SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2023 | EASTER - FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (A)

Notes

Acts

The church of Acts was expecting the second coming of Jesus at any moment - so they acted like it.

1 Peter

Do not seek wordly approval, but that of God’s

John

Jesus likens himself to being a gate for the sheep - a gateway to an abundant life; others promise abundance, but it is a false one

Good morning,

Look at that! The texts are fairly short this week, actually :) The worship assistant is getting a little bit of a break and so do I :) We are entering the phase of remembrances of Easter - less about appearances and more highlights of Jesus’ teachings.

But let’s look at the Acts reading first, which stresses that the early Christians were living in a tight knit community, expecting the second coming of Jesus at any moment, so things like possessions or class were less important. Something that is rather hard to sustain in the long term as we learn later from Paul’s letters that Paul was collecting an offering for the Jerusalem Christians. But that is in the future and meanwhile there is a lot of excitement and commitment to endure until Jesus comes again, which is somewhat illustrated in 1 Peter: “if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval” (1 Peter 2:20).

And I think that was the important bit - they had to hold on, even as the second coming did not materialize within their lifetimes and persecution and oppression would come. And into this comes John’s text - this gospel was probably compiled quite late, but the material used could have been earlier Christianity. And I think the message of this passage is relevant as ever - we need to keep sight of the gate that is Jesus by which we may enter into an abundant life. There may have been others that claimed the same, but they weren’t it.

Abundant life may bring up various connotations, of course - some Christians throughout the centuries only focused on it as the kingdom/heaven to come, while the present reality…eh, may go various ways and we have to simply try and endure it, which is of course much easier for the wealthy and privileged. Yes, religion was sometimes used as an opium, an opiate to the masses, so that they do not challenge the status quo and we keep on truckin’. Which…given what Jesus did, is quite a bit of a paradox. He most certainly did challenge the status quo, he wasn’t just recruiting people for heaven. May your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven, Father!

Just like the kingdom is coming and yet to come at the same time, so it is with abundance that is both here in this world and yet to be revealed to us. It is not quite the capitalistic abundance however…I like the saying: there is enough for everyone’s need, but not everyone’s greed. I think it is a little bit of a circle - we receive abundance, but we also need to learn about God’s abundance, so that we may recognize it - it is not always obvious and without guidance, we may simply assume that God is not active in our lives and in the world. A wafer/piece of bread and a small cup of wine or grape juice does not seem like much without all the understanding behind it. That such a small amount is feeding in ways that unlimited breadsticks or unlimited fountain drink refills cannot. It is not the quantity that counts, but quality. It is how we can cram so much meaning into one hour of worship, which is of course only 1/168th of the whole week. It is how a few verses of the Bible may carry more crucial information than all the books of Russian classics. It is how a hymn may express a yearning and devotion in ways that a 4 season docuseries on the subject cannot.

Do you see what I am trying to get to? Abundance does not necessary mean that we are all gonna live until we are 104, but with God we are guaranteed to have intriguing meaning and a worthy mission at hand that some may spend fruitlessly seeking their whole lives without. We may not all have millions in our accounts, but we are guided for living in graceful abundance, trusting that God will provide and sustain. We may not all have Master’s degrees, but we are ushered into God’s knowledge and wisdom that is abundant and priceless. There is plenty of companies that are trying to sell us abundance - reach your fitness abundance with our training program, this special pill is a key to your health abundance, if only you buy this product, it will bring you emotional abundance..However, as this text tells us - true abundance that can be found in God and God’s reign is not a product or a commodity, but God’s merciful gift free for all. It cannot be earned, bought, sold, or transferred. Some try anyway, but such abundance turns into a mere shadow of God’s glory and love, twisted by our greed and hoarding.

Beloveds, we all live in a world that has its ideas about what “abundant” means. Expensive cars, large houses, stuffed retirement accounts, a large family etc. But our primary abundance lies in God and God’s plan for us - through Jesus, which is the gate, we are invited to live on God’s pasture, where abundant life awaits. It may look different from the world’s ideas, but in God’s economy, there is enough for everyone with no need to compete for resources. Let us lean into this abundance this Easter season - let us interact with each other and the world as if there is enough love, mercy, and justice for everyone with no need to compete for it. Jesus is the gate and we too can be the shepherds leading others onto the abundant pasture. Amen.