Second Sunday of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III
The very subtle change of the preposition of for after (as evidenced in the title of this Sunday as the Second Sunday of Easter) indicates the restoration of the fifty-day emphasis upon the resurrection of the Lord. This, as indicated earlier, is a partial return to the primitive church year. It is intended to give Easter its due as the pivotal season - the Great Fifty Days - of the liturgical year. Lent, in the liturgical churches, has actually displaced Easter in public and private worship: extra services are planned in many churches, private worship aids in the form of devotional booklets, prayers and individual liturgical tools, offering envelopes, and other items, are developed on the national and local level - and rightly so. Human beings are sinful and need a season of penitential exercises annually. They need to recognize their sin, be called back to Christ and the cross, and reorder their lives in accordance with the will and intentions of God. But Lent seems to leave a kind of spiritual exhaustion. Easter Day is celebrated enthusiastically, but Eastertide, in too many parishes, is a time of diminution of the joy, thanksgiving, and the new life that comes to those who begin the Easter festivities.
The entire Easter Cycle - Lent's forty days and Easter's fifty days - ought to be given equal emphasis in the parishes for theological reasons, but they aren't. Lent is the essential season, if one measures its impact upon the lives of the faithful. Easter is the secondary season - or even a one-day season - in the Easter Cycle. The churches have allowed their theology of the cross to develop to the point that the resurrection is simply a conclusion to the passion and death of Jesus, instead of the beginning of new life, mature faith and hope in the people of God. Repentance is an ingredient of baptism, and is necessary for the regular daily spiritual discipline that the people of God must engage in. It requires them to acknowledge their sin, to recognize the results of sin (separation from God and other people and death) and to make a complete turnabout with the help of God. Lent is the time when that turnabout begins; Easter is the season when repentant sinners, assured by the resurrection that God still is on their side, allow the Good News to reshape the pattern of their lives once more. The ninety days of Lent and Easter are really the model for one day - every day - in the lives of the baptized believers. Dying to sin and rising to new life every day are Lent and Easter and baptism as a continuing force in human and divine relationships in microcosm. Preaching during the fifty days of Easter, therefore, will seek to develop baptismal awareness and its theological implications for the people of God.
The Prayer of the Day
Attempts to revise the classic collect for this Sunday, formerly the First Sunday after Easter, have not been successful. They tend to throw the Easter event into an activity that has been concluded. The LBW prayer begins this way: "Almighty God, we have celebrated [emphasis mine] with joy the festival of our Lord's resurrection." It would seem that the rest of the prayer is dominated by that past-tense beginning, so that the petition seems weakened: "Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection in all that we say and do." The collect in the older Common Service Book has more of a baptismal - and present-tense - orientation, highlighting God's activity in, and our response to, the resurrection of Jesus; "Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that we who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith...." Both call for a continuing response to the resurrection, but the second may have a better theological orientation.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 111 (E) - This psalm is appropriate for this, or any other, Sunday in the Easter season. It expresses the kind of joy and thanksgiving which the faithful should reflect in their worship and lives during Easter. It is especially well-suited to the continuation of the Easter theme.
Great are the deeds of the Lord! They are studied by all who delight in them ... He makes his marvelous works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion ... He has shown his people the power of his works ... He sent redemption to his people; he commanded his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name.
The psalm ends on a familiar note: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures forever."
Psalm 118:2-4, 15c-16a, 17-18, 22-24 (R); 118: 19-24 (E) - The Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches are unanimous in appointing this psalm for the principal worship service of Easter in all three years/cycles/series. Comments on it were made in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook III, Cycle A, as well as in last Sunday's studies of the biblical texts assigned to Easter. Since this psalm is used so frequently in the Easter season, the preacher might want to consider - and develop - the preaching themes in it against the Gospel of Easter.
