Love calls us into action. Sermon for Easter 5 with Baptism!!!

Acts 8.26-40; Ps 22.24-30; 1Jn 4.7-21; John 15.1-18

           This morning, the scriptures are inviting us to live and love fully. They are encouraging us to look beyond our own personal preferences and focus on what can happen in the broad community, to bring Glory to God, and to further the reign of Christ.

            Sometimes, thanks be to God, those desires for communal growth and development do align with our own personal desires - and we celebrate. But often, in our society, we can become so individualised that our focus is only on what we want for ourselves.

            Think about the last time you met someone new: aside from basic demographic questions, I'm willing to bet you delved quickly into discussions of personal favourites. Favourite foods, favourite colours, hobbies, books, movies - you name it. All those wonderful things that make us who we are as individuals.

            With the community and kingdom focus, however, our questions might also include a broader spectrum. How do you engage with your neighbours? What brings you joy? What events and activities do you participate in to help build community? How do you actively welcome newcomers?

            And for those of us who are Christ followers: how do you love God and your neighbour? In what ways have your actions demonstrated this love today?

            So our shift from the personal to the communal also shifts from a statement to a call to action. Because fully loving God is not something that we can do entirely on our own, and it's not something that just is. Using our own faith experience as a starting point, how we live the love of God takes intentional engagement with the world, and purposeful ministry.

            This is what's happening in our scriptures. I'm going to start with the emphasis on Philip in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Now, at any point, we realise that if there was a personal preference option, the good news of God may not have grown in the direction it did, and the sharing of the Gospel may not have borne fruit.           

            But: Philip responded to God's call. Listening to the nudging of the Spirit, and disregarding his own personal safety, he went down this wilderness road, he joined the foreigner’s entourage, he started a conversation about God, he delayed a travelling high-level dignitary, he engaged in a powerful conversation about God and faith and Jesus, he baptised the eunuch. This is bold! This is inspired and inspiring! This is kingdom work! And then, after being swept away by the Spirit, continued in foreign lands to share, by word and example, the Good News of God in Christ.

          For anyone else, we would say that this was foolish, or unsafe. Walking alone on a wilderness road? Bad plan. Getting into a strangers’ car or chariot? Ill-advised. But Philip knew this was not a normal encounter; he knew that what he was doing was meant to happen. Because he was in close enough relationship with God and Jesus through the Spirit to realize how God was calling him into action, for the sake of the Gospel.

            This is what Philip was meant to be doing, for the love of God, at that time and at that place. To celebrate the presence of God in unexpected ways and unanticipated places with unknown people. To live fully in the opportunity that presented itself with a desire to share the love of God, to live into the full stature of being a Christ follower, to respond with nothing but a Godly focus for the benefit of community, trusting that his ministry would encourage more God-focused ministry from those he encountered.

            It's fascinating how people can respond to such an example of loving, God-focused ministry. They get excited. They want to learn more. They want to engage more. They want to be part of a community that actively and proactively encourages faith nurture. And the more that people learn about this kingdom work, the more they want to be involved with it themselves - to move from a ME focus to a GOD focus.

            And - what's to stop this from happening?

            Nothing. Nothing at all.

            Like what Philip said to the eunuch: even though there were differences in his looks, his language, his hometown, his customs, his food, his experiences. Even though he was new to understanding what the scriptures meant, even if Philip never saw him again. There was a spark of faith, a passion for the gospel, a commitment to the ministry of loving God and neighbour.

            And bless Philip for his strong faith to recognise this, and respond accordingly.

            "What is to prevent me from being baptised?" the man asked.

            Nothing. Nothing at all.

            And so a baptism happened. A life-changing, joy-inducing, Spirit-invoking celebration of a commitment to love and serve God, in all things and at all times. A desire to live the full life that is promised to us, as full and equal members of the Body of Christ: a life of inclusion and intention, a life of responding to God's love for us by loving one another, a life of bearing fruit that is rooted and grounded in the truth of God's love.

