The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for Easter 7 in Year B is John 17.6–19, the central section of Jesus’ so-called ‘High Priestly Prayer’.
It continues to weave in a range of interconnected ideas from earlier in the gospel, drawing them together into a picture of Jesus’ followers sanctified in the world and sent to proclaim the words of Jesus.
Come and join the discussion!
Wonderful Ian and James and the conclusion remarks encapsulated the whole beautifully.
For me this passage is all about Sanctification’s several aspects;
See Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology – Sanctification
for a comprehensive overview.
Briefly there is a sanctification of God and a sanctifying of oneself which echoes Jesus sanctifying Himself that the disciples/us might be able to participate.
Perhaps I could best illustrate an aspect of sanctifying oneself with reference to our Morning Services yesterday.
I had to drop into the early, book of common prayer service, for the first time in years.
Our vicar was appropriately dressed in her preaching garb now usually discarded in our “modern” world for all the wrong reasons.
She had in fact sanctified herself to her ministry both spiritually and physically to manifest the beauty of holiness.
Ex 28:2 “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty” see on to v40;which for me corresponds to putting on the Lord Jesus etc.
Staying on to the second service I saw all the participants in ministry, reading praying playing and teaching had in spirit prepared themselves and thus all combined to be a habitation of God in, through and by the Holy Spirit like a seamless garment of beauty and glory, a holy moment!
Had they not sanctified themselves to their sanctified callings they would only be empty vessels of mere ritual and of no use to the people.
I remarked to our Vicar that I would like a third morning service with a fusion of
Old and new, both have merit!
There was a time when there was a reverence for appearing before God in our
churches. A sanctifying of oneself, a “coming of yourselves apart”
The priestly vestments and sanctification of spirit are a visual presentation of how the people, the Holy Nation and Royal Priesthood should appear and minister before/unto God.
Always ready in purity [no admixture] always ready to receive His Word{s}
And prepared to walk in His ways and think as He thinks.
Some alas, only have a casual “habit” of perfunctory ritual, observable only in the “fruits” that they produce.
Consider Anna and Simeon in the temple as sanctified souls who were the only ones to see God the Messiah, they were in constant readiness, a “holy sanctified band ready to hail his arrival” {with a nod to the hymn Life! life! eternal life!}