The Text: John 14:18

Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans”

Orphans the world over are a tragedy of tremendous proportions. According to UNICEF there are 153 million orphan children worldwide with over five and half thousand being becoming orphans every day. Whether in refugee camps in Africa, India, Romania, Bulgaria, or South East Asia these figures are mind blowing especially knowing the tragic affect that the loss of parents has on children and how this loss shapes the rest of their lives.

Even a child left without parents here in our country, although infinitely far better off than those in the countries I have just mentioned, is affected in ways that we don’t fully understand. Children who lose their parents lose their security and are vulnerable and powerless physically, emotionally and psychologically. The love and care given to them by others will, in time, make up for this but unfortunately some children never get over their loss. Some never get over the psychological wounds that comes with being an orphan. It’s as if they have lost their story, their roots, their history, their identity, their sense of direction.

In the light of this, the words of Jesus take on a special meaning. “I will not leave you orphaned” Jesus says to his disciples. Or this could be translated, “I will not leave you desolate, deserted, alone, abandoned, unloved, futureless”.

The disciples knew Jesus in a very close and personal way. They had walked together, talked together, eaten together, shared good and bad times together. They had been constant companions of Jesus. They felt confident and safe in the presence of Jesus.

When they experienced doubt, pain and suffering, they felt Jesus understood what was happening to them.

When they were filled with joy and happiness or overcome with sadness and sorrow, they felt secure in the knowledge that Jesus experienced the same emotions and feelings as they did.

When they were hungry, Jesus fed them and a great crowd with a few loaves and fish.

When they were in danger on the sea, Jesus was nearby to rescue them.

When they witnessed the grief that death brought into their lives, Jesus was at hand to comfort and raise the dead to life.

You see there is a kind of fatherly or perhaps brotherly relationship between Jesus and the disciples.

Jesus could see that his disciples were dependent on him. In fact, Jesus occasionally addressed them as “little children”. In the presence of Jesus they were like “little children” who relied on his love and comfort.

When Jesus warned the disciples that he will no longer be with them he had to quickly assure them not to be worried and upset, but to trust him. Now if that’s how they felt before Jesus’ death imagine how alone and abandoned they must have felt after Jesus’ death on the cross. Under the shadow of the cross, Jesus knew that they will feel like orphans—lost, without hope, helpless, powerless, uncertain about their future and confused. So he makes them a promise:

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you….Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14.16,18,27).

Note this unique way Jesus reminds us that we will always have a home and a family.  He says, “I am in the Father, and you are in me, just as I am in you (John 14:20).

This is a good passage to pause and meditate on. Simply what Jesus is expressing is the very close and intimate relationship between himself and the Father, himself and his disciples and his disciples and God. That tiny word “in” describes a special bond, a unique oneness. A family relationship.

You who believe in Jesus already have the Holy Spirit. God the Father has sent you the Holy Spirit through the Son. He did this for you at baptism. Because of God’s work for us in baptism you have a place of belonging in the family of God, by which you are no longer orphans, for God our Father has made you heirs with Jesus his Son. We are sons and daughters together with the Son. And since that is the case for every person who is in Christ then we are all a part of that Triune God’s loving, supporting family. We are all brothers and sisters joined together in God’s family, the church.

In this family God the Father continues to give you the Holy Spirit, through the Son, who meets you in the word, the scriptures. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit continually comes to us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are given a new direction, a new future and a new life.

This new life is one in which we will always have a home.  We will always have a loving family—God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These words of comfort carry the message that we won’t ever be orphans—we will know exactly who we are and where we belong.

True enough Satan will always try to break up that togetherness we have. He just loves to drive wedges of doubt, anger, hostility, and jealousy, either between us and God, or between each another in his family. He will constantly tempt us to sin and break the bond and put up barriers between the members of the family, and break apart from it. But that’s not what God has planned for any of us.

God wants no one to feel like an orphan. When Jesus says to us “I will not leave you as orphans” he means that we belong to the Father, adopted and claimed through Jesus the Son. We are loved by the Father. We are forgiven by the Son. When there are members of the family who are feeling like an orphan because we have had a falling out with someone, as a member of this special family, it becomes our responsibility to make amends, whether it was our fault or not.

When there is a member of the family who is feeling like an orphan—lonely, scared, uncertain because they are facing illness and even death—as a member of this special family, it becomes our responsibility to pass on the love and care that we have received from our heavenly Father.

When there are members of the family who are feeling like orphans—feeling unloved, needing a guiding hand, wanting someone to know their pain—as a member of this special family, it becomes our responsibility to be a brother and sister to that person and let them see the love of our heavenly parent through us.

When there are members of this special family who are feeling like orphans, needing someone to provide them with basic essentials and to empathise with them in their circumstances, it becomes our responsibility to be a brother and sister to that person and let them see in us the love of our heavenly Father as we meet those needs.

Jesus’ words need to become our words to one another as people of God’s family “I will not leave you as an orphan”, as we reflect the love and care of God into the lives of the people around us. Let Jesus inspire us to say to our fellow brothers and sisters, “I will not leave you desolate, feeling deserted, alone, abandoned, unloved, futureless”.

At the 400 metre race at the 1992 summer Olympics a young Englishman, Derek Redmond was hungry to win a gold medal after being forced to withdraw from the previous Olympics because of injury. However, shortly after the start of the race, he popped his right hamstring. All the other runners continued the race leaving him like an orphan alone on the track. Amazingly Redmond got back up and started hopping towards the finish line. The other runners had all finished the race in a matter of seconds. Redmond, in tears, slowly and laboriously kept hopping. It looked as if he would fall any moment.

Suddenly, a man appeared beside Derek. It was his father. He had run down from the stands and pushed his way through the security guards to reach his son. Redmond’s father put his arm around his son and let him cry on his shoulder. Then, with his father holding him up, Derek hobbled to the finish line and then he hopped over the line by himself to finish the race.

