SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2023 - SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (6A)

Acts:

Within bounds: Paul appeals to the Greeks, using their culture, to reach them for Jesus

Out of bounds: Before: Paul was distressed by many idols in Athens…he peeked the interests of Epicureans and Stoics - come tell us more in the Aeropagus (public square for discussion]

After:

32 When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 At that point Paul left them. 34 But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ac 17:32–34.

It worked for some and it didn’t work for others…some remained on the fence.

1 Peter

Suffering for the right things better than for evil - just like Jesus did

baptism likened to the flood - who heeds the call to be saved -> will be washed not of dirt

Revised Common Lectionary 5-14-2023: Sixth Sunday of Easter

but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

John:

Advocate - Holy Spirit - Spirit of Truth - inspiring

Love all around

Good morning church!

The spring is in full swing and slowly heading to its end, just like our Easter season. Ascension of the Lord is next week, so we are wrapping up the teachings to make way for it.

But first, let’s look at the texts. First, we have Acts, where we see Paul appealing to the Greeks, using their culture to reach them for Jesus - his rhetoric is sure clever. Just before, we learn that he was distressed by the many idols worshipped in Athens, so he talked about Jesus and his resurrection anywhere he could - in the synagogue and also in the marketplace. So much so, that he caught the interest of the Athenian philosophers, Stoics and Epicureans ( one way that championed a personal religion that raises souls toward the cosmic God and the other seeing natural evil as a challenge to a belief in God) and they asked him to tell them more in the public discussion space of Aeropagus, the rock of Ares in the city, a center consisting of temples, cultural facilities, and a high court. And after his speech as recorded, there is also a response - some scoffed, other were intrigued, and some other still found him and became believers. After that, he left for Corinth.

The 1 Peter reading gives us two basic messages - if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed for Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring us to God. And secondly, He links baptism to Noah’s flood, but before he does that, there is a little tidbit of information that we use as the basis of the belief that Jesus descended to Hell and preached the Good news to them after he died and before he was resurrected:

Revised Common Lectionary 5-14-2023: Sixth Sunday of Easter

He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

And the same opportunity to be saved can be found in baptism - not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Revised Common Lectionary (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2009).

And finally, we have our John reading, where Jesus calls on us to show our love for him by keeping his commandments. And also promises to send the Holy Sprit, Advocate, the Spirit of truth that is with us and in us. And then he closes by describing the circle of love that is between us, Jesus and God the father:

Revised Common Lectionary 5-14-2023: Sixth Sunday of Easter

They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.

Oh boy, we’ve got a lot to talk about again, don’t we? So let’s dig in.

I see the common theme as God’s love and mercy. Again, as last week with discipleship, not a unique theme, for every sermon has it somewhere, but a good solo focus to have every once in a while.

In Acts, we see a reformed persecutor of the church, just last week he was holding the coats of the stoners of St. Stephen, turned into an apostle that travels around, reaching not only fellow Jews, for which the leap into Christianity wouldn’t be such a stretch at the time, but also Greeks that were polytheists (believers in multiple gods), followers of more anthropocentric philosophies, and pagans. God’s love and mercy flows through Jesus into Paul and then further onto others. In 1Peter, we learn that Jesus descended to Hell/to the dead and preached the Good News to them, for baptism is for the living, which is thus present here for us, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And in John, we learn of the abundant mercy that comes through the Holy Spirit, Advocate and the Spirit of truth that is with us and in us and we are to be never again alone. It is obvious that our God is a great lover and one that wants everyone to have an abundant life.

No ifs, no buts, no whens… God’s love and care is unconditional - there is nothing we can do to deserve it, it is the birthright of humanity. There is enough of conditionality in the world around us - you have to be deserving to have healthcare, you have to do the right things to be deemed a good citizen worthy of the rights, you have to have good credit and plenty of disposable cash enough to buy a house, you have to look a certain way or behave a certain way to be respected and listened to. We go through life and all kinds of requirements are put on us. And then, of course, some people will not pass all the requirements and fall behind, going into bottomless debt, experiencing exclusion from society, and even legal consequences. And maybe that was just for needing a life-saving surgery or being slightly different than others. As today is the one year anniversary of the tragic and racially motivated Buffalo, New York supermarket shooting, where all 10 victims were Black, we are also reminded that whole communities are judged worthy or unworthy of protection, funding, and care.

None of that in God’s kingdom and just like Paul we are redeemed enemies of God, ministering to a world in need of reconciliation with God with all its pettiness, hunger for power, fear of difference, hoarding, and violence. As an example, on this Mother’s day, let us make sure that we celebrate ALL mothers and advocate not only for their appreciation, but also protection, so that a color of their skin or family background do not determine their maternal mortality rate or the support available to them in their motherhood.

But fear not, there is Advocate and the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit to guide us through it all. Let us lean into that and keep spreading the mercy onward. Amen.