The readings:
Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26 (E); 3:13-15, 17-26 (L)
In the original version of the Roman Catholic Ordo, the first lesson appointed was also used by the Lutheran and possibly the Episcopal Church. Later revisions saw Acts 3 substituted for Acts 4, which had been assigned to the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B. In this pericope, Peter turns the healing of a crippled beggar into an occasion for preaching the Gospel to the Jews in the temple. His is a type of law/gospel sermon, in which he con-demns them for rejecting and crucifying Jesus, whom God sent to save them from their sins. He calls upon them to repent their actions and "turn again, that your sins may be blotted out." He shows them that God sent Jesus as the "new Moses," whose task it was to initiate a new "exodus" - not from Pharaoh and Egypt, but from sin and death. He makes it clear that Jesus, according to the scriptures and the prophets, had to suffer, that Jesus is the Messiah whom God had promised to deliver his people. The "repent" and "turn again" themes are baptismally - and Easter - oriented and deserve consideration by parish preachers.
Acts 4:32-35 (R, C)
Here Luke recounts what had been reported to him (or what he had discovered in his literary sources about the effect that the resurrection and ascension had upon the disciples and the people who embraced the Christian faith. He talks specifically about the economic and social impact, which resulted in a form of communal living in which all property became the property of the community. This seems to have resulted from the fact that "with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." The early Christians really loved one another and took care of the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ: "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need." Some Christian groups continue to emulate this model to this day.
1 John 1:1--2:2 (C)
While a decidedly different selection from those of the other lectionaries, this is quite appropriate for the Second Sunday of Easter. It documents the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, affirming what the author and others had seen for themselves and going on to expound the truth that Jesus is the light come from God and that "in him there is no darkness." The familiar theme of walking in darkness and light is explicated, so that the readers will comprehend that those who walk in darkness - those who sin - destroy their fellow-ship with Christ, while those who walk in the light have fellowship with Jesus. They know that their sins are forgiven, because he has cleansed all from sin. He states: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Confession, as the expression of true repentance and faith, is accepted by Jesus, who forgives us. John declares that he is the "expiation for our sins.... (and) also for the sins of the whole world." He will always be the heavenly advocate for repentant sinners. John says that he is "writing this to you so that you may not sin." Obedience, as new creatures in Christ, is the imperative of Easter.
1 John 5:1-6 (R, E, L)
The traditional epistle for the First Sunday after Easter was 1 John 5:4-12. This reading, which obviously precedes it, was thought to be more appropriate for this Sunday, because it connects the resurrection with baptism in the "Easter life" of the faithful. Those who confess that Jesus is the Christ, and who profess their love for him, will also love one another and, thereby, keep his commandments. John makes the profound statement that "whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith." Those who "believe" (and as Matthew declares, "and are baptized") will not only be saved; they will also overcome the world, probably by the process of living out their baptism in a cycle of dying by repentance and rising to new life every day. Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God will overcome the world. His baptism by water was only completed by a baptism of blood on the cross. He, the dead but risen Lord, enables us to be faithful to him and to keep our baptismal vows, thereby celebrating his death and resurrection in our daily lives.
John 20:19-31
This is the traditional Gospel for the Day for the First Sunday after Easter. It has been transferred to this Sunday - the Second Sunday of Easter - in all three years of the lectionary. It was commented on in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook III, Cycle A. What should be remembered is that this pericope includes the first two appearances to the disciples after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden on the day of his resurrection. (Remember that Peter and the "other disciples" did not see the Lord when they ran to the grave-site after hearing that it had been opened. Mary, however, stayed there when they departed and was rewarded for her perseverance and genuine grief. She saw him first as the resurrected Christ.) The familiar story of "doubting Thomas" is recounted, because he was not present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples in the upper room. He asserted - until he actually encountered the risen Lord a week later - that he would not believe that Jesus was alive unless he could see him and touch him for himself. His was a problem that has dogged the church ever since: How can we believe when we cannot see the Lord for ourselves? How can we believe that Christ is risen when all we have to go on is the word of the disciples and the first eye-witness to his resurrection? Sight is not necessary for faith, of course; seeing is believing in matters of science, but not in matters of faith. The disciples and others were allowed to view the risen Lord, not simply to confirm their faith in him, but to prepare them for their mission as witnesses to the Good News in the world. When he appeared that first time, he "breathed on them" and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." He similarly prepares us to be his witnesses in our baptism.