There’s a word of hope for you and me, to help us finish the race of life. It is God’s own word. When we are feeling like orphans to run the race of life in this world—a race we cannot run by our own strength—we have a Father who gives us his strength to keep on going, a Saviour who walks beside us and the Spirit who comforts us, and strengthens us in faith, pointing us to everything Jesus said and still speaks, enabling us to cross the finishing line. We are not abandoned because we have a God who loves us. He says to each of personally and individually, “I will not leave you as orphans”. Amen.

The Text: John 13:31-35

What’s new about the ‘new’ commandment? Let me read to you from the Old Testament, Leviticus 19:18; ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. This is the Old Testament, and there we have the command to love. So what’s new about the ‘new’ commandment? The newness has to do with the person who gives the commandment, our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who ‘makes all things new’ (Rev 21:5). Jesus has loved, and does love us, and so he transforms our love for each other.

As we meditate on this new commandment to love, let’s consider four features of it today: (They each start with the letter ‘s,’ so we can more easily remember them):

• Love is given a new shape,
• Love happens in a new space,
• Love becomes a new sign,
• Love arises from a new source.

Shape, space, sign and source.

So first is that in this new commandment, love is given a new shape. What does that mean? Love is given a new shape in the sense of taking on a particular focus, and being characterised, in a particular way: namely the ‘shape’ of sacrifice.  

Jesus says, ‘Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.’ If we then ask ‘How did Jesus love us?’ the context of this passage tells us a lot. Jesus is speaking these words on the night before he died. Judas has just left room to begin the chain of the events that would lead to Jesus’ death. Jesus talks about loving as he loved in the context of his sacrificial death. He strengthens this connection as he repeats this command a little later where he says: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ (15:13)’.

This emphasis becomes like an echo throughout the New Testament, where again and again love is talked about in connection with the theme of sacrifice. To mention just one more example, in Ephesians 5:1 Paul writes,  ‘…live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’. The love Jesus calls for is characterised by sacrifice. That means: total and utter self-giving love for another.  

Let’s just think for a moment about how radical this love is. Think of membership at a football club. Actually in a place like a football club there can be some strong forms of love – strong comradery and this sort of thing. Around Anzac day, football coaches might try to inspire the players by talking of the Anzac spirit and so on. But then think about this: when finals time arrives and there are two players were left competing for the final spot in the A grade team, could you ever imagine one player saying, ‘I’ll give up my spot in the team for him’. It’s virtually inconceivable. Not only would it not happen, it would probably be looked on as weakness.

In contrast, this is the very sort of love that is to be cultivated in Christian community. We love by sacrificing our time, sacrificing our money, sacrificing our own desires and pleasures, sacrificing different parts of our life, for others.

So the first thing Jesus does is that love is given a new shape, that of sacrificial love.

The next point is that in Jesus’ new command, love happens in a new space.

Jesus says love ‘one another’. What does that mean? Who is the ‘one another’? Where, and with whom does Jesus want this new commandment of love to happen? The simple answer is that he seems to be referring to the Christian community – to love specifically within the church. Only his disciples are in this room, and he says, love ‘one another’. A parallel passage might be Galatians 6:10, ‘So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.’

Now this can strike some people as a bit confusing. We hear Jesus teach about loving one’s neighbour, as the Old Testament does, which seems fairly general. We even hear about Jesus radical call to love one’s enemies. So then it almost feels to some people like we’re going backwards here, retreating into a “holy huddle” or something. So it’s worth asking, why this particular command to love one’s brothers and sisters within the Christian family?

Here’s one way to think about it. Isn’t it true, that it can often be hardest for Christians, to love other Christians? Think of the sad history of conflict and division within Christian congregations. Think of the various debates we’ve had in our own LCA in recent times, and how quickly our lack of love for one another can rear its ugly head. Now St Paul does always remind us that love ‘rejoices in the truth’ (1 Cor 13:6), so we do need to have robust discussions in the life of the church. But he also calls us to ‘speak the truth in love’ (Eph 4:15). Think, too, of the way we have sometimes acted towards Christians of other denominations and traditions. Maybe Jesus is onto something more important than we at first realise, when he points us to the Christian community as the space for love.

It’s worth noting too, that this new commandment of Jesus is framed in John 13 by two spectacular failings within this first Christian community. Firstly, Judas betrays Jesus, and secondly, Peter denies Jesus! This, too, can help us understand why Jesus focuses on love within the Christian community.

We find a parallel in human family. Most people would say the people they love most in the world are their family. But if we’re really honest, isn’t it also true that our families are the hardest people to love? After all, we’re stuck with them! We live in close proximity to them. We know their flaws and they know ours. We can’t hide things from each other. We expect more from each other.

There’s a specific focus here in Jesus’ new commandment on living in love within the Christian community. Love is given a new space.

Then Jesus gives another reason why this focus on the Christian community, and this is our next point, that love becomes a new sign. ‘By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’. How interesting and mysterious and even seemingly paradoxical, that if we want to reach out to the world with the love of Christ, the first step is that this love is lived within the Church, with each other. Jesus says in effect, ‘people will notice this, and love will be a sign to the world.’

This has been true throughout Church history. The early church father Tertullian reported that one of the things outsiders said about the early Christian church was, ‘See how they love each other.’ One of the Roman leaders said about the early Christians in one of his letters, ‘They love each other almost before they even meet.’ Love truly has been and will be a sign to the world.

Sadly, we know this today also in a negative sense don’t we? When we fail to love, it will likewise be noticed by the world. We know that it can be incredible damaging to the Church’s witness.

