Seventh Sunday Of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VI, Cycle A
COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS
Lesson 1: Acts 1:6-14 (C); Acts 1:12-14 (RC); Acts 1 (1-7) 8-14 (E)
There's so much here. The very question which the apostles asked: Will the Kingdom be given back to Israel? reveals their continuing failure to understand. The Jewish hope, treasured throughout their history as a chosen people, was for world dominance. Unrealistic as it may seem today, they expected to be placed in a position politically and militarily superior to the other nations. This, of course, was a vain hope. The Kingdom is to be a kingdom of love, not of power. That can only come about through the combined work of the apostles and, later, others like them, and the Holy Spirit. Then the borders of this new Kingdom would be expanded to include "the ends of the earth." Following this, Jesus ascended. William Barclay remarks that this was an essential conclusion to the earthly appearances of Jesus following his resurrection. It clearly affirmed that now the world would enter a new phase, one of divine empowerment in the establishing of the Kingdom of God's love.
Once Jesus departs, it is time to go to work. So, the two gentlemen in white assure the apostles that Jesus will return in due time to assist in their mission, but even Jesus does not know the time or the place. This, of course, confronts the preacher of today with the question of the Second Coming. Since Jesus quite frankly didn't know how that would work, it's necessary, on the one hand, for each of us to find what meaning we can in that hope, yet that we not argue with each other about the matter, as though we think we know something of Jesus' future which even he did not know. For me, the Second Coming will be an event which takes place in a different dimension from that of time/space. The people of 2,000 years ago thought of Heaven as "up there," and Sheol or Hell as "down there," whereas we now know that such spatial ideas are wrong. Likewise, perhaps in far more profound ways, we find it difficult to think outside the time/space framework of existence, yet instinct assures us that these limits are temporary for us.
Lesson 2: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 (C); 1 Peter 4:13-16 (RC); 1 Peter 4:12-19 (E)
Peter assures the early Christians that the suffering which accompanies one's claim to the Christian faith will be of short duration, that this suffering is being shared and will continue to be shared by many others in the faith, and that Jesus will see that nothing is finally lost. They will be supplied with firmness and strength, "and a sure foundation." Finally, those who share in his suffering will share in his joy. Nero was emperor, and Nero had little use for Christians. Many early Christians practiced their faith in clandestine groups. The use of the fish as a Christian symbol is said to have originated with those early Christians. A person might absently scrawl the outline of a fish in the sand, then just as casually brush it away with his foot, a sign recognized only by another Christian as a sign of brotherhood/sisterhood. However, many times Christians either felt called to declare their new faith publicly, or were found out. For them, the consequences were often quite severe.
Gospel: John 17:1-11 (C, RC, E)
Jesus' destiny upon this earth is fulfilled at last. He has kept the faith. He has brought honor upon himself and honor to God. Now he prays for his disciples, that they too may keep the faith, that they may know eternal life, that they may now have total conviction that everything which Jesus has been to them has come directly from God. Jesus, now, is ready to go to God. He acknowledges that henceforth the fulfillment of his mission to humanity is in the hands of his disciples. He prays that God will keep them safe by the power of his name. In regard to that last, it's significant to recall that to ancient people, a name was more than a mere appellation. A name signified the very essence of a person. To know another's name was to know that person totally. To speak of the "power of your name" meant more than the word by which one refers to God, it meant the very essence of God. The Holy Spirit, indwelling, is that name.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "For A Power-filled Life"
Text: Acts 1:14a
Theme: "They gathered frequently to pray ..." Jesus has just instructed the apostles to go out into the world and be witnesses to his ministry and teachings. For a time, the apostles stood there, staring, until the two men in white asked them why they didn't get to work. Then the apostles headed back to Jerusalem to prepare for the work ahead. That involved a period of preparation. It no doubt included long conversations about routes, who would do what, supplies that would be needed. But as part of this period of preparation, "they gathered frequently to pray." There we have the means to a power-filled life.