            So today, as we celebrate this unconditional and eternal love with precious [name] and her family, I invite us to remember our own baptismal vows, which we affirm and re-affirm at every opportunity, as we find new ways to keep our focus on the kingdom of God. I invite us to truly celebrate that the love of God is continually inviting us all into communion, into the mystery and delight of being loved and of being loving. May we all delight in the blessing of the love of God, so lavishly poured upon us all. 

Easter 4

Acts 4.5-12, Ps 23, 1Jn 3.16-24, Jn 10.11-18

         Imagine if today, instead of "Happy Easter!" I had greeted you "Good Morning Sheeple!"

         Has anyone heard that term before - sheeple? It combines sheep and people. It's not exactly ideal - it means a group of folks who are docile, easily led, followers - folks who are unable to think for themselves.

         Hmm. Not ideal. Yet this is how we come to think of sheep. Cute, fluffy critters, not the most intelligent beings in God's creation, ones who will unquestioningly follow their shepherd. So with today known as "Good Shepherd" Sunday, that might have ...interesting... if not negative, connotations. Think about it - the scriptures all reference shepherds and sheep - and they invite us to BE sheep.

         BUT - with a little bit of thinking, we recognise that we are not being invited to be sheeple. Quite the opposite, in fact. We are being invited to be thinking, discerning, careful sheep who will follow the Good Shepherd.

         Jesus - the Good Shepherd - wants us to be intentional and analytical in our actions, and our reactions to society, and in our faith.

         John's description is quite clear here. Now John's Gospel was written some 90 years after the crucifixion. Scholars believe that the community needing to hear this message was the group that was still interacting with the Pharisees, particularly the ones who had scrambled away to save their own skins after the uprising in about year 70 (when the Temple was destroyed). They were then trying to come back and infiltrate and influence society, some 20 years later - and John writes down Jesus' instructions against Sheeple.

         Jesus declares: "I am the Good Shepherd" - so there's no way to misinterpret or misunderstand his perspective. Jesus is not just a shepherd, one of many. He's not a mediocre or substandard shepherd, who may (knowingly or unknowingly) lead people astray. Jesus is THE GOOD shepherd.

         And what does that mean? It means someone who would practice self-sacrifice for the betterment of the community. The Gospel reads "the good shepherd will lay down his life for the sheep" - and knowing of the journey to death that Jesus was willing to take for us, there's no denial there.

         As though that wasn't clear enough, Jesus then does a nice little compare-and-contrast. Good Shepherd compared to Hired Hand. Now the hired hand we know is less invested in the sheep - maybe he has a few favourites here and there, but he doesn't really know the sheep, he may not even count the sheep, he might not notice if one or two wandered off. He's there for the paycheque. If something better came along, he might just take it.

         So when danger comes, a wolf pack, even a lone wolf - we know that the hired hand is off and running, and the sheep are going to be left alone.

         Interesting to note: when the hired hand takes off, the sheep don't follow him. They scatter, unprotected, and even run away from one another, as they have not had anything that brings them together other than circumstance. At the first sign of distress, they are entirely unprotected and unaccompanied.

         BUT. Jesus is the good shepherd. He knows his own. His own know him. There's an ongoing and intentional relationship that is fostered and supported.

         That is the basis of relationship that sustains: it's one of communication, it's one of trust, it's one of willingly and carefully choosing to follow the leadership that journeys towards God.

         It's a relationship that is so comfortable and so healthy and so God-focused that it will withstand whatever may come. To be the flock of Jesus followers means that we are never alone: it means that we are never without the Divine presence to guide and lead us: it means that there are more people who are part of God's family that we just haven't met yet - but we are encouraged to embrace when we do come together.

         The Gospel is good news indeed - but it doesn't suggest that the journey is going to be easy. The reading from Acts suggests that while the power of Jesus is profound, there are some who will oppose it, because they're more comfortable with how things used to be. Some in the community refuse change, even when it is the good news of resurrection.