Now Jesus presumably teaches us this because it’s always going to be true. But maybe this is true and even more relevant for us in 21^st century Australia than at other times and places. Because one thing we are seeing in our culture today is that people, especially young people, are searching for and craving community in which they can experience true love. This is perhaps because so many of our traditional communal structures have broken down.

So love is given a new shape. Love happens in a new space. Love becomes a new sign. Finally, love arises from a new source. All this teaching we covered so far is good stuff, the only problem with it, is that it’s really, really hard! It’s an incredible, if not impossible task to live a life of sacrificial love within the Christian community, and to become such a sign to the world! When we truthfully examine our hearts, do we find much of that sort of sacrificial love within? It’s interesting how central the issue of love is in one of our prayers of confession of sins: ‘We have not loved you with our whole heart, and we have not loved our neighbour as ourselves.’ That’s the truth of the matter!

But the good news is, is that in Jesus we find not only a new shape for love, but a new source of love. We find not only a new pattern for love, but a new power for love. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Cross is not only our example of love, it is his love acted out for us. Jesus is pointing to this when he says, ‘Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another’. The ‘as I have loved you’ is not only saying: ‘Look and follow my example’, but it’s also saying, ‘By going to the Cross for you, I am actually enabling and empowering you to love. That’s what makes it possible for you to even begin to live these lives of self-sacrificial love.’

Because it’s as Jesus gives his life for us on the Cross, that there is forgiveness of sins for us, and that he defeats the powers of evil for us. So he frees us all from this life turned in on ourselves. He rescues us from the path of love-less-ness. Jesus has loved us and continues to love us, so that we can love one another. Jesus himself is a deep well of love from which we draw. In 1 John 3:16 it is said like this: ‘We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for one another’.

And as we think about how we actually receive his love, it’s worth considering an interesting, or rather vital, connection here. The same night Jesus gives us this new commandment, is the night he also institutes a new meal saying this is the ‘new covenant’ in my blood. There is a connection between the new command of love and the new covenant meal of love. It’s through this Sacrament that all the benefits of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross are given to us, so that we continually receive the love of Christ as we attend this meal. Jesus has left us his meal of love, and he has sent us his Holy Spirit. We remember that the first fruit of the Spirit is… love.

St Paul say in Romans 5 that ‘…God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.’  This means that this is something anyone can pray for with great confidence when love seems to be lacking. Are you struggling to love your spouse? Your family? Someone in your congregation? Come to Holy Communion. Receive the love of Christ anew. Pray to God, and ask for the Holy Spirit to work in you his fruit of love. In Jesus there is a new source of love. You’ll be amazed at how receptive people can be in reconciling differences after sharing in this holy and love-filled meal!

So, love is given a new shape – that of sacrificial love. Love happens in a new space – the Christian community. Love becomes a new sign – of where Jesus’ disciples can be found in the world. And love arises from a new source – from Jesus himself, for he has loved us all to the end. ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. 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.’ Amen.

Text: John 10:27 “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me”.

“I know my sheep”

How often are you identified with a number?
At the bank you have account numbers, PIN numbers to access your accounts, and credit card numbers.
The taxation department identifies you by your Tax File Number.
You have a Medicare number.
When you enquire about your power or phone bill the first thing you are asked is, “What is your customer number?”
When you go to the meat section of the supermarket you are required to pick up a number and will be served when your number is called.
If you are in business you need an ABN (an Australian Business Number);
on internet sites and for email you need usernames and passwords, and we could go on.
If you are pulled over by a police officer for speeding, he/she is interested in numbers – your licence number, your registration number, and … the number on the radar gun indicating how fast you were travelling.

Numbers are so impersonal. Isn’t it nice when someone remembers your name, or when you are known by name rather than by a customer account number?

In John’s Gospel we hear Jesus speak words that give us that kind of warm feeling that we have when someone cares for us, is interested in what is happening in our lives, empathises and encourages us. Jesus tells us about the very personal and intimate relationship that he has with us. He says, “I am the good shepherd. As the Father knows me and I know the Father, in the same way I know my sheep and they know me” (John 10:14).

Jesus describes his relationship with us using the closeness and intimacy that he and the Father in heaven share as an example of the personal way he knows us and what is happening to us. However, we can only know the close relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a limited way because our knowledge of the Trinity is very incomplete so Jesus also uses the description of the relationships between a shepherd and his sheep. I believe that this kind of description is easier to understand because it is something that comes from everyday life and in Jesus’ time everyone knew about shepherds and sheep. He says, “My sheep know my voice, and I know them. They follow me, and I give them eternal life, so that they will never be lost. No one can snatch them out of my hand.  My Father gave them to me, and he is greater than all others. No one can snatch them from his hands, and I am one with the Father” (John 10:27-30 CEV).

Talking about shepherds who know each sheep individually, even calling them by name, is not so familiar to us Aussies. The Australian sheep farmer is not one bit like the shepherds we read about in the Bible. The modern day sheep farmer has his large mob of sheep, let’s say a thousand sheep, in a paddock and he occasionally goes out to check if everything is all right. When he wants to shift them he hops on his motorbike and with the help of his dog he drives them to where he wants them to go. He doesn’t call them by name though he might call them names when they act stupidly and go where he doesn’t want them to go, but you wouldn’t say they are affectionate names. This is nothing like the picture that Jesus gives, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27).

A shepherd in ancient times firstly didn’t have thousands of sheep to look after. He had a small flock and he knew each sheep individually. One of the most meaningful pictures in Christian art depicts Jesus as a shepherd. We don’t know if Jesus ever really shepherded sheep – maybe he might have done something like this if he had a shepherd friend when he was a lad and they spent time out in the fields with sheep.  Whatever Jesus’ experience was as a shepherd, he uses an image that everyone could relate to. 

