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8AM Service Sermon Readings: Epistle – 1 Peter 1: 3 – 9. A Living Hope 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls Gospel – John 20: 19 - 31 Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ Jesus and Thomas 24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ 26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ 27Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ 28Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. _______________________ A Privileged Life Jesus walks in on a small gathering of his followers hiding for fear of the Jews. 21Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. “Shalom” Don’t be fooled into thinking this is simply a perfectly normal Hebrew greeting. In this context (the resurrection of God’s Messiah) it is more than a mere “peace be with you” – Jesus is speaking the language of longing of all the prophets and poets of the Hebrew scriptures, the language of yearning for the day that will come when God’s future, God’s Kingdom, comes among them, ending exile and answering Ezekiel’s cry, “Shall these dry bones live?” God’s future is embodied in a group of frightened disciples whose courage has deserted them. Goodness me! - What a privilege! When the Church is marginalised –and in the year 2011 we are marginalised [neither we nor God occupy much mind-time in the head of the average Jo or Josephine] - we can feel a little discouraged at times. Have you ever wondered why, when as Christians we hold the truth to the questions of the universe, when we are followers of God’s own Son, “king’s kids” as someone put it: why there are so few people getting excited about that?? I have. I assume most of us watched the Royal Wedding yesterday? When I saw that camera shot of Westminster Abbey from above, the architecture spoke to me of a grand and different time. Christendom, when all people at least payed lip service to God, when God’s glory was seen in what was in essence a public building! Very few people dared not to attend church on a Sunday. How times have changed. Well, the scriptures give us comfort, for it has always been like this. For good reason Elijah thought he was the only prophet in Israel left who served God. “Fear not little flock”, says Jesus in Luke 12: 32 14 “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7: 14) Like believers through the ages we hold onto God’s Word: God will come through in good time. 2 Peter 3: 9 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Jesus has ushered in the Kingdom and Paul says in Ephesians 3: 10 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. Through the church! - What a privilege! But we need to be patient – patient and faithful, as God is with us. We may be marginalised in the 21st century but remember this: “One person with God is a majority.” As for the disciples of old, the Kingdom of God has arrived with Jesus – and we have the shalom of God. - What a privilege! As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ We are sent like Jesus was. What was Jesus sent to do? To bring forgiveness and build a loving community of forgiven people. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. If Jesus sends us for the same purpose, sharing forgiveness of sin and building a loving community of forgiven people, then we are co-workers with Christ (as Paul says) – What a privilege! If Jesus leaves his safe haven in heaven to do his work, we leave the safe base of our comfortable places to do so too, whether it be our homes or the comfort of the church building. We too go out into the community to live as forgiven and forgiving! He sends us as the Father sent him! - What a privilege! We have purpose, and we have hope for we consciously follow the Lord wherever he goes: and he goes everywhere. There is no single place on earth where God is not at work – and we have permission to take that purpose and hope everywhere – to do his work. - What a privilege! 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Receive the Holy Spirit. This act of breathing and these words of Jesus to those men and women steeped in the scriptures take them back in their imagination to another time and another act of God. Jesus’ action and words are a recapitulation of the creation story where in Genesis 2: 7 the LORD God formed a man[c] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Right here in this room the resurrected Christ takes this nervous little gathering of people and breathes into them, constituting the new humanity. The very height of God’s redemptive work in saving creation is in the hands of these few. This is where the church is born. This is where Jesus empowers the disciples for the task ahead. The disciple does not work alone. 22When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus didn’t think, “Okay, I’ve told them what to do. Tick that one off. What’s next? O yes. Give them the Holy Spirit.” Not at all. The Spirit is given in order to enable us to live as disciples – followers. It’s all part of the package. These are not separate items on a list. There’s a purpose why we come to church and it’s not just to demonstrate and enjoy our life together, or to ensure that we go to heaven, or to keep a promise to someone. It’s to empower us for the work of Christ! - What a privilege! We have the Kingdom of God We have the mandate to share the Kingdom We have the Holy Spirit to empower us for the task - What a privilege! Now it’s all very well harping on about what a privilege this all is, but at best this can easily simply be inspirational: you know, all dressed up with nowhere to go. The question is where does one start? This is where we can look to dear old Thomas, who has gone down in history as Doubting Thomas. (As an aside, for someone who makes the most creedally accurate assessment of Jesus in the entire New Testament in his words, “My Lord and my God!’ – I think he deserves the title Confessing Thomas. Don’t you?) But, we can’t get away from it. Thomas was initially doubting. Starkly so. ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ You see, Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus arrived. Things haven’t changed. One’s faith doesn’t grow through absenteeism. However, the fact that we’re all here this morning is of course cheering indeed. It says something about us. We recognise our need of God – and when you’re wanting to know what you do as a disciple of Christ - that’s the first place to start. Now for Thomas, not only did faith return, but also the restoration of his ministry as one of the Twelve – when he engaged with the wounds on Christ’s body. It’s really that simple. If you’re wanting build the Kingdom of God by improving your discipleship – and may that be the desire of each and every one of us! – There is a very practical place to start: the wounds in the Body of Christ. And believe me, there are wounded people in the Body of Christ – the church – people in great need of a touch of love and respect, people for whom even the slightest indication of affection mean a great deal. We don’t have to do spectacular things to serve God. In fact God is often found in the least of spectacular places. He’s found most frequently with people in need – with those people in the church who are in particular need of love and attention. Our baptism makes us all ministers of Christ, and our ministry is service, and no one needs our service more than our fellow Christians: especially those who are “wounded”. That’s the most practical place to start! As we grow in confidence we can take our ministry further abroad – to those who do not know Christ. Not necessarily telling them that they need God – at least not initially – but by intentionally serving them. Ministry is service. We have the Kingdom of God We have the mandate to share the Kingdom We have the Holy Spirit to empower us for the task We have the church as a good place to start This is how we exercise our faith, and make it real, for as Jesus said to our friend Thomas, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’ - It really is a privilege to be a disciple of Christ! |