A Sermon on the Gospel, John 20:19-31 - "Sealed by the Holy Spirit."
A significant, if subtle, change was made in the new formula in the LBW by making the sign of the cross on the head of people after they had been baptized. The older order located the "signing" close to the beginning of the baptismal liturgy and made it optional. The pastor declared, "Let us call upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of his goodness and mercy he will receive this child by baptism and make him/her a living member of his holy church." A rubric follows: "Then may the Minister make the sign of the cross on the Child's forehead, saying, 'Receive the sign of the holy cross, in token hence-forth that thou shalt know the Lord, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.' " The new order places the "signing" after the water has been applied and the baptismal formula has been recited. It is not an option, as the rubric indicates: "The minister marks the sign of the cross on the forehead of each of the baptized. Oil prepared for this purpose may be used. As the sign of the cross is made, the minister says, '___, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.' " It is Jesus Christ, the ever-lasting Son of God, who through the Holy Spirit "seals" us into the kingdom of the Father and makes the "mark" of the cross indelible.
1. This happened, first, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in that upper room on Easter evening. He "sealed" them (all except Thomas) with the Holy Spirit and put the keys to the kingdom in their hands.
2. Thomas had not received the Holy Spirit. No wonder he couldn't believe! Who can believe without the working of the Holy Spirit within? Thomas thought that all he needed was to see and touch the Lord, and that would be enough. He was wrong - but he did get to see the Lord the next week, and he believed.
3. Belief in the Lord Jesus is never a matter of actually seeing Christ; it is always a matter of faith and, for that, believers need the power of the Holy Spirit. Couldn't Thomas have said, were he present on that first occasion, "I just can't believe what I am seeing; I can't believe my eyes"? Faith comes through the word, the water, and the Holy Spirit - not through sight or touch.
4. In baptism, therefore, we "are sealed by the Holy Spirit," much as the disciples were, and we are indeed "marked with the cross of Christ forever." The word of the witnesses - of the Gospel - is enough for us. "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!"
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26 (E); 3:13-15, 17-26 (L) - "Converting the Curious to Christ."
A couple of pastor friends, with whom I had been sitting at a charismatic conference, later told me what they had seen after the particular service we had been involved in had concluded. They followed a group of people out into a corridor because they heard someone say, "The Healer is coming down the hail." As they watched, a rather ordinary-looking man, with a small retinue of people following him, moved toward them. They were close to a woman seated in a wheelchair and, as the men came close to them, a man pushed the wheelchair right out in front of the man who was, of course, the one they called "The Healer." My friends said that the woman addressed him: "My one leg is shorter than the other as the result of an accident. It is such a bad condition that I can't get around without crutches or a wheelchair. Please help me." "The Healer" immediately responded to her plea. He put one hand on her head and the other on the short leg, and then he closed his eyes and prayed to God, asking God to heal her. The pastors, who were eye-witnesses, said that they couldn't believe what they saw. The woman's short leg began to grow until it was the same length as the other leg. "I couldn't believe my eyes," one of them said. "I've never seen anything like it." For some time later, every time I saw either one of them, they wanted to discuss the miracle which they had seen because they didn't think that sort of thing could actually happen - even in the name of Jesus Christ.
1. When the cripple outside the temple asked for alms, Peter gave him what he had to give - the gift of healing in the name of Jesus Christ. This turned out to be far more than the man ever expected. He was healed and he went into a dance of joy, all the way into the temple.
2. The curious crowd that had seen the miracle followed them into the temple, hoping to see more of the same. They, too, got more than they expected. They heard a sermon by Peter, which made spiritual cripples out of them, and then offered them healing in Jesus' name.
3. Christ always gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want or desire. His gift to us is forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life - and that gift brings us comfort and assurance and hope. We may not see the risen Lord, but his word comes to us - and that's enough.
4. So, God's gracious gifts come to us through his beloved Son, our risen Lord Jesus Christ, as we drink in his words - and they are more than sufficient for our deepest needs.
Acts 4:32-35 (R, C) - "The Unified Community."