Artists have taken up this theme and pictured Jesus holding a lamb, or carrying a lamb across his shoulders, or watching over sheep. Jesus is the one who cares, the one who saves the lost, and rescues from trouble. He is the one who is intimately and individually concerned about each one of his sheep. He provides his sheep with everything they need. He is the one whose staff and rod defend the sheep if any danger should come their way. We are led to think of what would have happened to a lost lamb if Jesus did not rescue it. Even if that lamb was wild and independent of all help, the shepherd doesn’t give up.

A party of tourists was on its way to Palestine and the guide was describing some of the customs of the East. “Now,” he said, “you are accustomed to seeing the shepherd driving his sheep through the English lanes. Out in the East, however, things are different, for the shepherd always leads the way, going on in front of the flock. And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

They reached Palestine, and, to the amusement of the tourists, almost the first thing they saw was a flock of sheep being driven along by a man. The guide was astonished and immediately made it his business to approach the shepherd. “How is it that you are driving these sheep?” he asked. “I have always been told that the Eastern shepherd leads his sheep.” “You are quite right, sir,” replied the man. “The shepherd does lead his sheep. But you see, I’m not the shepherd, I’m the butcher.”

The sheep depended on the shepherd. They gladly followed him because they knew he could be trusted because he lived among his sheep,
slept among them,
walked with them,
fed them,
guided, directed and protected them,
knew each sheep by name.
All this builds up a mental image of someone with an intense love for our total well-being at every turn of our life. This is a description of how Jesus feels about each one of us. Big business thinks of us as a number. Jesus knows us by name.

By using this shepherd imagery Jesus is connecting himself to the Old Testament imagery that we read of in Psalm 23. The writer refers to the Lord as my shepherd. There nothing else I need. I will not be afraid be you are close beside me.

It’s obvious that the writer is expressing the personal relationship that God has with him. The real presence of God in his life is not something theoretical or even wishful. It is real. Especially in this Easter season we are reminded that we have a living and all-powerful Saviour who is walking beside us every day through thick and thin.

No doubt there are times when it seems that Jesus is a million miles away.
We have prayed for help in times of sickness and the pain is as intense as ever.
We have asked him to guide us through some difficult decisions but we have blundered on making one mistake after another.
We have wanted him to watch over our loved ones, but they have still been caught up in trouble and accidents.
We may feel as if we are losing our faith in Jesus, stop going to worship and lose touch with the people at church.
But the fact is Jesus hasn’t gone anywhere. He is right here with us. He knows what is happening in our lives. He knows what is going through our minds and how restless and anxious we are – he will use his power to help and support us. Jesus’ promise is good even when we are doubting and despairing, “I am the good Shepherd, I know my sheep”.

Even though we are down and almost out, we are assured that we are in the arms of the everlasting shepherd who lovingly supports and strengthens us in our weakest and most painful moments. Like the lamb that is often pictured in Jesus’ arms, we can be at peace and feel safe in the arms of our loving shepherd.

This reminds me of a passage from the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament where the people are in trouble and ask, “Has God forgotten us”? God answers, “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand” Isaiah 49:15-16 NLT).
Those words are just as applicable to us today as they were three thousand years ago. God feels the same way about us as he did back then. He even gave his life for the sheep.

The image of the Good Shepherd is one of love, care, protection, intimacy and closeness. This text about the Good Shepherd has implications for us who are followers of Jesus. We are challenged to share his concern for those who are in trouble, for those who suffer injustice, for the sick and for the poor. It is not good enough for us to say to those suffering “You should trust in Jesus to make things work out for you”. As his followers, we share the same concerns as he has, and show our love in very practical ways, as Jesus did. It may be inconvenient to offer assistance, it may cost us time, effort and money, but love demands that this be done.

What I am saying is that we become shepherds to one another. We are to be shepherds to one another as members of this congregation. We are to be shepherds to one another in our families, to one another at work, amongst our friends.
Just as Jesus guides and protects his sheep, mothers and fathers guide and protect the lambs he has given to us in our families.
Just as Jesus shepherds us with patience and love, we shepherd those lives whom God has entrusted to us.
Just as Jesus comforts and helps us, husbands and wives comfort and help one another.
As I said, we become shepherds to one another.

We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we do know that we have a loving shepherd who walks with us through the good and bad. And one day when we must walk through the valley of darkness and death he will walk with us and lead us to the glorious new life beyond the grave. Because we have a loving shepherd, goodness and love will follow us all our lives and we will live in the house of the Lord forever.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.  Three times, Jesus asked Peter: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Let’s  join in a word of  prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, our loving Saviour, by your presence in our lives, you touch us, you teach us, and you renew us.  We continue to celebrate your resurrection and to worship You.  Guide our time together this morning that we may not be overwhelmed by trivial details as we discover your grace and mercy in your presence with us. Loving Lord Jesus Christ, hear our prayer for the sake of your name.  Amen.

It is so easy to get caught up in trivial messages and interpretations of scripture and miss the point.

We find in John 21:11, that: ‘Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish.’   

Have you ever wondered why there were 153 fish? I must admit that I haven’t. But others have.

Cyril of Alexandria in the 5th century said that the 100 represented the fullness of the Gentiles, the 50 symbolized the remnant of Israel and three of course was there for the Trinity.

Augustine’s theory, also in the 5th century, was a little more complicated. He said, there are 10 commandments and 7 is the perfect number of grace and that totals 17. If you add all the numbers from 1 to 17 together in a series, you know 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 all the way up to 17 you’ll get 153. And not only that but if you were to arrange them with 17 fish in the first row, and 16 in the next row, and 15 in the next row, all the way down to a row of 1 you get a perfect triangle which represents the Trinity.

A third 5^th Century scholar, Jerome, suggested that there were 153 different types of fish in the sea and it was symbolic of the church reaching all the people in the world. 

