Sometimes it's exhausting interacting with the world around us. Everywhere we look we see things that we are sure don't match up with God's plan for a new kingdom. Politicians say one thing and do another. Poverty continues all around us. We recognize the evils of discrimination and the entitlement that seems to be a part of our society. We see that what passes for justice is not always fair, or right. We also recognize the pain of rejection when we do stand up for the ideals we hold when we stand against wrong when we stand for God and God's kingdom. In all of this, it seems that the simplest, easiest path is to withdraw, to move into safe enclaves. Christians have done this for centuries gathering in monasteries, communal living, retreats, all created to make a space that is unencumbered by the troubles of the world, a quiet and peaceful space without the noise and stresses of the world outside.
Jesus speaks against this isolating tendency in our text for Sunday morning. Jesus prays for God's protection of his disciples not their removal from the world in John 17. Join us this Sunday as we spend some time thinking about what these words mean for us.
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