1. They gathered. "There's strength in numbers" goes an old saying. It's true. If you try faithfully to live a Christian life in a world which, though it may pay lip service to such values, rarely enables them, it is necessary to have someone, a few friends, who share those values sincerely. Temptations abound in our everyday lives. Over a period of time it's easy to slip away from what we believe. One novel tells of a young couple who, madly in love, took on the world together. One thing which attracted the girl to her lover was his gallant insistence on high values as he tackled his life's work. But much time passes. The young man is successful. But after a while, he makes compromises, breaks some of his own rules of life. After many years, the wife finds the courage to question her husband about this. She has lost respect for him, reminds him of his early high-minded values. "Yes!" he says, "but I was young then." There you have it. We may not so much give up our early ideals, as we may, if we're not vigilant, let them die.
2. They gathered frequently. Church on Sunday is a modern living-out of this practice. We have all told the story of the young minister who visited the gentleman in the hills who insisted that he was a Christian but didn't need church. The young minister walks to the fire, uses a pair of tongs to pull a flaming ember off to the side, then watches it slowly turn black and cold. Then he pushes it back into the fire and watches it burst into flame once more. The old man reflects on this for a moment, then says, "I see what you mean, reverend," and promises to return to church. We need to join with others frequently, to maintain and nurture those relationships, to see that others are also trying to live out the values of our faith.
3. They gathered frequently to pray. Prayer, of course, was the power source for the apostles. Prayer is the means by which we maintain a relationship with God. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," said Tennyson.
Title: "Life And The Fiery Trial"
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-14
Theme: Peter's warning that his beloved friends would probably face fiery trials reminds us of the dangers which went with faith in the first century. There are people in our own time who have to face such trials. In Africa, Iran, Russia, many other places besides, there are still persecutions. However, most of us who attend church today are spared such trials. In fact, in many communities, there's a social plus to church attendance. In my experience, the only ordeal aspect of church membership is a boring sermon or a slightly off-key choir member.
Does this mean we have no fiery trials? Is this passage at all relevant today? I think the answer is "Yes," but the trials are more subtle, self-imposed by virtue of our faith.
1. Making moral choices can be a trial. I mentioned earlier a close friend of mine who, in his managerial position, was required by top management to choose between two assistants in his department. One must be dismissed. Both were engineers, one an older man, well
established in the community, one a younger man, unmarried, much freer to move. But the younger man was the more valuable. My friend agonized for weeks before making a decision. A less sensitive man might have made that decision easily. I happened to live in this friend's home for more than a week as he struggled with his decision. His was indeed a "fiery trial."
2. Keeping a moral commitment can be a trial. I first think of marriage when a couple finds, as most couples do, that making a marriage work is not always easy. Most people come up against problems of adjustment and incompatibility. Earlier generations went to work solving the problems. Today, divorces are easily obtained and no longer viewed as much more than an unfortunate failure. This is not to overlook the fact that there are unworkable marriages. But surely they are not nearly so numerous as statistics might make one think. In most marriages, staying the course, remaining faithful, doing the work of solving problems, may at times feel like a fiery trial, but as Peter has said, the final result can be happiness of a higher sort.
3. Being a moral person can be a trial. Some clergy have never had to make a living in "the real world," and may think this easy. If we talk to people in competitive work situations, selling for instance, we hear a different story. That doesn't mean it can't be done, because it often is. But the short-term advantage of the less than moral person can be tempting. Come to think of it, we clergy have our own temptations. We Methodists print little books which report every church's worship attendance and send them out to everyone. A District Superintendent told me recently of one man who is notorious for exaggerating that statistic in order to make a falsely successful impression to others. His exact words were "the man's a liar." Being completely loyal to one's moral convictions can exact a price.
Title: "Father"
Text: John 17:1-11
Theme: The use of "Father" in describing God is troublesome to many people today, mainly because of some misunderstanding. I myself look to my own mother as the most saintly person of my life and would have been quite comfortable with "Mother" had Jesus chosen that parent to describe God. However, there are several things we need to think about in this connection, as we see that here Jesus refers to God as "Father" several times.