Perhaps it’s mentioned in the Gospel simply because John counted 153 fish in the net. What do you think?  ^{(Adapted from Brett Blair, http://www.Sermons.com, from the sermon “Live for Today” by Denn Guptill.)}

You see we can get so caught up in really trivial stuff and miss the point.  That the disciples needed to be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, and toss the net on the other side of the boat.  In the same way, we need to be obedient to Christ, today.

When Jesus appeared to the Disciples in the upper room, after his resurrection, he was passing on the baton of Christian faith.  Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”   Jesus never wants us to be startled by his presence in our lives.  Our Saviour wants us to eagerly accept his call to live our faith and share the Good News of Salvation.  And not get caught up in the trivial, overlooking the heart of the Gospel message.

That baton of the race of life eternal has been passed down from generation to generation from Jesus Christ himself, to the disciples, to the patriarchs of the faith, to the families where faith is nurtured from parents to children, to their children.  Faith in Jesus Christ who was dead but is now alive, and is with us forever.

After receiving the baton from Christ Jesus, it appears that  Simon Peter became fearful of their future, and tried  to return to what he knew best.  He  said, “I’m going fishing.”  The other Apostles agreed,  “We’ll come, too.”  So they returned to Galilee and went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.  After which, Jesus affirmed his care for them and his authority, and called them back to what was important.

Jesus told them to toss the net on the over side.  They finally agreed, and as they recognised it was Jesus, Peter rushed to be with him.  I  can imagine a flood of memories filled his head.  During their last supper before his suffering, Jesus warned Peter, “Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”   Then Jesus prophesied, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.” ^{(Lk 22:31–34 NIV)}

Just as was prophesied, filled with fear, three times Peter denied knowing Jesus.  Despite his best intentions.  And like Peter, with the best of intentions, we often fail too. 

No Christian engages with Word and Sacrament with the intention to ignore Christ Jesus, and follow after the trivial matters of life.  No Christian enters a life with Christ to rebel against his plan at some critical moment.  But, being human, we so often do.

After we’ve turned back, like Peter, we repent, regain our focus on Jesus Christ, and live again with confidence that we are following his plan for our lives.  Because God forgives us, accepts us, and through our faith in Jesus Christ he gives us the right to be called his children.

Toward the end of their time together here in the world,  Jesus asked three times if Peter loved him.  After each response from Peter, Jesus guides Peter to stay with the main thing.  “Feed my lambs” and “Take care of my sheep”.  Jesus ends with the same words that he first spoke to Peter when they met at the lake of Galilee “follow me”.  

Like Peter, as modern Disciples of Christ Jesus, we are called not to lose sight of the most important things.  Not to be caught up in the less important things. 

That we continue to strive to share the wonderful Good News of Jesus Christ with each other and with the next generation.  By our everyday actions, words and attitudes.  We can trust that God’s plan will prevail, but we do need to keep our attention on the main thing with a hopeful heart – the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. 

From his letters to us, we recognise that Peter never again lost his attention to Christ Jesus.  Peter begins his second letter with the words, ‘Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:  May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.’ ^{(2 Pe 1:1–2 NRSV)}

We have received the same precious faith as the Apostles, grounded in the person, the life and the ministry of Jesus Christ.   The most important person and the most important message.

Paul discovered these same most important truths.  After being blinded, then seeing the light, Paul was baptised, and engaged with the Christian life with the passion of an Apostle, and the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Paul later wrote, ‘I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.  By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”  ^{(1 Cor 15:1–4 NIV)}

As a Worshipping Community, we have a mission and as  individual members of our Worshipping Community, Jesus Christ wants us to further his mission.  To keep our actions, attitudes and words active and obedient to Christ Jesus. Rather than counting fish.

As a worshipping community, we have a calling from our Saviour to be active in each other’s lives.  To hold consistent in his plan for the Mid North Coast.  To fulfil our vision of “Inspiring people to LIVE a purposeful LIFE, growing TOGETHER in JESUS CHRIST”.  And to assist our District in fulfilling its vision of “Going, Growing and Enabling mission for Christ Jesus’.

Christ-filled hope gives us a clear picture of our vision, and energises us to fulfil our mission. The Holy Spirit gives us strength to make the best decisions about what’s important, and helps us to work together as God’s children.  And so we pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our lives and our hearts with a passion for Christ Jesus, to the glory of God our Father. 

May the grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the most important person in our lives.   AMEN.

Rev David Thompson

Text: John 20:20-21 Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.”

Easter forgiveness

One of the strangest and perhaps most counter cultural aspects of the Good Friday are Jesus’ words from the cross just moments before he dies. He is in extreme agony as the nails bearing his weight tear at his flesh and he gasps to fill his lungs with air; the crowds gathered on Golgotha are mocking with loud laughter and taunting him to come down from the cross if he is truly the Son of God. The soldiers are laughing and joking at the foot of the cross as they gamble for his clothes as Jesus was dying. Most of his disciples – his closest friends – are nowhere to be seen; they are afraid and scatter to find somewhere to hide. In excruciating pain and in his dying moments Jesus says, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing”.

When Jesus says, “Father forgive them” – the ‘them’ are all those who have been involved in his crucifixion – leaders of the community and the church, government officials, soldiers, disciples and friends – those who were mocking, jeering, taunting, gambling, hiding. The ‘them’ Jesus is referring to is every person who has had a hand in causing such extreme pain and torture. He prays that they would be forgiven.

That’s not supposed to be how things work – forgiveness in the face of so much hatred and shame. That’s not normal. Anger, hatred, abusive language, shouts about his innocence, cursing his tormenters – that would be normal behaviour.

Today we hear of when Jesus comes into the room where his disciples were hiding. They had deserted him in the Garden of Gethsemane, one had denied that he ever knew Jesus three times, others had said they were prepared to give up their own life for Jesus but in the end fear overcame them, not one of them stood up to defend Jesus and declare his innocence. Jesus’ first words to them are, “Peace be with you”.