A local television station ran a special documentary program every night this week about a group of Christians - which they call a "cult." The community is called "Christ's Household of Faith," and it has become somewhat controversial, just as the early church must have been. The members of the community have a common residence, although some live in houses "off campus" that are owned by the community. They share everything - worship and study time, work, meals, money, and even recreation. They have a business - remodelling kitchens - and have gained the reputation as careful workmen. (I suspect that they will have more work than they can accept after this TV series.) They have their own school and have produced outstanding sports teams, especially in boys' and girls' basketball. But they are different; they really believe that Christians ought to live this way. So didpeople in the early church.
1. That was what the church was - united in Christ - and willing to share everything they had with one another. "See how these Christians love one another," the pagan world remarked upon seeing their love in action.
2. That's what the church should continue to be - not necessarily a communally-organized body, but a community whose members love one another and take care of each other to the best of their ability. The church is, and has to be, a caring community.
3. When the love that people have for their Lord and each other has practical expression, they engage in one of the most effective forms of evangelism. People know that the Christians, who live caring lives, really believe what they profess in their creeds and conversation with others. The non-Christians then want to become part of that caring community.
4. The church lives and grows on the words of the Lord Jesus, "Love one another as I have loved you."
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 John 1:1--2:2 (C) - "Effective Witnesses."
1. John and the other disciples were effective witnesses to the Gospel because they heard and saw what happened to Jesus Christ. The death and resurrection of Jesus prepared them for their ministry to others.
2. The purpose of their witness - and of witnessing today - is to bring people into the fellowship of those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
3. True witnessing involves facing up to sin (one's own sin) - realistically - and assuring others that God forgives every sin through our advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ our Lord.
4. Christ died for all people,r not merely for the Jews, so that all sinners might be forgiven and brought into the company of the redeemed in the risen Lord.
1 John 5:1-6 (R, E, L) - "How to Overcome the World."
1. Belief in Jesus as the Son of God makes people - through baptism - children of God.
2. Those who love God will also love his children and demonstrate that love by keeping the commandments of the Lord. Christians love one another because they love their Lord, Jesus Christ.
3. Love for Christ overcomes the world when nothing else can, for Jesus has overcome the world. His victory began at the Jordan River, with water, and was completely accomplished at the cross, with his blood.
4. Overcoming the world, therefore, means that we will live out our baptism in Christ's love until it is finally completed at the end of this life. Baptism is a process that is begun with water, the word, and the Holy Spirit and continues as long as we live. "We shall indeed overcome" in Jesus Christ.
The entire Easter Cycle - Lent's forty days and Easter's fifty days - ought to be given equal emphasis in the parishes for theological reasons, but they aren't. Lent is the essential season, if one measures its impact upon the lives of the faithful. Easter is the secondary season - or even a one-day season - in the Easter Cycle. The churches have allowed their theology of the cross to develop to the point that the resurrection is simply a conclusion to the passion and death of Jesus, instead of the beginning of new life, mature faith and hope in the people of God. Repentance is an ingredient of baptism, and is necessary for the regular daily spiritual discipline that the people of God must engage in. It requires them to acknowledge their sin, to recognize the results of sin (separation from God and other people and death) and to make a complete turnabout with the help of God. Lent is the time when that turnabout begins; Easter is the season when repentant sinners, assured by the resurrection that God still is on their side, allow the Good News to reshape the pattern of their lives once more. The ninety days of Lent and Easter are really the model for one day - every day - in the lives of the baptized believers. Dying to sin and rising to new life every day are Lent and Easter and baptism as a continuing force in human and divine relationships in microcosm. Preaching during the fifty days of Easter, therefore, will seek to develop baptismal awareness and its theological implications for the people of God.
The Prayer of the Day
Attempts to revise the classic collect for this Sunday, formerly the First Sunday after Easter, have not been successful. They tend to throw the Easter event into an activity that has been concluded. The LBW prayer begins this way: "Almighty God, we have celebrated [emphasis mine] with joy the festival of our Lord's resurrection." It would seem that the rest of the prayer is dominated by that past-tense beginning, so that the petition seems weakened: "Graciously help us to show the power of the resurrection in all that we say and do." The collect in the older Common Service Book has more of a baptismal - and present-tense - orientation, highlighting God's activity in, and our response to, the resurrection of Jesus; "Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that we who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith...." Both call for a continuing response to the resurrection, but the second may have a better theological orientation.