1. The role of a male parent was quite different in the time of Jesus from that role today. He was a strong authority figure. He had continuing power over all family members. He was the source of all religious training, as women were not even permitted to know the Jewish Law. He controlled the fate of his children, especially female children. All in all, the male parent was the totally dominating member of the household. If he was good and kind, it was a happy home. If he was not, life must have been quite unpleasant.
2. A good father was to be honored. The Commandment to honor your father and your mother was deeply bred into the hearts of that generation. Likewise, the responsibility of both parents was to deserve that honor by the way they treated their children. Given the power of a father over his family, the analogy of that parent to God as the ultimate male parent was quite understandable to a first century listener. Jesus would have confused his listeners had he tried to use "mother" to describe God. "Father" they could understand. Had Jesus spoken in our time, given the social values of our day, he might very well have used a different analogy.
3. A good and loving parent builds fine character into a child, stores up the memories necessary for a happy life, and serves as a model for later life. Gerry Kennedy used to tell of the time he was about eleven years old and had to deliver his paper route one bitterly cold winter morning. The world was covered with ice, the snow was blowing in sheets. By the time he was up, before dawn, had gotten to the corner where his papers waited, gotten them stuffed into his carrying bag, his fingers were numb, his body thoroughly chilled. Then he heard the sound of a car, saw his dad pull up in the old family car, heater running. He said his dad ran the window down, said, "come on, get in, Gerry, we'd better do this together today." Kennedy said they didn't have much money then, and his dad worked hard all week to support the family, but he got up before dawn that morning to help his son, He said when he realized how much his dad loved him, he thought "how much more yet God loves me." Gerald Kennedy later entered the Methodist ministry and became its youngest Bishop, head of the California and Arizona areas.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
"Be not forgetful of prayer. Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education."
-- Fyodor Dostoevsky
____________
"I saw the conquerors riding by,
With cruel lips and faces wan,
Musing on kingdoms sacked and burned.
There rode the Mongol, Genghis Khan,
And Alexander, like a God
Who sought to weld the world in one.
And Caesar with his laurel wreath,
And like a thing from hell, the Hun.
And leading, like a star, the van,
Heedless of outstretched arm and groan
Inscrutable Napoleon went,
Dreaming of empire, and alone.
Then all they perished from the earth,
As fleeting shadows from a glass,
And conquering down the centuries
Came Christ, the swordless, on an ass."
____________
J. Wallace Hamilton used to tell the story "Mother Goes To The Mountains." It's about a farm family whose mother was tired from her years of hard work, helping on the farm, raising several children. She needed a vacation, but the family couldn't afford a real vacation. Instead, they cleared out their unused attic, furnished it with a bed, some chairs, a small refrigerator, and a television, and Mother went up to the attic for a few days' vacation. The agreement was that Dad would look after things while Mother was gone. All went well for two or three days. But one fine morning, as Mother was looking out the window, she noticed that two of the kids were fighting, the baby hadn't been changed, Dad was inefficiently trying to hang the laundry on the line. Dr. Hamilton said along about then, Mother began to understand how God feels, looking at the world. The agreement was that Mom would stay in "the mountains" for a week. But she wanted awfully badly to go back down and get things straightened out.
____________
"To lift up hands in prayer gives God glory, but a man with a dungfork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, give him glory too. He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean they should. So then, my friends, live."
-- Gerard Manley Hopkins
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 (C) -- A hymnbook of enthronement songs.
Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8 (RC) -- Beholding God's beauty in the morning.
Psalm 47 (E) -- The enthronement of the King of Kings.
