Above and Below or Left and Right?
- davidwperk
- Feb 18, 2024
- 6 min read
Devotional Reflection, Friday, February 16, 2024
The third day of Lent
Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:
11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
You will find the full text of today’s Gospel at the end of this reflection.
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 951)
AM Psalm 95[for the invitatory] & 31; PM Psalm 35
Ezek. 18:1-4,25-32; Phil. 4:1-9; John 17:9-19
Today we celebrate the Feast of Charles T. Quintard. (See below.)
David’s Reflections
Austrian novelist and poet Frans Werfel once quipped, "The world has forgotten in its preoccupation with Left and Right that there is an Above and Below." * John’s account here of Jesus’ prayer reminds us of the “above” and the “below.” He came from “above,” from God into human existence, “below.” Repeatedly John’s Jesus speaks of having come down from above or having come into the world. That “above” is not so much “up there” as it is “out there,” out of sight and invisible. God dwells in that unseen world of reality called heaven; from there Jesus came.
Jesus called the below place “this world” or “the world,” meaning not the created earth but the realm of existence here “below”--human existence apart from God and often resistant to God. (Other words for that realm of existence in the New Testament include flesh, the old humanity, the kingdom of the world, and darkness.) That resistance ultimately brought about his death.
In today’s reading, he prays for his followers. They have trusted him and maintained their loyalty in the face of the world’s resistance. Jesus is leaving them to return to that “above” place and he fears for them, at risk in the world, in the “below” of human existence. It is not a spiritually or physically safe place.
You and I, because of our allegiance to Jesus, now find a boundary between us and those without that allegiance. That boundary consists of our faith, a faith they do not share. Yet, Jesus sends us to live fully in that world, to bear witness and to invite others to share our faith in and loyalty to him, to cross over into another existence, into the “above” place, while living fully in the world. He challenges us not to flinch but to throw ourselves into life in the world of people, the “below” place, while having our lives determined and guided out of our connection to the “above” place, to him. Our faith communities exist with that boundary of faith, but we seek to make the boundary as permeable as possible.
Think today of your personal world, the arena of your relationships, your work, and your leisure. How might Jesus be sending you into that world? How does your allegiance to Jesus and your care for those who do not share that allegiance call on you to act, think, and feel differently than you otherwise would? What concrete steps could you take today to put that call more fully into effect?
Please remember, Jesus is praying for you today as he did for his first followers. He loves you and shares the anxiety you feel about being on mission in this world. In Werfel’s words, Jesus prays that we will not lose sight of Above and get lost in Below or get distracted by Left and Right. Given the stark polarization and the oppositional political drama we experience, keeping our focus on “above and below” rather than on “left and right” offers us a challenge worthy of our prayers and our focus.
*Franz Werfel, cited by Ralph Sockman, Man's First Love: The Great Commandment (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1958), p. 89. Werfel wrote with a remarkable literary genius and social sensitivity. See more about him at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/franz-werfel
Collect of the Day, The Last Sunday after the Epiphany
O God, who before the passion of your only-begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 217)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Charles T. Quintard, bishop of Tennessee, physician, and educator (died 16 Feb 1898 CE),
Collect of the Feast of Charles T. Quintard
Mighty God, we bless your Name for the example of your bishop Charles Todd Quintard, who persevered to reconcile the divisions among the people of his time: Grant, we pray, that your Church may ever be one, that it may be a refuge for all, for the honor of your Name; through Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Of the Holy Cross
Especially suitable for Fridays
Almighty God, whose beloved Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption: Give us courage to take up our cross and follow him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 253)
A Collect for Quiet Confidence
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, to your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 832)
A Prayer for Light
Almighty God, we give you thanks for surrounding us, as daylight fades, with the brightness of the vesper light; and we implore you of your great mercy that, as you enfold us with the radiance of this light, so you would shine into our hearts the brightness of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 816-817)
Daily Office Gospel, John 17:9-19
9I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. 10All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. 14I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. 16They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Daily Offices in The Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, The Book of Common Prayer
Noonday Prayer, page 103, Book of Common Prayer
Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p 109, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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