         The letter from John seems to be addressing a community that has taken for granted that they are being divinely cared for, and that as result they are called to care for one another - regardless of personal preference. Following Jesus means loving everyone Jesus loves.

         And of course, the psalm. This beloved, often-cited, well-known 23rd psalm. The sentimentalists among us like the happy ending of the psalm, the comfort and peace it assures. Yet it also reminds us, when we think about it, that the sheep are not naive enough to think life is always still waters and green pastures: that is but a portion of the journey. And that journey will lead through encounters with evil, and through the darkest journey. However, the true comfort of this psalm is the assurance that the Good Shepherd brings us through those times of trouble and distress, along the paths of righteousness, to the House of the Lord. The shepherd protects us so long as we follow him.

         And so we are called to do that: to follow the Lord. To carefully and prayerfully be in the best possible relationship we can be, with God and with one another, in order that we will know the voice of the Lord calling us along the right paths. These paths may not seem to be the easy route or the popular way, but as we listen to Jesus' voice calling us onward, we are brought through the times of trouble to moments of repose and eternal abundance in God's dwelling of goodness and mercy.

         I pray that the grace of God will help all of us to focus on the voice of The One who knows us and calls us, who protects us and leads us, who directs us to right paths because he loves us, he knows us, he welcomes us, and never leaves us. May we be shepherded on our journey by our saviour: not as sheeple but as the one flock that is so beloved of the Good Shepherd.

Sermon for Easter 3: I'm Not Dead Yet!

Acts 3.12-19, Ps 4, 1Jn 3.1-7, Luke 24.36b-48

         Some time ago, I was doing a hospital visit with someone in the ER. The patient was quite scared, and asked me to stay with them until their family arrived. At one point, the doctor came in, while the patient appeared asleep. The doctor started speaking very quickly to me about tests and diagnoses and prognoses and...

         and then we heard a rather perturbed yet Monty Python-esque voice from the bed: "I'm not dead yet!"

         I laughed - this was typical for that parishioner - this was not a shy or soft-spoken individual.

         This is not an atypical kind of response. Whether we realise it or not, we are often finding ways to prove to people that we are, in fact, not dead: some will answer "how are you today?" with "I'm on the right side of the grass" or "I checked in the obituaries, and I didn't see my name!" Some use humour, others may respond with other truths - "my hip hurts too much for me to be dead" or "well, the doctors say I'm alive."

         That is what doctors often do: they have ways to show to us that we are still alive. They can do brain scans and blood tests and monitor our heartbeats. They can find ways, oh so many ways, to prove that we are physically alive.

         This is not dissimilar to what Jesus does in Luke's account of this visitation. He finds ways to prove to his disciples that he is not a ghost; that he is not dead. He invites them into what were common tests in those days to determine ghostliness: ghosts did not have hands; ghosts did not have feet to touch the ground with.

         Think about Casper, the friendly ghost - he floats, without feet; he has arms but no fingers. 

         But for the disciples, not surprising, this is still too... strange. Too supernatural. Too inconceivable. The disciples have joy - of course they do! But they still doubt and fear and wonder. So - back to providing them with proof, Jesus asks about food. Have you anything here to eat? This is likely not that he was hungry; I don't think the resurrected Christ needed to have some sustenance like that. Again, he as proving to them that he was alive, and not a ghost - as (again, biblical era ghost-test) ghosts do not have the capacity to eat, because they do not have a digestive system. Here he was though, eating in their presence, to prove that he was NOT dead. Not anymore!

         So - he's alive. Wonderful.

         But that's just the preamble, this physical proof of life.

         He then proves that HE IS ALIVE. He is not existing, he is not just being, he is ALIVE. Fully alive, in the spiritual sense.

         This proof comes with a bit of history, and a bit of the present, and the focus on the future is implicit.

