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Easter 7 - May 23, 2004

Acts 16:16-34

Revelation 22:12-14, 16, 17, 20, 21

John 17:20-26

Another female figure appears in chapter 16 of Acts. She is a real contrast to Lydia.

An unnamed slave girl whose owners exploit her gift of fortune-telling to make money for themselves. She gives a kind of recognition of who Paul is, ‘These men are slaves of the most High God who proclaim to you a way of salvation’. But Paul does not build on her partial recognition. Instead he gets annoyed with her persistence day after day and silences her by exorcising a spirit in her. She joins other women in the Gospels who are thought to have evil spirits which Jesus exorcises – e.g. Mary Magdalene of seven spirits!

This results in the case of the slave girl of loss of income for her owners and they bring a charge of disturbing the peace against Paul and Silas. They are thrown into prison but later released in unusual circumstances as Peter had been earlier in Acts.

On a number of occasions Peter’s experiences are replicated in experiences of Paul, perhaps to emphasise that though Paul was a later addition to the leadership he is an equal.

With this final reading from the Book of Revelation comes the opportunity to summarise some findings and to re-visit some of the main points.

What comes through these concluding verses is the expected early return of Jesus predicted in the story of the Ascension – ‘This Jesus - - - will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’. (Acts 1:11) This pre-supposes ‘heaven’ to be located overhead as in the ancients’ concept of the universe: ‘Who was, and is, and is to come.’ In the days of the early church it was an imminent expectation. For some Christians today it is their belief that the Rapture or the Second Coming will be soon d much time and energy is devoted to finding where and when. For most Christians it does not feature largely as likely to happen in their lifetime, if ever. The Book of Revelation has to be read with this understanding but that is not the main message of the book for us today.

What have we learnt so far?

• That images are not to be taken literally but they can express aspects of truth beyond words.
• There is a message of hope for those whose going is hard as they face persecution or suffering. That may not be such a reality for NZ Christians as in other parts of the world but it is there to some extent in Christians’ work-place every day.
• The call to follow Jesus demands faithful witness in ordinary life.
• Witness is not just through personal living but taking responsibility for God’s creation – this earth - and acts of justice.
• In the holy city, the new Jerusalem, the gates will not be shut. In this and other images there is a strong message of inclusion.
• While there are vivid and majestic images of God and the Lamb with the multitude responding in worship, God will "wipe away all tears from their eyes", an intensely personal and intimate image.

The book finishes with the blessing, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints." Paul greets a troublesome church in Corinth – to those who are "called to be saints", not just the leaders or those who stand out for their service but to all who seek to follow Jesus. While there is a common misunderstanding of ‘saint’ as a ‘goody-goody’ or confined to those canonised by the Pope, the message here is of a blessing on all the witnesses, a message of hope and encouragement to all. Here is another definition of ‘saints’: "People like ourselves, reachable figures, who have lived well through situations similar to our own as proof that we too, in all of our smallness, can stretch ourselves to the limits of the best in us". (Chittister)

John 17 contains what is called Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. In these verses there is the prayer which followers of Jesus through the centuries have ignored or disobeyed.

"That they all may be one --- that the world may believe". Yet from earliest times there have been divisions and that unity Jesus prays for has seldom been to the forefront of the churches’ endeavours. At times there have been signs of hope. At other times disunity and violence against other believers has been unbelievable and in some ways and places it is still too true.

Often, too, unity has been confused with uniformity. Small wonder the world has difficulty ‘believing’ when so much disunity is all too obvious.

PRAYER

Forgive us, O God,
when we treat people as though they are just a nuisance.
when we are annoyed with others’ behaviour
when people unexpectedly assert themselves
when we find it difficult to include those who think or act
differently from the norm
when we are cruel in our judgements or exclusion

Forgive us, O God, when we do not hear or heed Jesus’ prayer for unity

We pray for all who exploit their workers for profit.
We pray for all those who experience exploitation and feel their helplessness.
Open our eyes to any ways in which we can encourage justice.