The Fifth Sunday of Easter A
The Fifth Sunday of Easter A
Philip provides another testimony to the disciples’ incomprehension. An additional testimony is provided by Acts 1:6 where the disciples do not comprehend the coming of the kingdom. Here, Philip witnesses to an incomprehension of Jesus and his identification with the Father. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (vs. 9). Jesus works to clear up Philip’s confusion. Jesus tells Philip that it is a matter of faith: Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus (vs. 11). Because of this identity with the Father, neither Jesus’ words nor Jesus’ works are done on his own authority. It is the Father’s authority and the Father’s works. This same paradigm is true of you… of you and your life during these days of your baptism. Jesus has come to be your life (Gal. 2:20). He is in you, and you are in him—the very same description Jesus uses to describe the Father’s presence. Whenever you preach Christ, you do not do so by your own authority, but the authority of Christ. Whenever you do works, they are not your works but the works of Christ who dwells in you.
Prayers from one who is often confused about whose life is whose…
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, deliver me out of my confusion; so make Jesus Christ my life that I am in no doubt about who lives in me. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, as you deliver me into the certainty that your Son is my life, so open my eyes to his presence that I come to know you as well. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, as I come to know you through the presence of your Son, grant me confidence that among the many rooms in your house, your Son has prepared one just for me. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, since my future dwelling in your house is secure, give to me such generosity that I may see to it that my neighbors have a dwelling in this world now. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, as you put my generosity to work for the benefit of my neighbors now, so also let me attend to their future dwelling place by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ to them. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, as you have delivered me out of my confusion, so deliver the Institute of Lutheran Theology out of any confusion it may have in the preaching of your Son, Jesus Christ, him crucified, and him alone. For Jesus’ sake. Amen
Father of my Lord, Jesus Christ, hear my prayers during these days of my baptism and do not let me be without your Word preached in my ears so that the Holy Spirit would work faith in my heart as often as I hear your Word. For Jesus’ sake. Amen