A Homily given by Deacon Ben Jones, assisting Deacon;

St. George’s Anglican Church, Raleigh, NC;

on The Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly called Rogation Sunday, A.D. 2009.

“In His Name”

In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Ghost. Amen.

John 16:31.  “Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?”

Today is the “Fifth Sunday after Easter, which is commonly called Rogation Sunday, the Sunday before Ascension Day.  Rogation comes from the Latin, rogare, which means to “ask”.  During the sixth century the Roman Church instituted a procession to take the place of an old pagan festival, the Robigalia.  The early Roman celebrations of Rogation were of “solemn supplication” or the “petitioning” to God in the form of processionals with litanies which were usually held in or about the fields in Springtime for the safety of crops, for fruitful seasons and for adequate if not surplus harvests.  The prayers for Rogationtide also petitioned blessings from God for the “husbandman” or “laborours” that work and provide the harvest for our consumption.  Rogationtide processions, and the practice of “beating the bounds” of the Parish still continue to this very day and time.    First of all, in celebration of Rogationtide, we as Christians take very seriously our reliance on God, recognizing that it is not through our human efforts alone that sufficient food is produced, but only through the grace of God.  Secondly, we use this time to understand reliance on our environment and that even though we focus on a better life not of this world, we must give thanks to God for His Creation and to treat it as such.

Here is the connection with the fifth Sunday after Easter and Rogation Sunday, “Prayer”.  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it you”.1  This is a new approach to prayer.  Jesus has been very specific with the Disciples that He would be leaving them.  The day will be coming when the Disciples will not be able to personally have Jesus right there with them.  Until this time, prayer had been made directly to God by Christ.  Now Christ was giving instruction to the Disciples that they would pray through the victory of His Fathers finished work.  “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full”.2  Christ now explains further about this joy.

As far as we know from this portion of scripture, Jesus and His Disciples were alone.  We are now at the close of the “Farewell Discourse”, where Jesus is telling the Disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father”.3  Christ now reveals His tender mercy for the Disciples and will not be speaking any longer in proverbs or parables to mixed crowds of the followers of Jesus Christ and of those whose hopes were in Judaism.  In the Gospel according to St. Luke we are told, “Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures”.4  Now the Old Testament as the Disciples knew it is opened to their eyes as the prophecy of the Christ, the one who is in their midst.  We know that the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament, because we have the entire Bible to study and to pray for our understanding.  The Disciples were living in the New Testament times.  The Canon of the New Testament had not been recorded as yet.  Christ was showing the Disciples what the Scriptures were telling them.  Christ’s birth, His ministry, and His death and resurrection were all prophesied.  The calling of people to repentance and remission of their sins all due to Christ’s atoning work, were all prophesied as well.  They now understood the scriptures.  The “Word” was right there in their presence teaching them.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.5  The Disciples can now see the Glory of God revealed in the presence and in the face of Jesus Christ.

“At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God”.6  This scripture is probably the most incorrectly interpreted scripture in the Bible.  For some reason a part of the scripture, “and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:” is left out in many interpretations.  I have heard people make the following comments and I know that you have heard them too.  “I don’t need to ask anyone to pray for me.”  “I don’t need to ask Jesus to forward my prayer to God.”  “I can pray directly to God.”  “ I know who God is.”  Prayer made in Christ’s name “WAS NOT” so that Christ could screen prayers or to convince the Father to answer our prayers.  The Disciples have now reached a maturity in prayer where Jesus does not need to pray on their behalf any longer.  In this scripture we find the entire purpose of Christ, His Eternity, His Humiliation, and His Exaltation.  His Eternity in that He is from God before the beginning and will be with Him forever.  His Humiliation in that He carried out His Father’s work for our redemption.  His Exaltation in that He sits on the right hand of God.  Prayer is the key to our treasure, our joy in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  He takes care of the rest.

Let’s revisit, “and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you”, because of its importance to us.  Christ wants us to understand the notion that the Father must be besought by Him before He would notice us here on earth “IS ABSOULUTELY FALSE”.  Christ is not saying that He will not intercede for us, but that His intercession to the Father on our behalf is not necessary to induce the Father to love us.  Christ is assuring His Disciples that “in that day” or following His “exaltation”, the way will be opened for them and for us, to come into the Father’s presence.  For us, this means that Christ does not have to coerce the Father to hear our prayers or to love us.  The Father loves us because we love His Son.  The Father constantly watches over us with His paternal affection and care.  He does not love us because His Son intercedes for us, but Christ intercedes for us because we are the recipients of the Father’s special love.  There is our joy, God’s special love.

God’s special love is the love He gives freely, unconditionally.  “For the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God”.7  We, just as the Disciples were, are being prepared for the profession of our faith.  “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe in also in me”.8  Christ now tells His Disciples, as well as us, why our hearts should not be troubled.  Christ stirs our faith in God as well as our faith in Him.  This will settle a troubled heart and will quieten the distractions of this world.

The final statement of the Farewell Discourse is “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”.9  In the world is tribulation.  In Christ there is peace.  The world cannot take away the peace of God.  However we must not forget that the peace of God is enjoyed through our faith and belief in God and that Jesus Christ is His Son.  This peace which is for us through our faith, secures our “Eternal Salvation”, that wonderful portion in Him as our Saviour and our God.  We declare just as Thomas declared, “My Lord and my God”.10  We hear this profession of faith in the Mass when the Priest separately elevates the Body and the Blood of Christ at the Altar, “My Lord and My God”.

What does this mean for us?  The influence of the world is powerful, but not all powerful.  This influence of the world has been overcome for us by Christ in His response to Satan during His temptations, His perfect obedience to His Father in the way of His suffering during His trial and crucifixion, and in His resurrection and ascension.  Our trials in this world may weigh heavily on us, but “Pray in His Name” that He will deliver us through our faith in Him, and we will find that we are continually brought closer and closer to Christ.  St. Paul tells us, “There hath no temptation taken you but such is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”.11  So when our faith is challenged by Jesus asking us, just as He challenged His Disciples by asking, “Do ye now believe”?12  We will reply, “My Lord and My God”.

AMEN.

“AND NOW UNTO GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY GHOST; BE ASCRIBED ALL MIGHT, MAJESTY, POWER, AND DOMINION, MOST JUSTLY DUE THIS DAY, BOTH NOW, AND FOREVER, WORLD WITHOUT END, AMEN.”

1 The Gospel according to St. John 16:23.

2 The Gospel according to St. John 16:24.

3 The Gospel according to St. John 16:25.

4 The Gospel according to St. Luke 24:45.

5 The Gospel according to St. John 01:01.

6 The Gospel according to St. John 16:26-27.

7 The Gospel according to St. John 16:27.

8 The Gospel according to St. John 14:01.

9 The Gospel according to St. John 16:33.

10 The Gospel according to St. John 20:28.

11 The First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians 10:13

12 The Gospel according to St. John 16:31.