         He reminds them that his death was foretold in the scriptures, and that those have now been fulfilled. The past is passed; the focus on death is no longer part of the story.

         He opens their minds then, to fully understand the scriptures - the sacred texts held near and dear for centuries, promising the redemption of the world through the Messiah, the chosen one of God. This is the NOW for the disciples, their present time, when they are brought into the joy of recognising the life that is before them.

         Then Jesus addresses the future - that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be proclaimed in his name to all nations. For these to be proclaimed in Jesus' name means that the disciples are to be the proclaimers: go forth, to Jerusalem, and share the good news. This is the promise of what is to come, that life will be shared and declared BY them, for all nations and all time.

         These folks are witnesses to life. They are witnesses to Jesus' resurrection. They are witnesses to the miracle of being spiritually alive - and they share that proof.

         Imagine if they had not gone out to prove themselves spiritually alive? Imagine if they had not engaged in the spiritual practices to maintain that faith? But they DID (thanks be to God) and thus the faith IS alive and well, as we can see from the other readings we heard this morning:

         The Spirit of God lives: in Peter's encouragement that the Israelites live in faith. He inspires them to put aside their doubt, and to embrace their belief. He invites them to put their past behind them, and to live in the present, and plan for the future - to continue proving to the world that they are alive in the spiritual sense.

         The Spirit of God moved the lectionary creators to connect Psalm 4 to these readings, with its message of comfort and intentionality. It is a prayer of peace and security that can only come from trusting in the Lord - and that trust requires a vibrant and active spirituality.

         The Spirit of God lives in John's first letter, speaking of the commitment to live as God's children, in hope and in righteousness. John convinces all who read this letter that the desire to be sinless is the desire to be fully alive - "no one who abides in him sins" - so he calls for us to be spiritually alive that we may celebrate our knowing and being known by the living God.

         The scriptures prove that Christ is Risen - not as a past action, but a present reality and a future promise. They invite us to share in this proof of life as we live out our ministries, here at St John's, and around the world.

         When we come together in worship;

when we offer prayers for one another and for the world;

when we break bread together;

when we read scripture with one another;

when we overcome differences to benefit our community;

when we give generously to support the mission and ministry of this place;

when we choose to seek and support the positive in the world around us;

when we uphold one another in our hearts to minds;

when we choose to love and serve.

         This is how we demonstrate that we are spiritually alive, when we prove to the community that church is not the bricks and mortar with a street address - that's just one place where the church meets.

         We are called to be the church that is alive, a church that is vibrant, a church that is not restricted to one location: we are called to be the church that has seen the living and Risen Christ. We are called to be the church that has faith in the ongoing power of the Spirit. We are called to be the church that proclaims repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are called to be the church that, as Luke says, is witness of these things.

         Thus we are the church, the gathering of disciples, that is called to embrace our own spiritual liveliness. To know that we are, both physically and spiritually, "Not dead yet!" And in that celebration of life we are privileged to be called to witness to the world that the presence of God is real and is now, that Jesus is Alive and always will be, that Christ is Risen, he is Risen indeed - Alleluia!

Do Not Doubt, But Believe - Sermon for Easter 2

Acts 4.32-35, Ps 133, 1Jn 1.1-2.2, John 20.19-31

         Yesterday was my sister's 40th birthday party. It was fun - a casual drop-in at a local restaurant that has a private room. Easy-peasy. After getting home, my phone invited me to review the venue. It's one of those things, one of many, if we're honest, where even Google says it needs human help.

         So I answered a bunch of questions: is there a parking structure, is it kid-friendly, is it expensive, that sort of thing. This isn't normally the type of thing that I do, but we'd had such a good experience with the whole day - the venue, the staff, the food, everything - that I thought "why not?" A good review is always a good thing. And it's because of other people filling out these types of questions for Google, that I have benefitted in the past - learning if a place is the type of place I want to go.

