Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Lectionary: 297

"Because of this we believe that you came from God.”
Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

Scholars tell us that the Gospel of John follows the conventions of Greek drama. It is mostly monologues and dialogues without much action; and dramatic dialogue is nothing if not intense with angry conflicts and comical misunderstandings. 

These last chapters of the Lord's teaching during his Last Supper are especially intense as Jesus prepares his disciples for what is about to happen. Without these teachings they will be overwhelmed by the horror of the Crucifixion. They will not see his love for the Father, and his deep faith. 

But even after hearing his teachings, he prophesies, they will be scattered. They will leave him alone. 

In a culture whose economy depends especially on sheep and shepherding, scattered is equivalent to our train wreck. Sheep owners suffered panic attacks at the thought of their shepherds being struck and their investments scattering before a prowling bear, a pride of lions, or a pack of wolves. The foolish animals are helpless in the wilderness without a clever, alert shepherd to watch and guide them continually. 

Jesus predicts a train wreck: "Each of you will be scattered to his own home." It should remind us of several passages in John:

• Then each of (the Sanhedrin) went home (after refusing to listen to Nicodemus's plea for Jesus. John 7:53); and
• (Peter and the Beloved Disciple) went home after surveying the empty tomb of Jesus. (John 20:10)

In the Gospel of Saint John, going home is what people do when there's nothing more to learn, and nothing more to find. Separated from the community in their insulated homes, they are scattered without conversation, learning, and revelation. 

Although our homes today are hyper-connected with telephones, television, social networking, Skype and Zoom, the situation has not changed. If anything, we spend far more time in our homes than the citizens of ancient cities. Americans are more disconnected, lonely, and scattered than ever before. And some self-described Christians take particular pride in their isolation from church. 

Today's paragraph is Jesus's final word before his prayer to the Father in John 17. He concludes his remarks to his disciples with a gloomy assessment of their spiritual fitness. And yet he is confident because "the Father is with me" and "I have conquered the world." 

And that reminds me of an ancient teaching I made up. You can quote me on this: 

• You cannot know the Lord Jesus unless you belong to his body the Church. Outside the Church ideas and images of Jesus are nothing more than idolatry. We encounter the Lord face to face in the Church.
• But, you cannot remain in the Church unless you have an intense, personal loyalty to Jesus. His abiding, healing, reconciling, atoning presence in you makes fellowship in the Church delightful!