The Psalm of the Day
Psalm 111 (E) - This psalm is appropriate for this, or any other, Sunday in the Easter season. It expresses the kind of joy and thanksgiving which the faithful should reflect in their worship and lives during Easter. It is especially well-suited to the continuation of the Easter theme.
Great are the deeds of the Lord! They are studied by all who delight in them ... He makes his marvelous works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion ... He has shown his people the power of his works ... He sent redemption to his people; he commanded his covenant forever; holy and awesome is his name.
The psalm ends on a familiar note: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures forever."
Psalm 118:2-4, 15c-16a, 17-18, 22-24 (R); 118: 19-24 (E) - The Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches are unanimous in appointing this psalm for the principal worship service of Easter in all three years/cycles/series. Comments on it were made in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook III, Cycle A, as well as in last Sunday's studies of the biblical texts assigned to Easter. Since this psalm is used so frequently in the Easter season, the preacher might want to consider - and develop - the preaching themes in it against the Gospel of Easter.
The readings:
Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26 (E); 3:13-15, 17-26 (L)
In the original version of the Roman Catholic Ordo, the first lesson appointed was also used by the Lutheran and possibly the Episcopal Church. Later revisions saw Acts 3 substituted for Acts 4, which had been assigned to the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B. In this pericope, Peter turns the healing of a crippled beggar into an occasion for preaching the Gospel to the Jews in the temple. His is a type of law/gospel sermon, in which he con-demns them for rejecting and crucifying Jesus, whom God sent to save them from their sins. He calls upon them to repent their actions and "turn again, that your sins may be blotted out." He shows them that God sent Jesus as the "new Moses," whose task it was to initiate a new "exodus" - not from Pharaoh and Egypt, but from sin and death. He makes it clear that Jesus, according to the scriptures and the prophets, had to suffer, that Jesus is the Messiah whom God had promised to deliver his people. The "repent" and "turn again" themes are baptismally - and Easter - oriented and deserve consideration by parish preachers.
Acts 4:32-35 (R, C)
Here Luke recounts what had been reported to him (or what he had discovered in his literary sources about the effect that the resurrection and ascension had upon the disciples and the people who embraced the Christian faith. He talks specifically about the economic and social impact, which resulted in a form of communal living in which all property became the property of the community. This seems to have resulted from the fact that "with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all." The early Christians really loved one another and took care of the needs of their brothers and sisters in Christ: "There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need." Some Christian groups continue to emulate this model to this day.
1 John 1:1--2:2 (C)
While a decidedly different selection from those of the other lectionaries, this is quite appropriate for the Second Sunday of Easter. It documents the reality of the resurrection of Jesus, affirming what the author and others had seen for themselves and going on to expound the truth that Jesus is the light come from God and that "in him there is no darkness." The familiar theme of walking in darkness and light is explicated, so that the readers will comprehend that those who walk in darkness - those who sin - destroy their fellow-ship with Christ, while those who walk in the light have fellowship with Jesus. They know that their sins are forgiven, because he has cleansed all from sin. He states: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Confession, as the expression of true repentance and faith, is accepted by Jesus, who forgives us. John declares that he is the "expiation for our sins.... (and) also for the sins of the whole world." He will always be the heavenly advocate for repentant sinners. John says that he is "writing this to you so that you may not sin." Obedience, as new creatures in Christ, is the imperative of Easter.
1 John 5:1-6 (R, E, L)
The traditional epistle for the First Sunday after Easter was 1 John 5:4-12. This reading, which obviously precedes it, was thought to be more appropriate for this Sunday, because it connects the resurrection with baptism in the "Easter life" of the faithful. Those who confess that Jesus is the Christ, and who profess their love for him, will also love one another and, thereby, keep his commandments. John makes the profound statement that "whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith." Those who "believe" (and as Matthew declares, "and are baptized") will not only be saved; they will also overcome the world, probably by the process of living out their baptism in a cycle of dying by repentance and rising to new life every day. Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God will overcome the world. His baptism by water was only completed by a baptism of blood on the cross. He, the dead but risen Lord, enables us to be faithful to him and to keep our baptismal vows, thereby celebrating his death and resurrection in our daily lives.