Prayer Of The Day
O God, some of us have come upon a time of suffering. We offer it up to you, yet not fully understanding just how that honors you. In truth, we do not understand how to make sense of suffering in a world whose creator is the God of love, yet we accept this reality and pray for you to use this difficult time to make us more able and more worthy to serve you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
Lesson 1: Acts 1:6-14 (C); Acts 1:12-14 (RC); Acts 1 (1-7) 8-14 (E)
There's so much here. The very question which the apostles asked: Will the Kingdom be given back to Israel? reveals their continuing failure to understand. The Jewish hope, treasured throughout their history as a chosen people, was for world dominance. Unrealistic as it may seem today, they expected to be placed in a position politically and militarily superior to the other nations. This, of course, was a vain hope. The Kingdom is to be a kingdom of love, not of power. That can only come about through the combined work of the apostles and, later, others like them, and the Holy Spirit. Then the borders of this new Kingdom would be expanded to include "the ends of the earth." Following this, Jesus ascended. William Barclay remarks that this was an essential conclusion to the earthly appearances of Jesus following his resurrection. It clearly affirmed that now the world would enter a new phase, one of divine empowerment in the establishing of the Kingdom of God's love.
Once Jesus departs, it is time to go to work. So, the two gentlemen in white assure the apostles that Jesus will return in due time to assist in their mission, but even Jesus does not know the time or the place. This, of course, confronts the preacher of today with the question of the Second Coming. Since Jesus quite frankly didn't know how that would work, it's necessary, on the one hand, for each of us to find what meaning we can in that hope, yet that we not argue with each other about the matter, as though we think we know something of Jesus' future which even he did not know. For me, the Second Coming will be an event which takes place in a different dimension from that of time/space. The people of 2,000 years ago thought of Heaven as "up there," and Sheol or Hell as "down there," whereas we now know that such spatial ideas are wrong. Likewise, perhaps in far more profound ways, we find it difficult to think outside the time/space framework of existence, yet instinct assures us that these limits are temporary for us.
Lesson 2: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 (C); 1 Peter 4:13-16 (RC); 1 Peter 4:12-19 (E)
Peter assures the early Christians that the suffering which accompanies one's claim to the Christian faith will be of short duration, that this suffering is being shared and will continue to be shared by many others in the faith, and that Jesus will see that nothing is finally lost. They will be supplied with firmness and strength, "and a sure foundation." Finally, those who share in his suffering will share in his joy. Nero was emperor, and Nero had little use for Christians. Many early Christians practiced their faith in clandestine groups. The use of the fish as a Christian symbol is said to have originated with those early Christians. A person might absently scrawl the outline of a fish in the sand, then just as casually brush it away with his foot, a sign recognized only by another Christian as a sign of brotherhood/sisterhood. However, many times Christians either felt called to declare their new faith publicly, or were found out. For them, the consequences were often quite severe.
Gospel: John 17:1-11 (C, RC, E)
Jesus' destiny upon this earth is fulfilled at last. He has kept the faith. He has brought honor upon himself and honor to God. Now he prays for his disciples, that they too may keep the faith, that they may know eternal life, that they may now have total conviction that everything which Jesus has been to them has come directly from God. Jesus, now, is ready to go to God. He acknowledges that henceforth the fulfillment of his mission to humanity is in the hands of his disciples. He prays that God will keep them safe by the power of his name. In regard to that last, it's significant to recall that to ancient people, a name was more than a mere appellation. A name signified the very essence of a person. To know another's name was to know that person totally. To speak of the "power of your name" meant more than the word by which one refers to God, it meant the very essence of God. The Holy Spirit, indwelling, is that name.
SERMON SUGGESTIONS
Title: "For A Power-filled Life"
Text: Acts 1:14a
Theme: "They gathered frequently to pray ..." Jesus has just instructed the apostles to go out into the world and be witnesses to his ministry and teachings. For a time, the apostles stood there, staring, until the two men in white asked them why they didn't get to work. Then the apostles headed back to Jerusalem to prepare for the work ahead. That involved a period of preparation. It no doubt included long conversations about routes, who would do what, supplies that would be needed. But as part of this period of preparation, "they gathered frequently to pray." There we have the means to a power-filled life.
