June 1, 2003

Seventh Sunday of Easter

John 17:6-19

 “Life Is But a Dream”

“Row, row, row, your boat

Gently down the stream;

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,

Life is but a dream.”

      Now that’s a pretty silly song to sing on a day like this!  It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring!  And the wind is blowing, too!  This is not a good day for rowing merrily, merrily.  We certainly hope that by the time we get to Fishers Island to launch the Confirmation boats, the weather gets better!

     Merrily, merrily rowing a boat gently down a stream - sounds like a nice, lazy thing to do on a sunny summer day, doesn’t it?  What a nice, relaxing way to get away from it all - just row along, let the current carry you, enjoy the blue sky, the floating puffy white clouds and birds singing by the stream.  Ahhh.

     It’s nice when we can drift along like that without a care in the world.  It’s nice, but not every day is like that.  Sometimes it rains.  Things don’t always go easy or go our way.  Life can be stormy.  We can’t always live without a care in the world because we often carry our cares around with us.  We might even have so many cares that we’re afraid the weight of them might sink our boat!  And then there are the times when bad things happen, when storms blow in, cloud out the sun and stir up the waves.  There are days like this one when happy picnic plans and boat launching plans get rained on.  Do you remember what happened last Monday, Memorial Day?…total wash-out!  That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

     So what about days when the rains come, and worse than that, days when there are disappointments, hurts and heartaches?  Can we still row merrily, merrily and can life still be but a dream?  Well, stormy days might not be our first choice, but even on such days, life can still be good, love can still happen, life can still be but a dream.  That‘s because Jesus makes this possible.

     Here’s how:  Jesus is there for us, praying for us, caring for us, in the easy times and in the tough and stormy times.  In the reading from John, we hear Jesus praying to God for the believers - for us.  He says, “All mine are yours and all yours are mine; and I have glorified them.”  He also says, “I protected them.  I guarded them…and I ask you to protect them from evil.  Sanctify them in the truth.”  Everything we know about Jesus (especially how he gave his life for us) tells us how much he cares for us at all times.  And he said he would be with us always, by his Holy Spirit, until the end of time.  This is his promise to us.

     What does all this mean?…it means that even when the rowing gets tough and water comes into our boat, we don’t have to worry.  No matter what happens, Jesus will always love us.  Our lives are safe with him, forever.