Jesus had come back from the dead and cannot resume talking with them until he says exactly what he said on the cross to his tormentors and his failed disciples, “Father forgive them.” He puts their guilt and their shame and their fear aside and says, “Peace be with you” – “The peace of God that brings forgiveness and reconciliation and calmness fill your hearts and quieten your fear”.

These first words of the risen Jesus to the disciples are so much at odds with the way the world thinks of forgiveness. The way forgiveness works for most of us is like this, “Let the person who has offended me, say that he or she is sorry, then I might be prepared to offer my forgiveness”.

When Jesus appeared the disciples didn’t say,
“Oops, I guess we really let you down;”
or “I’m sorry we ran away when you needed us the most;”
or “I beg your forgiveness for not supporting you in your greatest hour of need – in the garden I couldn’t even stay awake and pray for you;
or “I’m sorry that when Judas appeared my confidence disappeared”.
Neither do we hear any reprimand from Jesus for their betrayal; no criticism of their absence to encourage and support Jesus.

There is none of that. Only “Peace be with you. I forgive you, now let’s talk”. These words indicate more than just peace of mind and the absence of fear and guilt. The peace that Jesus offers heals the desolation, the hurt and sorrow that Jesus himself must have felt as saw no sign of his closest friends from the cross. The peace Jesus offers heals the guilt, the fear, the mistakes and misguided loyalties of the disciples.

The peace that Jesus gives puts all of that in the past; it is forgotten and it’s time to start again. We often think that Jesus’ work of forgiveness was confined to the cross but it’s clear from the Easter appearances of Jesus that Jesus’ work of forgiveness continues after Easter. The first words he says to his disciples are words of forgiveness.

Today we also have this whole incident with Thomas who missed seeing the resurrected Jesus the first time. He can’t believe that Jesus could be dead one day and alive the next. It is impossible. It is illogical. It is stupidity at its worst. He had heard Jesus talk about this kind of thing happening and he had heard the eye witness accounts of his friends but he states firmly, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later Jesus appears again and this time Thomas is there and what are Jesus first words? “Peace be with you”. These are words of forgiveness and grace and Jesus treats Thomas the same way he treated the disciples on his first appearance – with grace and love. That’s enough for Thomas. Jesus offers to let Thomas touch his scars but there is no need. All Thomas needed was to hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness and healing. Thomas’ faith is the result of nothing but grace, the grace of Jesus Christ who did not wait for Thomas to “come to faith” but who came to him.

One day Jesus told a story about a farmer who had a fig tree (Luke 13:6-9). The farmer came looking for fruit. For three years he’s been looking for fruit and there has been nothing. “Cut it down!” he says. His servant pleads, “Master, let it alone. I’ll dig around it, give it a good dose of manure, and then let’s see what happens”. The word Jesus used for “Let it alone” is the same as “forgive it”.

“Cut it down!” That would have been the logical and right thing to do. However, the story ends with, “Master, forgive”. And that’s what Jesus does with us. When we are up to our necks in the muck and manure of sin or we have not been bearing the fruit that comes as a result of the love Jesus has shown to us, he could quite rightly say “Cut it down!” but instead he permits us to begin again with forgiveness and a new start. He did that with the disciples the first Easter and he does that with us.

No matter how you have failed in your walk with God, no matter how you have betrayed Jesus, remember what he said to those who had let him down so badly – “Peace, I forgive you. Sisters and brothers, I still love you”.

But it is not only the nature of God to forgive but it is also the nature of the Christians to forgive. “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’” Jesus breathes on his disciples reminding them how God breathed into Adam and gave him life. Here Jesus is breathing over his new creation and giving the invigorating life-breath of the Holy Spirit to those who will continue Jesus’ work of forgiveness and reconciliation after he is gone.

Jesus says, “I am sending you on a mission to announce the gospel of forgiveness but not only to talk about it but to make forgiveness a part of your everyday life. It is through forgiveness that the Holy Spirit cleanses, makes new, restores relationships and give us the peace that only Jesus can give”. In other words, Jesus is passing on to us the ministry of sharing forgiveness; to deal with others with grace and mercy even though it’s hard work especially if we feel we are the people who have been wronged.

We live as if every day is Easter Day. Just as forgiveness was very much a part of Jesus’ Easter appearances likewise forgiveness is very much part of the life of the disciple as we live out the victory of Jesus’ death and resurrection every day.

Bruce Prewer tells this story. A friend of mine was touring in England.  Among his delights was visiting not just cathedrals, but village churches which were steeped in generations of the joy and sorrow of ordinary Christians. Arriving in one village, he headed for the parish church, opened the door and stepped into its secluded beauty.

Near the back of the building, a man was kneeling and weeping. Without saying a word, my friend knelt a few paces away. When with a heavy sigh the villager sat up, the visitor put his hand gently on the man’s shoulder and said, “My friend, you seem to be doing it tough. Can I be of any assistance?”  The stranger, recognising genuine compassion, blurted out his story. Ten years earlier when he was in his late teens, he had committed a crime, was arrested, tried and sentenced. He had been free for nine months. But he still felt terribly ashamed and came (not on Sunday with others) but alone during each week to pray for the Lord’s help.

The visitor said, “But God forgives you. Forgives you utterly. You know that, don’t you? You don’t need to pray alone, you should be here on Sunday with other Christians.”

The stranger commenced to sob again, and then whispered, “Yes, I know God forgives me, but the people in my church and village don’t. Until they do, I am trapped with a feeling of ongoing disgrace. I cannot face them on Sunday. That is why I come here alone to pray during the week.” 

