Abide
This sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year A 6th
Sunday of Easter,
Readings:
Psalm
Psalm: 66:8-19
First Reading: Acts
17:22-31
Second Reading: 1 Peter
3:13-22
Gospel: John
14:15-21
What I want to say:
The
gift of the Spirit is that the glory of God resides in each one of us, that all
may be drawn into the way of God – the way of compassion, generosity, justice
and love.
What I want to
happen:
People to reflect on this awesome
gift, and awesome responsibility.
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Season of Easter which still in
is 50 days from Easter Sunday until Pentecost
time for us to reflect on what resurrection
means for us today
what it means for us to live resurrected lives
resurrected lives – what does that mean
resurrected from what?
2. Resurrection
for most last five years I have been saying,
on and off
that too often Christians have thought that
point of Christianity is getting us into heaven
resurrection then becomes something that
happens way in the future
but I have been saying from biblical point of
view
point Christianity is God’s honouring of the
eternal covenant with this world and humanity,
that humanity would be restored
as
St. Augustine of Hippo said
we
are reminded that we are made in image of God
God’s
love and compassion resides in heart of each of us
and creation renewed
resurrection begins when we are freed from
death of worshipping false idols
false idols of power
wealth
security
placing
ourselves first
3. John
to help us explore all this
lectionary writers have offered us various
passages from John’s gospel
particularly passages that help us into some
of the big themes of John’s gospel
2 weeks ago we explored the big themes of life
life
eternal
life
abundant
life
met again last week as we explored what Jesus
might have meant by
he being the way, truth and life.
this week we continue to hear Jesus last words
to his disciples
continues one themes also heard last week
theme first introduced in great prologue of John’s
gospel
theme of abiding
God father abiding in Jesus
Jesus abiding in God father
Jesus abiding in us
we abiding in Jesus
so much abiding
so how might we understand all this abiding?
4. Exile
For those who were with Jesus
all
of whom were Jews
and for John’s hearers
thought most of whom were also Jews
it has been suggested that this is all about
shekinah
glory
of God
presence
of God in temple
lets tell the story of God’s presence in the
temple
God back to exodus
When God honoured covenant -= made with
Abraham
bless Abraham’s descendants so that they might
be a blessing
might be the mean by which God’s promise to
all people and creation would be honoured
God chose Moses to lead people out slavery
into
promised land
glory God – shekinah of God
led them as pillar cloud in day
pillar
flame at night
when eventually claimed Land
given Torah to show them how to live in
presence of God
to live as a blessing
at that time glory God first resided in tent
of tabernacle
then
in temple once build by Solomon
in
Holy of Holies
but over time people God forgot who they were
forgot that were to be a blessing for all people
worshipped false idols of power, greed, wealth
put Torah to one side
powerful enslaved poor
forgetting
that they had all once been slaves
either ignoring the aliens or treating them
with contempt
result was fall both kingdoms
destruction of Jerusalem
destruction of the temple
people taken into exile
glory God left temple
left the land.
In some ways the exile ended when Nehemiah and
Ezra returned
In some ways it ended when temple was rebuilt
But in reality the exile continued
glory God did not return
while Herod's rebuilding of temple was magnificent
God was not present
people longed for day
glory God would return
God would once again be among people God
Israel would be blessed to be a blessing.
5. Jesus is the glory – we are the glory
which brings us to John
the prologue makes it clear that glory returns
this time not to the temple
but in person of Jesus
The man Jesus is the long awaited return of
the glory of God
In Jesus, the exile is ended.
so when John has Jesus say that he abides in
the father
and the father abides in him
he is saying that he is the shekinah of God
covenant is fulfilled
Israel is restored
through Israel humanity is restored
creation will be renewed.
But Jesus goes further
Jesus says to his bewildered and grief
stricken disciples
I will abide in you
and if I abide in you
my father will abide in you.
or
you too will be the glory of God
you and I
when we live the way of Jesus
we are the glory of God
what an amazing gift
what as amazing responsibility.
6. Truth
want to finish with some thoughts on this word
truth
what is meant by that
The
Greek word which is translated into English as "truth" is alethea.
“"Lethe"
is the river in Greek mythology that the dead drank from in Hades in order to
forget their past.
And
so "a-lethea" - truth – is opposite
has the sense of: waking up; remembering; overcoming
oblivion and stupor; being alive and vital; not being deceived by false ideas
or desires or scams; SEEING what is as it actually is.”[1]
Today
Jesus says that not only do we abide in risen Christ and risen Christ abide in
us
but
he also sends the Spirit of Truth to be our advocate
The
Spirit of Truth wakes us up from our forgetting who we are,
Spirit reminds us that we are made in the image of
love.
reminds us that we are glory God present in our
families
in
our communities
in
this world.
7. Resurrected Life
began this morning by wondering
what is resurrected life
resurrected life is when we
remember who we are
resurrected life is when we
live way of God
resurrected life is when we
embrace that glory God resides within us
and we live that out in our
everyday lives
what
does it mean to be reminded that the glory of God is within us?
how do we live this out?
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