John 20:19-31
This is the traditional Gospel for the Day for the First Sunday after Easter. It has been transferred to this Sunday - the Second Sunday of Easter - in all three years of the lectionary. It was commented on in the Lectionary Preaching Workbook III, Cycle A. What should be remembered is that this pericope includes the first two appearances to the disciples after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden on the day of his resurrection. (Remember that Peter and the "other disciples" did not see the Lord when they ran to the grave-site after hearing that it had been opened. Mary, however, stayed there when they departed and was rewarded for her perseverance and genuine grief. She saw him first as the resurrected Christ.) The familiar story of "doubting Thomas" is recounted, because he was not present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples in the upper room. He asserted - until he actually encountered the risen Lord a week later - that he would not believe that Jesus was alive unless he could see him and touch him for himself. His was a problem that has dogged the church ever since: How can we believe when we cannot see the Lord for ourselves? How can we believe that Christ is risen when all we have to go on is the word of the disciples and the first eye-witness to his resurrection? Sight is not necessary for faith, of course; seeing is believing in matters of science, but not in matters of faith. The disciples and others were allowed to view the risen Lord, not simply to confirm their faith in him, but to prepare them for their mission as witnesses to the Good News in the world. When he appeared that first time, he "breathed on them" and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." He similarly prepares us to be his witnesses in our baptism.
A Sermon on the Gospel, John 20:19-31 - "Sealed by the Holy Spirit."
A significant, if subtle, change was made in the new formula in the LBW by making the sign of the cross on the head of people after they had been baptized. The older order located the "signing" close to the beginning of the baptismal liturgy and made it optional. The pastor declared, "Let us call upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of his goodness and mercy he will receive this child by baptism and make him/her a living member of his holy church." A rubric follows: "Then may the Minister make the sign of the cross on the Child's forehead, saying, 'Receive the sign of the holy cross, in token hence-forth that thou shalt know the Lord, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.' " The new order places the "signing" after the water has been applied and the baptismal formula has been recited. It is not an option, as the rubric indicates: "The minister marks the sign of the cross on the forehead of each of the baptized. Oil prepared for this purpose may be used. As the sign of the cross is made, the minister says, '___, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.' " It is Jesus Christ, the ever-lasting Son of God, who through the Holy Spirit "seals" us into the kingdom of the Father and makes the "mark" of the cross indelible.
1. This happened, first, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in that upper room on Easter evening. He "sealed" them (all except Thomas) with the Holy Spirit and put the keys to the kingdom in their hands.
2. Thomas had not received the Holy Spirit. No wonder he couldn't believe! Who can believe without the working of the Holy Spirit within? Thomas thought that all he needed was to see and touch the Lord, and that would be enough. He was wrong - but he did get to see the Lord the next week, and he believed.
3. Belief in the Lord Jesus is never a matter of actually seeing Christ; it is always a matter of faith and, for that, believers need the power of the Holy Spirit. Couldn't Thomas have said, were he present on that first occasion, "I just can't believe what I am seeing; I can't believe my eyes"? Faith comes through the word, the water, and the Holy Spirit - not through sight or touch.
4. In baptism, therefore, we "are sealed by the Holy Spirit," much as the disciples were, and we are indeed "marked with the cross of Christ forever." The word of the witnesses - of the Gospel - is enough for us. "Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!"
A Sermon on the First Lesson, Acts 3:12a, 13-15, 17-26 (E); 3:13-15, 17-26 (L) - "Converting the Curious to Christ."
