"Yes"
John 17: 9-12, 16-19
Yonce Shelton, Westmoreland UCC
Feb. 1, 2026
“And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
This passage is one of my favorites. It's at the Last Supper when Jesus is praying for his disciples; when he asks God – almost pleads with God – to protect and empower them as he prepares to leave.
I was part of an exercise in which I was invited to place myself in this scene; to see, hear, and feel; to wonder what it was like and how I was moved. I came away thinking that Jesus was so aware of the magnitude of this time and what he was facing – and cared so much for his disciples – that he was praying the same thing over and over with similar and repeated words. It's like that beautiful thing we do when we praise someone and just keep putting words together – sometimes stumbling over them; often repeating - as we do our best to honor them.
What I have also come to hear is Jesus asking them to say yes.To say yes to their potential; yes to God’s power; yes to their preparation for the unknown: “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
Jesus was preparing them to say yes to the next step. He knew it would be hard. But he knew they were needed.
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You saying yes; us saying yes; to God. It doesn’t have to be as wild, far-fetched, or anxiety-producing as you may think. You may never see a burning bush, or be visited by an angel, or have a dream in which God speaks directly to you. But you may receive other invitations to say yes. So it's best to prepare. But how?
As I have thought about Jesus and the disciples, as well as my journey and how communities journey together, I have focused on how yes relates to what could be the central message of the Bible: trust. The Bible can be thought of as one long invitation to trust; as offering different stories and approaches to get us to trust. Basic marketing, right? Don’t experts say we need to see something seven times before we act? With God, maybe it's 7 x 70? Get it?!
Trust. I’ve rethought its “place” in the spiritual journey recently. Earlier this year I would invite you to open, trust, and receive. But recently I realized that it's hard to open to God if you don’t trust. So I’ve reordered this grounding prayer – and the posture I seek to embody – to be trust, open, and receive. Trust first. I've thought about what is required to trust – and say yes. To my point that saying yes doesn't have to result in cataclysmic change and upheaval in your life, I want to add to that: saying yes doesn’t have to be something you do alone.
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This is community. This community manifests on Sundays – and many other ways throughout the week and year. Coming together requires intention – and produces support, comfort, insight, strength, challenge, and more. I’ll wager that more than a few yeses here over the years have come because a person or group received something from this community allowing them to take an unusual, scary, or unknown step. You are not alone. You can say yes with others; because of others; for others. The night before his death, Jesus was not alone. He was saying yes - and preparing to say yes more times – in community.
I’ve been fortunate to have community support, even when it might appear that yeses were just between God and me. Just ask JoJo. Ask her what crazy things I’ve done in the name of calling; in the name of leaning into trust and not fear. They may have scared her – or made her laugh – but she trusted something. She said yes in her own ways, maybe more times than she’d like. I’m not sure I could have said yes without that. No matter how clear the vision, and how right the feel, I’m just not sure I could have taken some steps alone.
And Cole. He didn't have to say yes to my sometimes unorthodox, last minute requests to be part of services. But he did. In a note that I love, he said: “I'll be your Jesus anytime." Cora, on the other hand, is a little more discerning. Her yeses look different. And that's ok. That's ok.
Yes happens best in community. And community can look different in different seasons. There has been a lot of trust and yes here over the past year. Our yeses have included Kate and Bruce offering gifts and decades of experience in ways that fit so well. Katy being open to a different step at a time of confusion. Alec continuing to go above and beyond with yet another minister/boss. Keller deciding that life in the fast lane was overrated and he could get the office in much better shape. Julia jumping into an office situation with thousands of opinions and few clear answers. Martell smiling patiently and adjusting to new folks who need a little time to get it. And our moderators. Three women who said big yeses during a unique time: Sarah Wilson, Mary Staley, and Nancy Lohman. And, and, so many of you. Many who are busy, tired, or questioning, but still stepped up to serve on committees, meet social needs, care for others, and more. So many yeses. In community. Because of community. Perhaps not wild revelations, but still important and life giving.
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I’d love a revelation about my next yes. Many of you probably would, too. I don’t know what's next, but I know I learned from being with you. I learned about my gifts for weaving stories and space to nurture meaning. I learned that we can have fun and take on existential questions. I learned that there are many, many ways to trust how God works; to expect that; and that being in the flow can help others. I learned more about saying yes.
And, we learned. We learned – or maybe just remembered – different ways of preparing the way; and that creativity is good. We experienced and were empowered to transition well. You did that. This year's story is a good one. It is a story of becoming ready – together – for the next chapter. You should be proud.
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Iwant to share a story about a man who was invited to preach at a church a few years ago. When he received the invitation via text, he thought: that would be fun; but it would require work because I haven’t done that in a while; and I’d have to write the sermon on vacation. But of course he would say yes. He valued the community and wanted to help. But he forgot to reply to the text; forgot to say yes.
A few months later, while sitting on the beach during vacation, the man wondered: Am I scheduled to preach? Or did the minister find someone else because I didn’t reply? After checking an email from the church, he found that he was indeed listed as the preacher. So he got to work. He had fun writing the sermon. He had fun giving it. A few days later, the moderator from that church learned that the minister would be leaving and asked him if he’d be the interim minister.
That's how I got here. With a series of yeses. There’s a lesson I take from that that has been affirmed in other situations: when people recognize your gifts, say yes. God has likely prepared you for whatever comes next, and next, and next.
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You don't have to do all the work. You don’t have to know everything about faith and calling. Experiences will prepare you. God will prepare you. Trust that. But ultimately – ultimately – you have to say yes. You prepare by learning to be ready – by becoming you – in relationship with God and others.
Jesus knew it would be hard for his disciples. Jesus knows things will be hard for us. With them and us – as Bruce told us last week – Jesus activates imagination. The disciples – and we – are more than pawns. Our yes can lead to extraordinary and creative ways of honoring God and others. It is true that we can only understand so much. It is true that we will fear and hold back at times. But Jesus won’t give up. He’ll keep asking and inviting and supporting: until you hit send; and even if you forgot to.
“Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.”
We are like the disciples at the Last Supper – with one key difference. We know what happens next. We know Easter is always here or just a step away. We are Easter people – all year round – and that means we can always say yes and live fully. We often learn to walk again. One step at a time. One yes at a time. And then we can run, and dance, and go through fire, and more.
Yes. And Amen.