This is precisely what Jesus was saying to his disciples, “If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” This is where the rubber hits the road and this whole business of forgiveness becomes very challenging. Christ has commissioned us to offer forgiveness when relationships go wrong. And there is no doubt that friendships do go pear-shaped more often than we care to admit. We have a choice – either we make real the forgiveness of Christ in our lives and offer it to those who have offended us or we withhold our forgiveness and so tie everyone involved in the bonds of guilt.

We might say, “I don’t care if he/she feels guilty – it serves them right after what has been done to me”. But is that what Jesus is telling us in his Easter appearances? It’s easier to be unforgiving than to reach out with kindness and mercy and be reconciled with another person. That’s why Jesus says, “Receive the Holy Spirit” before he commissions his disciples to forgive people’s sins. It is only under the power of the Holy Spirit that this kind of forgiveness is possible.

To conclude, I’m sure that there are many amongst us here today who have had issues with people in the past and it seems that as much as we would like to do something about it, it is too late to be reconciled with that person. If that is the case, then we need to listen to Jesus as he speaks to his disciples. He knows our hearts and he knows our guilt and he says, “Peace be with you. Your sins are forgiven.”

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

The text: Acts 10:44-48 

In Acts 10 we hear about the conclusion of the incident where the Apostle Peter witnesses the way God wanted to include the Gentiles (those beyond Israel) in the promises of his kingdom. Peter witnessed God pouring out his Holy Spirit on the household of Cornelius and he said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptised with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have” (Acts 10:47).

This was God’s way of saying that all people are created equal. But has that message got through to us in 2021? We don’t really treat everyone as equal. If you go to board a plane at the airport you will see two separate lines: one for economy and one for business class. Of course, you have to pay for that privilege.

Money certainly talks loudly in our world. It grants access and rights, establishing all sorts of exclusive little clubs. It impacts on where you can afford to live, on what schools you can send your children to and on what kind of restaurants and shops you can afford to patronise. And it is not just money that creates this exclusivity.

It could be your culture or your bloodline or your level of education or your looks or your system of beliefs or any other number of factors that determine where you find yourself on the different pecking orders of life.

Sometimes there are very obvious distinctions – like in the Indian caste system where you have the untouchables at the bottom of the social rung. But there are also far more subtle distinctions, like ones we make in our society. We might not always be conscious of the way we alter our behaviour toward someone depending on their weight or clothes or hairstyle or whether they have tattoos. But we do it just the same.

But God is above this kind of thing, isn’t he? God is not about to judge us according to our skin colour or our bank balance or our fashion sense or the number of letters we have after our name or any of these other superficial distinctions.

Yet at times in the Old Testament it might not seem like this. From God’s promise to Abraham to “make you into a great nation, and I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2) came the nation of Israel—God’s chosen ones, the ones he favoured, the ones he rescued from the hands of slavery to the Egyptians and the ones he gave the Promised Land to at the exclusion of all other races and peoples.

By the time Jesus was born, in the land of the tribe of Judah in the line of the great Jewish King, David, the Jews had been reminded of their treasured status as God’s holy nation for more than two thousand years.

But with the coming of Jesus, the global aspect of God’s mission was emphasized. Jesus said that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:47) and he commanded his disciples to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

On the day of Pentecost, the Old Testament prophesy from Joel was fulfilled: “In the last days, God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people’” (Acts 2:17). The Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in other tongues so that people from all sorts of different nationalities could hear the good news of Jesus.

In today’s reading from Acts 10, Peter proclaims: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality’ (Acts 10:34). From a worldly point of view Cornelius had rights. As a centurion he was a VIP in the 1^st century Roman world. He went straight to the head of the queue. His position gave him power and prestige. He also appeared to have been well liked and respected in the broader community, including among the Jews. When some men went to fetch Simon Peter to meet with Cornelius they said to Peter: “He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people” (v22). 

All of these things counted in Cornelius’ favour in the pecking orders of the world. But none of them could gain him inclusion in God’s kingdom.

Now came the vital lesson that everyone needed to learn, a lesson that was driven home in no uncertain terms. Inclusion in God’s kingdom is always and only at the instigation of God and by his grace and power.

The parallels between what happened in Cornelius’ house and what happened on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem are unmistakeable—which has led many scholars to consider this account in Acts 10 as the Pentecost equivalent for the Gentiles. But we should really see both events as equally significant for Jew and Gentile alike as God seeks to communicate the universality and inclusivity of the Gospel of Jesus. 

In both cases, Acts 2 and Acts 10, the Holy Spirit was ‘poured out’ on the people who were gathered (Acts 2:17,33; 10:45). In both cases one of the manifestations of the Spirit was the speaking in different ‘tongues’ (Acts 2:3,4,6; 10:46). In both cases the response of those who witnessed it was ‘astonishment’ (Acts 2:7,12; 10:45). And in both cases the Spirit was referred to as ‘God’s gift’ (Acts 2:38; 10:45).

The result was a complete change in Peter’s attitude. It was no accident that God had drawn this key leader of the early church to the house of Cornelius to witness this. So Peter said: “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have” (Acts 10:47).

God sent his only Son, our Lord Jesus, to reconcile the world to himself. Inclusion in God’s kingdom is always and only by God’s grace and power. We might differ in the upbringing we have received and in the type of family we are from. We might differ on the amount of our salaries, on our level of education, on the quality of our clothes and homes and the number of tattoos we have. But there is no pecking order in God’s family.

There is no one who has a greater right to be here than anyone else and no one is here except by the work of the Holy Spirit who has included each of us. That should surely impact the way we view and treat each other. It should surely also impact the way we view and treat those who do not yet belong to God’s kingdom.

May we never make a judgment that the message of Jesus is not for any particular type of person for whatever reason. May we never stand in the way of anyone being received into God’s kingdom for any bias we might have. Instead, may we welcome all people equally with God’s love, even as he has welcomed each one of us—completely by grace! Amen.