A couple of pastor friends, with whom I had been sitting at a charismatic conference, later told me what they had seen after the particular service we had been involved in had concluded. They followed a group of people out into a corridor because they heard someone say, "The Healer is coming down the hail." As they watched, a rather ordinary-looking man, with a small retinue of people following him, moved toward them. They were close to a woman seated in a wheelchair and, as the men came close to them, a man pushed the wheelchair right out in front of the man who was, of course, the one they called "The Healer." My friends said that the woman addressed him: "My one leg is shorter than the other as the result of an accident. It is such a bad condition that I can't get around without crutches or a wheelchair. Please help me." "The Healer" immediately responded to her plea. He put one hand on her head and the other on the short leg, and then he closed his eyes and prayed to God, asking God to heal her. The pastors, who were eye-witnesses, said that they couldn't believe what they saw. The woman's short leg began to grow until it was the same length as the other leg. "I couldn't believe my eyes," one of them said. "I've never seen anything like it." For some time later, every time I saw either one of them, they wanted to discuss the miracle which they had seen because they didn't think that sort of thing could actually happen - even in the name of Jesus Christ.
1. When the cripple outside the temple asked for alms, Peter gave him what he had to give - the gift of healing in the name of Jesus Christ. This turned out to be far more than the man ever expected. He was healed and he went into a dance of joy, all the way into the temple.
2. The curious crowd that had seen the miracle followed them into the temple, hoping to see more of the same. They, too, got more than they expected. They heard a sermon by Peter, which made spiritual cripples out of them, and then offered them healing in Jesus' name.
3. Christ always gives us what we need, not necessarily what we want or desire. His gift to us is forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life - and that gift brings us comfort and assurance and hope. We may not see the risen Lord, but his word comes to us - and that's enough.
4. So, God's gracious gifts come to us through his beloved Son, our risen Lord Jesus Christ, as we drink in his words - and they are more than sufficient for our deepest needs.
Acts 4:32-35 (R, C) - "The Unified Community."
A local television station ran a special documentary program every night this week about a group of Christians - which they call a "cult." The community is called "Christ's Household of Faith," and it has become somewhat controversial, just as the early church must have been. The members of the community have a common residence, although some live in houses "off campus" that are owned by the community. They share everything - worship and study time, work, meals, money, and even recreation. They have a business - remodelling kitchens - and have gained the reputation as careful workmen. (I suspect that they will have more work than they can accept after this TV series.) They have their own school and have produced outstanding sports teams, especially in boys' and girls' basketball. But they are different; they really believe that Christians ought to live this way. So didpeople in the early church.
1. That was what the church was - united in Christ - and willing to share everything they had with one another. "See how these Christians love one another," the pagan world remarked upon seeing their love in action.
2. That's what the church should continue to be - not necessarily a communally-organized body, but a community whose members love one another and take care of each other to the best of their ability. The church is, and has to be, a caring community.
3. When the love that people have for their Lord and each other has practical expression, they engage in one of the most effective forms of evangelism. People know that the Christians, who live caring lives, really believe what they profess in their creeds and conversation with others. The non-Christians then want to become part of that caring community.
4. The church lives and grows on the words of the Lord Jesus, "Love one another as I have loved you."
A Sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 John 1:1--2:2 (C) - "Effective Witnesses."
1. John and the other disciples were effective witnesses to the Gospel because they heard and saw what happened to Jesus Christ. The death and resurrection of Jesus prepared them for their ministry to others.
2. The purpose of their witness - and of witnessing today - is to bring people into the fellowship of those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord.
3. True witnessing involves facing up to sin (one's own sin) - realistically - and assuring others that God forgives every sin through our advocate in heaven, Jesus Christ our Lord.
4. Christ died for all people,r not merely for the Jews, so that all sinners might be forgiven and brought into the company of the redeemed in the risen Lord.
1 John 5:1-6 (R, E, L) - "How to Overcome the World."
1. Belief in Jesus as the Son of God makes people - through baptism - children of God.
2. Those who love God will also love his children and demonstrate that love by keeping the commandments of the Lord. Christians love one another because they love their Lord, Jesus Christ.
3. Love for Christ overcomes the world when nothing else can, for Jesus has overcome the world. His victory began at the Jordan River, with water, and was completely accomplished at the cross, with his blood.
4. Overcoming the world, therefore, means that we will live out our baptism in Christ's love until it is finally completed at the end of this life. Baptism is a process that is begun with water, the word, and the Holy Spirit and continues as long as we live. "We shall indeed overcome" in Jesus Christ.
