The Fifth Sunday of Easter -- 28 April 2013

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

• I have to tell you that I am torn today, in more ways than one. Our small numbers make me want to sit in the pew and have a Bible study/discussion, very informally, The Gospel reading tells us of our present and what will set Christians apart from others in the world. The reading from Revelation tells us of our future, whether near or far... and is one of my all-time favourite readings from the Christian Scripture. I'd like to preach on both of them, but there isn't all the time in the world right now and the two readings might be hard to tie together. At least, such a tie will not be obvious at first glance.
• The reading from Revelation speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, in other words, a new creation. There will be no sea, because to the Jewish mind of the times, the sea represented chaos, an anarchic lack of order that preceded the creation of the world by nothing less than the Word of God. In this new creation, nothing will be beyond the reach of God.
• More importantly for the intended readers, there would be no more death or tears. “Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new."
• Our other reading comes from John's Gospel and is found in what is called Jesus' Last Supper discourse. Judas has just left the table to carry out his betrayal of Jesus and Jesus comments that “Now the Son of Man has been glorified...”, a constant theme in John where Jesus is fully glorified on the cross. Then Jesus gives his new Commandment: “love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” This is possibly the simplest commandment anyone could receive, yet it may be the hardest to live out. In the youth bulletin today, the cartoon strip “Agnus Dei” makes the statement we all may have said at one time or other about this Gospel verse: “There's gotta be a loophole for dealing with jerks!' This verse speaks to us every day, in every situation, even in this time of uncertainty and concern over attacks by terrorist groups or individuals.
• Despite our safety concerns and maybe our ability to suffers fools gladly, the passage from John also makes this assertion: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” It appears that this will be the sign for the world to see, the identifying evidence of discipleship.
• Christians are to be know for their love for one another. This does not rule out loving people who are outside of the community of faith nor does it rule out those who are a part of a different faith community. Maybe part of it is to be so busy loving that we will be too busy to tell the difference between who is “in” and who is “out”... if there even is a difference. We are to be know to the world by our mutual love, not necessarily by our way of speaking, our way of dressing, our way of worshipping, or even our way of believing or doing theology. What will draw people to Jesus Christ has been and probably will always be how Christians love one another.
• Saying this does not make light of the very real differences that exist within the world's faith communities or even among Christians. It may be saying simply that there is more binding us together than separating us.
•  What does this mutual love show the world? That God is present in our lives, both individually and communally. Here then is the link between the Gospel of John and the Revelation of John.
• Revelation speaks of the mingling of Heaven and earth and God finding a home within his creation: "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them...” Of all the promises found in the Book of Revelation, this one may be the most amazing and the most hopeful. Not only will people live in peace and community, but God will live with them!
• Further, the Gospel of John tells us that the true sign of Christian discipleship will be love: Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. This is the new commandment given to all of Jesus' disciples and as was said before, it may be the hardest to fulfil. Still, it will be the sign for all the world that there is something different about Christians. The community of Christians will be based not on economics, nationality, politics or even mutual interest, but on love for one another in the power of the Spirit and in God's grace.
• To tie these passages even tighter, we might add the will-known verse from the first letter of John, where the writer speaks of the the nature of both God and love: God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1 John 4:16) Where love is found, there God will be found – a simple and tremendously profound message.
• Revelation, John's Gospel, and John's letters all come from the same strain of theology and here they all tell us of the nature of discipleship and the nature of God's presence. As a hymn of a few years ago said “They'll know we are Christians by our love.” Further where love is, God is present. And the presence of God among his people is found and best seen when we love one another. A simple truth and a simple command – one the can only be carried out in grace.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter 21 April 2013

Today's Readings: Acts 9:36-43

                               Revelation 7:9-17

                               John 10:22-30

...for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

• The Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament, is one of the most difficult books of the Bible to understand. It includes letters, poetry, hymns, descriptions of immense battles and weird monsters, strange symbols and figures, and a lot of code for those “in the know” to interpret what is being said.
• The book is attributed to John, possibly John the Evangelist, although some dispute this and there is some evidence of this viewpoint. It was written at a time of great persecution of the Christian Church, a time so troubling that many believed it was the end of the world. John was inspired to write a very strange book to calm their fears and show them that despite the terror and suffering the church was undergoing, God remained in charge and would see the Church through.
• In the portion we read today, those who have come through the great persecution worship before the throne of God: there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
• Our writer is confused, seeing this crowd and one of the Elders present explains: "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” He continues to explain how the white-robed crowd suffers no more, not because of death, a medicine, or some escape, but because of the “the blood of the Lamb.”
• Beyond that, in a very unusual turnabout, the figure – the Lamb – will become the shepherd. The title, “Lamb of God”, is first used by John the Baptizer when he sees Jesus while he is baptizing in the Jordan river very early in the Gospel of John. Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus remains the Lamb of God.
• If we jump the Book of Revelation, the Lamb is everywhere throughout the book, although the Lamb is also a lion, who is 'slain but standing'. Only the Lamb is worthy to open the seals which hold back the fullness of God's plan. The Lamb becomes the shepherd and will guide all the faithful ones to peace and life. This is outlined in a very tangible way: no hunger, no thirst, no sunstroke or sunburn, and lastly, no sorrow and tears. This is what the Shepherd-Lamb will do. Those who stand before the throne, robed in white are a redeemed community who have come through the “great ordeal” and the trials of the dreaded persecution.
• As we hear these readings today and gather to celebrate our redemption with Word and Sacrament, we know Jesus to be our Good Shepherd – this is called “Good Shepherd Sunday”, after all. The Revelation of John reminds us that Jesus is both Shepherd and Lamb for us as much as he has been for generations past and for the Christian Church under persecution that John was writing to.
• So do we await the further tribulation and the end of all things? Truth to tell, some of us here have been through what surely appeared to be the end of the world. All of us here have experienced suffering to some extent, either through sickness, loss, personal pain, or fear. All we need to do is look at the newspaper or watch the TV news. There we can see the suffering in places like Boston, or Waco, TX where the fertilizer plant exploded, or Toronto, or even London, so close by. It is also true that we wait for a time and place where all our tears will be wiped away and we will be sheltered.
• Beyond all this, we here today stand with the white-robed multitude spoken of in Revelation, for we too have been redeemed and set free through what the Lamb has done for us. We too are part of the singing multitude robed in white, declaring that salvation is from God and from the Lamb.
• Jesus remains our Shepherd-Lamb, who promised to see us through our trials and troubles to the place where we would find springs of the water of life and where God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
• In this, we can be confident, since we don't trust in our own abilities, resources, or holiness. Our trust is in our Shepherd-Lamb and it is his grace, the favour of God, that leads and saves us.
• Add to this the word of Jesus we heard in the Gospel of John today: My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.
• Jesus' sheep hear his voice and from him, they receive life eternal and will not have that taken from them.
• So we live now, still striving to take up the ministry Jesus has given us. In confidence and humility, knowing whose ministry we take up and by whose grace we carry on. In this, we invite those around us to share what we have found, in grace and peace.
• ...for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Third Sunday of Easter 14 April 2013

Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel

• One of the things we have today is a study in likenesses and differences. Both the conversion of Paul and the reconciliation of Peter are focused on in the readings today.
• I'm not telling you anything you don't already know to say that both Peter and Paul are quite important in the history of the Christian Church.
• Peter was the chief of the disciples. In answer to Jesus' question “Who do you say that I am?”, Peter responds “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Protestants say it is Peter's confession that is the “rock” on which Christ builds his Church; Catholics say it is the person of Peter. Either one you hold to, Peter is heavily involved.
• Paul originally was a blood-thirsty persecutor of the Church, who was knocked down, blinded, and throughly changed when he encountered the resurrected and ascended Jesus on the road to Damascus. Once he had digested what happened to him and learned more about The Way, he became the leading missionary of the time and a writer of letters to the Churches that are still read today.
• Both had to learn and both had their problems. Both Peter and Paul did not begin as great examples of the Christian life. Peter attacked a man with a sword when Jesus was arrested and then denied his friend and master three times. Paul approved of the stoning of Stephen, persecuted the Church, and had warrants to arrest Christians when he found them.
• Still, each of these men have a special place in the history of the Church and in the story of the spread of the Gospel. Both knew their own weaknesses and still went on with the mission they had received. They might have felt inadequate at times, discouraged in the face of opposition and of betrayal. And – no “but” - they continued.
• There will be times when we will be discouraged and inadequate to what we are called to. It's normal and often found. There will also be time when we will fail at what we are called to. That is guaranteed, because we are only human. What counts most at times like that is not the failure but the recovery.
• We know Peter denied Jesus, saying he did not know the man in the night of the trial. Today's Gospel reading has a three-part conversation between Peter and Jesus. Jesus asks Peter: "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" and after Peter replies, Jesus gives him a renewed mission, saying "Feed my lambs.",,, "Tend my sheep."..."Feed my sheep.”... In this exchange, Peter is not only forgiven his denial, but he is commissioned to have a special place in the life of all those who have and who will follow Jesus.
• We also know that Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord as Luke puts it. Yet, Jesus had a special place for Paul and a special mission, to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel. Although it is not said in so many words, Paul is forgiven and is commissioned for his special and wide-ranging mission.
• We might wonder if Peter and Paul felt odd or guilty about their past and if they felt unworthy of the forgiveness they had received. I'd believe that they felt unworthy, and that they still accepted the forgiveness offered them as well as the missions they were given. We all know that the missions they received were no easier and we know as well how their missions ended; Both Peter and Paul were executed in the persecution of Nero around 64AD.
• So where does this leave us? Any of us might say we are not in the same league as Peter or Paul. Any of us might say we do not have a mission like Peter or Paul. Any of us might compare our selves to them and say “Why try?”
• It might be true enough that we are not apostles like Peter or Paul. It might be true enough that our individual and common missions are not as extensive as either of those men's missions. We might not measure up to them in our own minds.
• Still, we have all been commissioned at Baptism to share in the work and ministry of our Lord. And we know we often fall short and fail to give witness in word or deed to our faith in our Saviour. Yet Jesus doesn’t just commission us, Jesus also forgives us when we fall short. And Jesus doesn’t just forgive us, but calls us to try again. And Jesus doesn’t just call us to try again, Jesus also invites us to share what we have and gives us meaningful work to do. What that work would be is not ours to say and sometimes not ours to understand. It's just that is is ours to do.
• The old hymn says:

If you cannot preach like Peter,

If you cannot pray like Paul,

Just tell the love of Jesus,

And say He died for all.

• We all do what we can, over and over. It is the grace of God we find in our fidelity to our mission that makes the difference. Fidelity is not easy, mainly because we see and make a lot of our own faults and failings. Peter and Paul may have done the exact same thing; the difference is they looked faults and failings to their Lord and his grace and would see beyond their own failures and faults to what grace would permit them to do and call them to do. That in itself is an example of grace.
• When it comes to the grace of God and the love of God, each of us is the equal of Peter and Paul, for we are all loved as they are.