The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

 Let’s  join in a word of  prayer: Loving Holy Spirit of  God, we are gathered so that you can reveal your presence in our lives to mould us into the people that we are destined to become as baptised children of God. God our Father, guide our time together this morning, that we may recognise your working in our lives in word and sacrament, to prune away all that is not of Christ Jesus.  Lord Jesus Christ, as we rejoice over your presence with us, and continue to live in the glory of your  resurrection, we pray in your name. Amen.

One of our favourite places to visit is the Hunter Valley.  Looking over the vineyards, and the beauty of the area.  Tasting the wines, olives, and other fruit produced in that area.  This week, I was drawn to the illustration that Merrill Tenney provides in his discussion of John’s Gospel, about vines branches and fruit. 

‘In pruning a vine, two principles are generally observed: first, all dead wood must be ruthlessly removed; and second, the live wood must be cut back drastically. Dead wood harbors insects and disease and may cause the vine to rot, to say nothing of being unproductive and unsightly.   Living wood must be trimmed back in order to prevent such heavy growth, that the life of the vine goes into the wood rather than into fruit.

The vineyards in the early spring look like a collection of barren stumps; but in the autumn the new branches are filled with luxuriant grapes. As the vinedresser wields the pruning knife on his vines, so God cuts dead wood out from within His saints, and often cuts back living wood so far that His method seems almost cruel. Nevertheless, from those who have suffered the most, there often comes the greatest fruitfulness. ^{(Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, pp. 227-28.)}

While a tree or vine is dormant, it’s difficult for most people to see which branches are alive and which branches are dead.   But I’m told that this is the best time to do the pruning.   

When things seem to be going really good in our lives, most people have a sense of confidence.  Whether that confidence is in God or in ourselves. I suspect that God, working through his Holy Spirit, finds this the most difficult of times to prune away all that is not of Christ Jesus and effect real change.

But in those times of our lives when things are going from good to bad to worse, people of faith often confront what needs to change in our lives and allow the Holy Spirit to effect those changes. So that we can regain a sense of joy and peace in living God’s way.

In our lives, I accept that the difficult times are times of pruning.   Clearing away the things in our lives that threaten our existence in Christ Jesus.  Painful times that bring self-reflection, repentance, redirection, and rededication.  We can be sure that the work of the Holy Spirit  is preserving the fruitful branches in each of us, nurturing our living faith.

I discovered that when a tree or vine awakens from being dormant.  Some of the branches begin to show new life.  Leaves, new shoots, and flowering fruit begin to appear.  While other branches remain lifeless.  It is during this time that the difference between the branches become noticeable.

It is during this time that the dead branches can be pruned away to make way for the living, growing, fruitful branches.  It’s clear to me that those around us will see the fruit growing on our branches before they notice the vine that is Christ Jesus.  The only way I can tell an orange tree from an apple tree is to notice the fruit.  The question we ask ourselves is “do we want others to notice the dead branches in our lives or the living fruitful branches.”

Christ Jesus says:  “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

The Apostle John tells us that ‘if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.”   As we abide in Christ Jesus, and live in his love, our Lord bears much fruit in us by his Holy Spirit.  Fruit of “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”.    

We see all this being worked out in the Deacon Philip who lived through a time when things went from bad to worse.  A time when Stephen, his fellow deacon, was stoned for proclaiming the Good News of Christ Jesus.  Persecution that arose against Christians from both Roman and Jewish circles. 

The Bible tells us that as the persecution grew, ‘those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.’  ^{(Acts 8:4–5 ESV)}

Through the persecution, God was pruning away the fear and anxiety, allowing the fruitful growth of courage and faith through the Gospel message.

As Philip lived that faith, showing the world the fruit of the Spirit, the Lord led him to one who was returning from Jerusalem.  One who had gone there to learn more about the God he found in the Scriptures.  One who would have been rejected at the Temple, and who would have  left the city unfulfilled, but still curious.  So God touched the lives of both Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch as he brought them together. 

One, abiding in Christ Jesus as a fruitful branch, and one seeking to be grafted into Christ Jesus to live as a fruitful branch.  What we learn from this is that we too can make a difference in someone’s life, just as Philip made a difference in the life of this eunuch.

I’m not sure that Philip was excited or even prepared to present Christ Jesus to a Gentile, a foreigner, a eunuch.  But Philip was prepared through God’s gift of Baptism and the precious Gospel message, and also the pruning of the Holy Spirit, to respond to the call of God when it was needed, in just the way it was needed. 

And so it is for us.  Most of us wouldn’t be prepared to stand on a street corner shouting the Scriptures, or even to sit with a group of people gently sharing the Gospel.  But I am convinced that each of us is prepared to follow the leading of Christ Jesus in whom we abide.  To witness the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our attitudes, actions and words, as we engage with those around us every day.  That is all the Lord expects of us.  As we abide in Christ Jesus by the faith he gives us, we can live in the confidence of our right relationship with God our Father, with God the Son and with God the Holy Spirit.

And, if we are ever confused about whether we are connected to Christ Jesus, in whom we abide, we can take a moment to contemplate our own navels.    

Our belly button is a constant reminder that we all started life abiding in another human being.  God’s Holy Spirit is the constant witness that we are abiding in Christ Jesus, by that feeling, deep in our gut, that we are not alone. That we are loved.

As branches, grafted onto the vine, Jesus calls us to be fruitful witnesses of the miracle of forgiveness and love, right here in the Mid North Coast.    To demonstrate our connection to each other by showing our forgiveness, and our connection to God by showing our love.  To join our hearts with a new sister in Christ through the gift of baptism, praising our Savour.

And  so, the grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the Saviour of all.   AMEN.

Rev David Thompson.