Year A 5th Sunday of Easter 22 May 2011
Acts 7: 55-60 Psalm 31: 1-5, 15-16 1 Peter 2: 2-10 John 14: 1-14
Do we have many worries? Are we troubled? The early Christians had many troubles which worried them. I’m sure many of the worries were the same. They would have been worried for their children’s futures, their own needs and the day to day concerns, but on top of this all was the threat of persecution for their faith. There had always been opposition in some form to the message about Jesus Christ, but with the stoning of Stephen the opposition gained strength.
We read in the Gospel, words of comfort for a people who are mortal and facing the fears of being thrown to lions for the faith that gives them hope.
John 14:1-4 ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. My Father’s house has plenty of room; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.””
It isn’t just people who have the possibility of imminent death by being fed to lions who need this reassurance, we all need it. The close friends of Jesus who were listening to this message were still very much unaware of the enormity of what was ahead of them and also unaware of the true identity of Jesus. They had some idea that he was someone really special, and even possibly the Messiah, but Jesus reveals more about his being when he goes on to say:
John 14:9-10 “Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
This is one of those passages that reveal part of the Trinitarian aspect of God. Jesus was fully human and his followers knew it, but Jesus is also fully God and the mystery is brought into focus with this passage. Jesus is the visible expression of the invisible God. It is a central belief of the Christian church.
We live in such relative comfort, yet those early Christians had a faith that was so secure and such good news, and so important, and such ultimate truth, that the early Christians knew it was also worth dying for.
We accept our faith as that comforting little slot in our lives that we save for times when the chips are down. When our faith doesn’t matter we certainly have one less thing to cause angst between us and other people... just like when we don’t have any strong political persuasions... it may mean that we can enjoy peace with all people, but, there is a saying that “man who whittle himself away to suit everyone else will soon find there is nothing left”.
It is important that we know who we are and what we believe. It is important that we understand in the light of God’s truth. To die for something based on a lie would be a foolish tragedy, but to die bringing absolute truth (a truth that sets captives free) and good news has a great effect on this life and an eternal effect. It is possible that the stone being thrown into the pond has no comprehension of the ripples it caused!
Hopefully in our life time we will not be asked to die for our faith, but be aware that there are Christians overseas who are..... And what is our response to our faith, and our response to their suffering? Many of us will not even put ourselves out enough to get to church, let alone any extra activity of the church. I’m speaking to myself a little here too, as I’ve wanted to go to a breakfast meeting that happens each month in our church, but each time I end up choosing to sleep in. Really, it isn’t good enough.
We have the luxury and assurance of our faith but we aren’t sharing it. There is another saying, “Use it or lose it”. Our children are losing faith because we are not living as if we believe it really is good news. Our schools are constantly being targeted as presently there is someone challenging that Chaplains should not be paid by the government. This has longer reaching effects, as chaplains also exist in the police force, the hospitals, the defence force... and probably other areas that I’ve forgotten. Our country has been one that relied on God and the ministry of Christians, but we are not “using” our gifts and may possibly “lose” the way of life that we have known.
I have to admit that although I care deeply about these issues, I feel powerless. I can’t tell you how many times I get email messages to say that the courier mail (or Australian – can’t remember which exactly) website has another on line vote about same sex marriages, and other issues that should concern Christians. We are constantly being bombarded with requests for action to save our way of life until those who are active are completely worn out. We need something more.... maybe we need 100 percent of Christians to start becoming active... Or maybe we need us all to be seriously praying... or maybe we need a miracle.
John 14: 12- 14 “ Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
It has always amazed me that Jesus made this statement. Certainly some of those early Christians did do some amazing things. Made the lame walk, raised the dead (I think it was someone listening to such a long sermon that they fell asleep and fell out a window), and St. Paul was bitten by a deadly snake and it had no effect. We don’t often hear of these kinds of stories today, but maybe we are not listening. Maybe we need to become actively involved to see the miracles. And maybe there is no maybe about it!
John 14:6-7 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
We are all a little frightened to speak out about our faith. We don’t want to offend and we don’t like to tell people that Jesus is the “Way, the truth and the life”. We don’t like to tell them that no one comes to the father but through him, because that means that all their other ideas about “living a good life is enough” and “karma” and various others, are false. But if we don’t tell them that the only way to the father is through Jesus, then we are responsible for the consequence of their lives.
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