1. They gathered. "There's strength in numbers" goes an old saying. It's true. If you try faithfully to live a Christian life in a world which, though it may pay lip service to such values, rarely enables them, it is necessary to have someone, a few friends, who share those values sincerely. Temptations abound in our everyday lives. Over a period of time it's easy to slip away from what we believe. One novel tells of a young couple who, madly in love, took on the world together. One thing which attracted the girl to her lover was his gallant insistence on high values as he tackled his life's work. But much time passes. The young man is successful. But after a while, he makes compromises, breaks some of his own rules of life. After many years, the wife finds the courage to question her husband about this. She has lost respect for him, reminds him of his early high-minded values. "Yes!" he says, "but I was young then." There you have it. We may not so much give up our early ideals, as we may, if we're not vigilant, let them die.
2. They gathered frequently. Church on Sunday is a modern living-out of this practice. We have all told the story of the young minister who visited the gentleman in the hills who insisted that he was a Christian but didn't need church. The young minister walks to the fire, uses a pair of tongs to pull a flaming ember off to the side, then watches it slowly turn black and cold. Then he pushes it back into the fire and watches it burst into flame once more. The old man reflects on this for a moment, then says, "I see what you mean, reverend," and promises to return to church. We need to join with others frequently, to maintain and nurture those relationships, to see that others are also trying to live out the values of our faith.
3. They gathered frequently to pray. Prayer, of course, was the power source for the apostles. Prayer is the means by which we maintain a relationship with God. "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," said Tennyson.
Title: "Life And The Fiery Trial"
Text: 1 Peter 4:12-14
Theme: Peter's warning that his beloved friends would probably face fiery trials reminds us of the dangers which went with faith in the first century. There are people in our own time who have to face such trials. In Africa, Iran, Russia, many other places besides, there are still persecutions. However, most of us who attend church today are spared such trials. In fact, in many communities, there's a social plus to church attendance. In my experience, the only ordeal aspect of church membership is a boring sermon or a slightly off-key choir member.
Does this mean we have no fiery trials? Is this passage at all relevant today? I think the answer is "Yes," but the trials are more subtle, self-imposed by virtue of our faith.
1. Making moral choices can be a trial. I mentioned earlier a close friend of mine who, in his managerial position, was required by top management to choose between two assistants in his department. One must be dismissed. Both were engineers, one an older man, well
established in the community, one a younger man, unmarried, much freer to move. But the younger man was the more valuable. My friend agonized for weeks before making a decision. A less sensitive man might have made that decision easily. I happened to live in this friend's home for more than a week as he struggled with his decision. His was indeed a "fiery trial."
2. Keeping a moral commitment can be a trial. I first think of marriage when a couple finds, as most couples do, that making a marriage work is not always easy. Most people come up against problems of adjustment and incompatibility. Earlier generations went to work solving the problems. Today, divorces are easily obtained and no longer viewed as much more than an unfortunate failure. This is not to overlook the fact that there are unworkable marriages. But surely they are not nearly so numerous as statistics might make one think. In most marriages, staying the course, remaining faithful, doing the work of solving problems, may at times feel like a fiery trial, but as Peter has said, the final result can be happiness of a higher sort.
3. Being a moral person can be a trial. Some clergy have never had to make a living in "the real world," and may think this easy. If we talk to people in competitive work situations, selling for instance, we hear a different story. That doesn't mean it can't be done, because it often is. But the short-term advantage of the less than moral person can be tempting. Come to think of it, we clergy have our own temptations. We Methodists print little books which report every church's worship attendance and send them out to everyone. A District Superintendent told me recently of one man who is notorious for exaggerating that statistic in order to make a falsely successful impression to others. His exact words were "the man's a liar." Being completely loyal to one's moral convictions can exact a price.
Title: "Father"
Text: John 17:1-11
Theme: The use of "Father" in describing God is troublesome to many people today, mainly because of some misunderstanding. I myself look to my own mother as the most saintly person of my life and would have been quite comfortable with "Mother" had Jesus chosen that parent to describe God. However, there are several things we need to think about in this connection, as we see that here Jesus refers to God as "Father" several times.
