This week’s Readings and Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter
The Collect for this Sunday
Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life: raise us, who trust in him, from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, that we may seek those things which are above, where he reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and shall be forever. Amen
The New Testament Lesson for this Sunday is from the book of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9 verses 36 to 43
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’ 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The 2nd New Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the Book of the Revelation of St John, Chapter 7, verses 9-17
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ 25 Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.’
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
The Gospel reading for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel according to St John, Chapter 10, verses 22-30
Hear the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, according to Luke Glory to You, o Lord !
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ 25 Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to You, o Christ !
The sermon this week is delivered by Rev Chich Hewitt
Last week, in Matthew’s thoughtful sermon on Forgiveness, Peter and Paul were central characters. Peter was reminded of his threefold denial of Jesus, when Jesus asked Peter three times, if he loved him. Jesus then said to Peter, ‘Follow me’. Paul was seeking active persecution of Christians, when he was converted on the road to Damascus, and was given instructions to seek out a disciple, Ananias, who would pray with him and heal him of the blindness which had struck him on the road. As the passage continued, Paul immediately began to preach Jesus. This resulted in him having to escape Damascus by being let over the wall in a basket. While not part of our theme it is worth noting the important role played by a favourite apostle of mine, Barnabas, who verified Paul as authentic before doubtful disciples in Jerusalem. Paul preached in Jerusalem and again had to escape the ire of the authorities, this time to Tarsus.
The whole Paul story has been told in the action-packed Acts Chapter 9. But Acts 9 has still more to yield bringing us to our passage today. The story goes back to Peter, who was continuing his ministry here, there and everywhere, arriving in Lydda. Here he brought healing to a paralysed man, and word about him got around quickly. This is where our lesson began today. Peter was called to journey quickly to nearby Joppa, We are not told if he knew why he had been summoned, but this is where our lesson picks up today. A well-loved woman had died, and there was some expectation that Peter could do something about it.
Did he experience deja vu? This story of the raising of Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, is very similar to one of Jesus’ miracles where Peter was present. You may remember that Jesus was asked by a synagogue official to come and pray with his daughter who was very ill. On the journey he was waylaid by a woman suffering from haemorrhages, whom he healed. In the meantime the young girl had died, but Jesus still went to the official’s house accompanied by Peter, James and John. Onlookers were mourning the death of this young girl, and they laughed at Jesus when he said she was just sleeping. Jesus raised her-to the astonishment of of all, and Peer was a witness. Peter must have had this incident in his mind as he was now called on to perform something similar. Dorcas was a competent seamstress, and the mourners were tearfully looking at the clothes she had made. When Jesus performed his miracle, he asked all to leave the room, save for his 3 disciples. Peter now asked the mourning widows to leave the room, and he was on his own. Or was he? He knelt down and prayed. In the power of the Spirit he had heard Jesus say to the young girl, ‘Talitha cum’, meaning ‘little girl, get up;. Similarly Peter said to Dorcas by her other name, ‘Tabitha, get up’. He took her hand and and presented her to the astonished widows; the story of this miracle spread rapidly.
We are still in the Easter season, and we continue to hear resurrection stories. Where does this leave us today? It is a hard question. There is a school of thought which suggests that there are different dispensations, and that these incidents happened during a previous dispensation, but that is now past, and such things no longer occur. Another school of thought says that miracles still occur, although it is obvious that when this happens they are less frequent. Some say it is only when the right amount of faith is shown, that things happen, but this, I believe, takes us into dangerous waters, where sometimes the blame is placed on the one seeking healing. And then, why do some experience healing, and others do not?
The whole area of healing and miracles is complex, and would best be dealt with in a discussion group, because it is a fascinating and important topic. In brief, I believe that miracles do still occur, but that they are there as a foretaste of something greater that lies above and ahead of us - if you like- a brief window into a greater reality.
Resurrection is part of a bigger reality. We hear remarkable stories in scripture, and at this time of year, stories of resurrection. How do these relate to the world in which we live now? What meaning does that resurrection event so long ago have for us today? Certainly that Christ is alive, which is real and essential. But I think it needs to go further.
Recently I came across something in a daily reading which I follow, which I found helpful. The thoughts come from Brian McLaren, a priest and author. I have read one of his books which I found useful with regard to climate change and life through and after that.
It is a long quote, but one which helps us engage with the meaning today of an event which happened so very long ago.
What might happen if every Easter we celebrated the resurrection not merely as the resuscitation of a single corpse nearly two millennia ago, but more-as the ongoing resurrection of all humanity through Christ? Easter could be the annual affirmation of our ongoing resurrection from violence to peace, from fear to faith, from hostility to love, from a culture of consumption to a culture of stewardship and generosity …and in all these ways and more, from death to life. What if our celebration of Easter was so radical in its meaning that it tempted tyrants and dictators everywhere to make it illegal, because it represents the ultimate scandal; an annual call for creative and peaceful insurrection against all status quos based on fear, hostility, exclusion and violence? What if we never stopped making Easter claims about Jesus in AD 33, but always continued by making Easter claims on us today - declaring that now is the time to be raised from the deadness of fear, hostility, exclusion, and violence to walk in what Paul called “newness of life”? What if Easter was about our ongoing resurrection “in Christ”- in a new humanity marked by a strong-benevolent identity as Christ-embodying peacemakers, enemy lovers, offence-forgivers, boundary-crossers and movement builders? What kind of character would this kind of liturgical year form in us? How might the world be changed because of it?
Brian McLaren then ends with a poem from a retired Episcopalian bishop, Stephen Charleston, which would be a fitting ending this morning.
Rise up, faithful friends.Wake up, sleepers in the shadows. Wake up to see bright banners on your horizon. Wake up to see your redemption coming to you, the answer to so many of your prayers, the fulfilment of your dream from long ago. Rise up, faithful friends, to shout the good news to the morning sun: justice has arrived at last, mercy has returned, love has won the day. Rise up, good people of many lands, for this is the moment of change, the time when hope starts to be real and truth begins to speak to every courageous heart. Wake up, rise up and rejoice!
The Post Communion Prayer for this Sunday
Merciful Father, you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd, and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again: keep us always under his protection, and give us grace to follow in his steps; through Jesus Christ our Lord.. Amen