         We all tend to do that - we want to know a bit about a place or an event before we venture out. And, we are quicker to receive recommendations from a human than some commercial or advertisement. Whether it's a coffee shop or winery tour or new movie - what people say about things influences us. When I hear "this is the best book I've read this year!" I head to the library; when I hear "meh, it was OK, I guess" I'm less inclined to rush out. And, if someone says "you have GOT to see this!" - well, I think for any of us, that catches our attention.

         And when we're in that space, we want to see for ourselves - because we want to be able to offer our own review, based on our own experience. Our opinion needs to be authentic, so it needs to be truly ours.

         I imagine that's how Thomas was feeling, when he hears his friends and fellow disciples saying they have seen the resurrected Jesus joining them in the locked room. Now, these disciples have all heard from Mary that she has seen the Lord, risen, ALLELUIA! And I'm sure they were thinking - we want to see him, too! And, they do.  And they tell Thomas all about it - how they have seen Jesus, they have connected with him, conversed with him, communed with him. He has overcome physical boundaries to appear to them, and offered them peace, and showed them his earthly wounds, and commissioned them to do God's work, and breathed on them the Holy Spirit - before Pentecost, take note! - and he has granted them forgiveness and encouraged them to do the same.

         WOW. What an experience. It's no wonder Thomas is saying "I want to see that, too. I want to hear his voice and bask in his physical presence and delight in the grace being lavished upon me!"

         So how beautiful and shocking when Thomas' wish is granted; when his utmost desire is met. He sees Jesus. He sees the wounds, he is invited to touch them. He is affirmed in his faith, confirmed in his humanness, commissioned in his discipleship.

         As are they all: they are all reminded that being a disciple does not mean sitting in a locked room, by themselves, in fear. Blessed are those who were there who saw and believed! And Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have come to believe.

         They have come to believe, because they have seen the testimony of the disciples. They have come to be disciples themselves, demonstrating to the world that the Risen Christ makes a world of difference.

         So, by extension, blessed are those who practice discipleship. Those whose belief is stronger than their doubts; those whose faith is stronger than their fear, those whose passion for God is stronger than their desire for earthly gains, those whose efforts for what is holy is stronger than for what is popular or easy.

         Blessed are those who are actively practicing discipleship: those who know it's not about getting it perfect all the time:  after all, Peter was a denier, James and John were famous for their short tempers, Simon was primarily a politician, Thaddeus had multiple aliases, and of course Thomas with his "let me see it for myself to believe."

Even more shocking were the members of the first church - the first ones to carry the good news of the Gospel of the Risen Christ: the women at the tomb, who until they shared their good news with the apostles, WERE the entirety of the church. Women: who at the time were ostracised by culture for their gender - yet chosen by God to start telling the world the astonishingly good news: "BELIEVE in the resurrection - I have seen the Lord! Let me tell you all about it."

         So if the good news can be passed down by these folks, as unlikely and unseemly and imperfect as they are: the invitation stands for ourselves then to continue the journey. To remember whose discipleship brought us to faith, to celebrate those whose discipleship nurtured and fostered our faith, to be thankful for those whose discipleship helped us to grow in the full stature of Christ. These disciples helped us to come to that moment when faith overcame any obstacle, and we could stand before Jesus and say I BELIEVE!

         And, of course, the invitation extends to those who now see us as disciples to them: those who see the good news in what we say and do; who learn to believe by how we witness to the world, those who have come to know Jesus and believe, because we have demonstrated our knowledge and belief in Jesus.

         So it is up to us: as it has been up to every generation before us. To be disciples of God, carrying the message of the resurrection to those we love, those we encounter, those we haven't met yet. It's up to us to give a review of the faith in such a meaningful way that people will want to encounter it for themselves.  It's up to us to share the good news of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit - trusting that through God's grace and mercy, our witness will invite others to also declare "My Lord and My God!"