1. The role of a male parent was quite different in the time of Jesus from that role today. He was a strong authority figure. He had continuing power over all family members. He was the source of all religious training, as women were not even permitted to know the Jewish Law. He controlled the fate of his children, especially female children. All in all, the male parent was the totally dominating member of the household. If he was good and kind, it was a happy home. If he was not, life must have been quite unpleasant.
2. A good father was to be honored. The Commandment to honor your father and your mother was deeply bred into the hearts of that generation. Likewise, the responsibility of both parents was to deserve that honor by the way they treated their children. Given the power of a father over his family, the analogy of that parent to God as the ultimate male parent was quite understandable to a first century listener. Jesus would have confused his listeners had he tried to use "mother" to describe God. "Father" they could understand. Had Jesus spoken in our time, given the social values of our day, he might very well have used a different analogy.
3. A good and loving parent builds fine character into a child, stores up the memories necessary for a happy life, and serves as a model for later life. Gerry Kennedy used to tell of the time he was about eleven years old and had to deliver his paper route one bitterly cold winter morning. The world was covered with ice, the snow was blowing in sheets. By the time he was up, before dawn, had gotten to the corner where his papers waited, gotten them stuffed into his carrying bag, his fingers were numb, his body thoroughly chilled. Then he heard the sound of a car, saw his dad pull up in the old family car, heater running. He said his dad ran the window down, said, "come on, get in, Gerry, we'd better do this together today." Kennedy said they didn't have much money then, and his dad worked hard all week to support the family, but he got up before dawn that morning to help his son, He said when he realized how much his dad loved him, he thought "how much more yet God loves me." Gerald Kennedy later entered the Methodist ministry and became its youngest Bishop, head of the California and Arizona areas.
ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
"Be not forgetful of prayer. Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education."
-- Fyodor Dostoevsky
____________
"I saw the conquerors riding by,
With cruel lips and faces wan,
Musing on kingdoms sacked and burned.
There rode the Mongol, Genghis Khan,
And Alexander, like a God
Who sought to weld the world in one.
And Caesar with his laurel wreath,
And like a thing from hell, the Hun.
And leading, like a star, the van,
Heedless of outstretched arm and groan
Inscrutable Napoleon went,
Dreaming of empire, and alone.
Then all they perished from the earth,
As fleeting shadows from a glass,
And conquering down the centuries
Came Christ, the swordless, on an ass."
____________
J. Wallace Hamilton used to tell the story "Mother Goes To The Mountains." It's about a farm family whose mother was tired from her years of hard work, helping on the farm, raising several children. She needed a vacation, but the family couldn't afford a real vacation. Instead, they cleared out their unused attic, furnished it with a bed, some chairs, a small refrigerator, and a television, and Mother went up to the attic for a few days' vacation. The agreement was that Dad would look after things while Mother was gone. All went well for two or three days. But one fine morning, as Mother was looking out the window, she noticed that two of the kids were fighting, the baby hadn't been changed, Dad was inefficiently trying to hang the laundry on the line. Dr. Hamilton said along about then, Mother began to understand how God feels, looking at the world. The agreement was that Mom would stay in "the mountains" for a week. But she wanted awfully badly to go back down and get things straightened out.
____________
"To lift up hands in prayer gives God glory, but a man with a dungfork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, give him glory too. He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean they should. So then, my friends, live."
-- Gerard Manley Hopkins
____________
Psalm Of The Day
Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35 (C) -- A hymnbook of enthronement songs.
Psalm 27:1, 4, 7-8 (RC) -- Beholding God's beauty in the morning.
Psalm 47 (E) -- The enthronement of the King of Kings.
Prayer Of The Day
O God, some of us have come upon a time of suffering. We offer it up to you, yet not fully understanding just how that honors you. In truth, we do not understand how to make sense of suffering in a world whose creator is the God of love, yet we accept this reality and pray for you to use this difficult time to make us more able and more worthy to serve you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.
