Here, Jesus joins the disciples’ apostolic mission to his own. Like he says here the Father sent him on his own apostolic witness to bring grace and truth to light (Jn. 1:14, 17). Now Jesus sends his own disciples out on an apostolic mission of their own. They will bear witness to Jesus Christ and in that witness, they will reveal God’s very own grace and truth. Truly, Jesus sends them as the Father has sent him. There is yet another similarity between the two sending stories. Jesus was sent out to endure his passion which was nothing less than the Father having his way with the Son. Those Jesus sends out on their own apostolic mission will endure their own passion which will be nothing less than the Father having his way with them. This sending proves more radical and riskier than Jesus’ sending the twelve out two-by-two (Mk. 6:8-9). There, the twelve were to make no provision for their own sustenance. Here, the twelve are to make no provision for their own will to be done but only the will of the Father to be done to them. God the Father will have his way with them; it is their passion

Prayers from one with difficulties in suffering the will of another to be done in, and through, and upon him.

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So be my strength as I endure this passion that I would not cease in bearing witness to Jesus Christ. Amen

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So provide me with such faith that, when this passion is but darkness and despair, I trust (as the Apostle did) that my sufferings complete the “for you-ness” of Christ’s suffering (Col. 1:24). Amen

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So hold me in hope that I anticipate eagerly the coming of Christ in his glory even though I’m surrounded by contradictory evidence. Amen

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So give me eyes to see my neighbors with the eyes of love like Jesus did; and, though they work suffering upon me, I may be able to forgive them as Christ did. Amen

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So provide labor for my hands that, even though that labor is immensely useful to my neighbors, those hands remain empty of even the pretension to good works. Amen

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So work upon me that the Institute of Lutheran Theology will abide in my passion as well. Amen

Father, you send me out to endure my passion, your will worked upon me. So set me to the establishment of your kingdom through the preaching of Jesus Christ and his sacraments that the kingdom will continue in its hidden growth while Jesus is handed over to be the life of more and more dead sinners. Amen