sermon notes, Easter 5

Why do you believe? No really - why?

What happened in your life that made you believe in God?

What was it that made you a follower of Jesus?

Think back to those times when you doubted - what was it that brought you back?

NO consistent answer. That's okay - your faith journey is YOUR.Faith.Journey.

So let's go one step further.

Why are you an Anglican?
Why are you here at St. John's this morning?

Questions raised about what it means to be "a member" of something - a faith, a denomination, a parish, a service time (8 vs 10)

With all this effort on who is in and who is out, do we miss the bigger picture?

                   re-read vss 11-12

 Summary: Believe in Jesus. For whatever reason you can.

Not your neighbour's reason, not your mother's reason, not the reason for the person sitting next to you.

You've already bucked the trend - of all the folks who are non-believers, non-religious, SBNRs, non-worshippers, etc.: you're here.

Jesus gives us exactly what we need, if we're willing to receive it.

Doesn't make it easy: even the disciples - with the Lord right in front of them - had a hard time with it.

YAbut disciples

BUT - Jesus continues to reach out to us.

Give us what we need.

Many ways, many opportunities, many reasons to believe.

 Work of being Easter people is more than sorting out who is 'in' and who is 'out' - it's about loving unconditionally - as Jesus first loved us.

It's about welcoming the stranger

caring for the sick -- advocating for the oppressed -- teaching the faith -- supporting one another in our belief.

Why do you believe?

Because you're in a relationship that includes our God, the risen Christ, the person next to you in your pew, the clerk at the store, the atheist in the coffee shop...

you're in these holy connections with community because God wills it. God puts us in relationship with one another so that we might exercise our faith, and consider our belief, and live out that belief in real, tangible ways.

So let us go out and do the works of God - based on our own belief, our own faith journey, with God's great world.

So don't let our hearts be troubled - let us believe in God, believe also in Jesus - and live in the household of God.