Easter 7
Having heard the Easter stories year after year it may be hard to find something fresh and vital to say. Yet it is important. Resurrection will always be a mystery and that may make it hard for us moderns, or even post-moderns, to grasp the deep significance of something which is really beyond words and cannot be proved in the normal understanding of the term. But the significance is not really in a long time ago event.
It is in the power of transformation today. The John reading is to be preferred to the alternative lectionary reading of Luke 24:1-12 from this point of view. The use too of the Acts 10 reading is valuable as it gives an insight into Peter’s preaching later to a foreign but interested audience.
"What is the use of the resurrection to us?" asks the Heidelberg catechism and many might echo that question. It is possible in this passage from the 4th Gospel to enter into the experience through a person like us in many respects. Mary Magdalene, healed by Jesus, a companion of his in Galilee, a follower to Jerusalem, an observer of the crucifixion and of the place of burial, coming as we often do to the last place with associations with the one who is mourned, coming with no expectations of any change in the sad events.
First, she does not recognise the resurrection event. She takes the figure to be the gardener. Then the risen one addresses her by name and everything is changed she thinks. But no, she doesn’t understand. She thinks things are back to what they were. She calls him "Rabboni" which means Teacher. She misunderstands the resurrection event (as we so often do, expecting Jesus to be restored to the same physical life as before). She begins to come to a new understanding as Jesus speaks to her. "Don’t hold on to me", meaning not - ‘don’t touch me’ but ‘don’t cling to me’. I am different. ‘You don’t need to hold on to me. You can stand on your own feet’. She is no longer dependent on his physical presence. What she has learned from being with him has now made her an independent person, a person in her own right, a person with her own message which she takes to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord" – no longer just teacher, he is Lord. Whatever she means by the title she has recognised a change, a difference. It has made a difference to her. She is a person, a person with a message which she immediately shares. She is a transformed person. She goes on to become an apostle, "the apostle to the apostles" – a title not recorded in the Bible but we gain that knowledge from other ancient references.
The Resurrection of Jesus makes a difference to people, disciples (learners) become apostles (people with a message). The timid are given courage. Dependent people become independent, able to make their own decisions, able to take new roles, able to dream new dreams, able to turn visions into action.
A NZ poet, Joy Cowley, has written of resurrection as the transformation of the "empty tombs of our lives", a less usual concept but one that bears thinking about.
As background to this passage you may need to refer to the whole chapter.
Peter has been invited to come to Cornelius’ house. Peter, a strict Jew (but with more to learn if he is to continue to follow Jesus) obeys the vision that has come to him and goes with his guides into unknown territory. He goes, knowingly, into a Roman captain’s house. He, a Jew, goes into a Gentile home. It is hard for us to realise what a step of faith that was. (It bears some resemblance to Mary Magdalene going to the men disciples as a woman with her tremendous news.) You might think of comparable modern examples of prejudice, people or places that we would not associate with.
Cornelius is a God-fearer, a seeker, attracted to the God of the Jewish faith, learning something of the background to the story of Jesus. It seems to be a receptive audience to Peter’s story, as we have a receptive audience of church worshippers. The difference is that our audience may not be expecting to learn anything new!
Try to read these verses entering into Peter’s experience. Jesus’ ministry had been primarily to Jews but there had been some contact with Gentiles. Peter has yet to learn this for himself - how to make the transforming experience of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection alive and real to this audience. He begins, "I truly understand that God shows no partiality" (is not biased). Consider the depth of that affirmation. Peter’s eyes had been opened. I consider we haven’t learnt the depth of that message ourselves yet. One wonders, though, how Peter can assume that the message God ‘sent to the people of Israel, (the Jews), peaching peace by Jesus Christ - he is Lord of all’, that it had in fact permeated the Jewish communities in various places and had reached Cornelius and his companions through some Jewish community. However, Peter makes this statement of his faith and shares his understanding of Jesus’ ministry, death, raising to new life and commissioning of himself and others as witnesses of all this. Here is a transformed Peter, a Peter who had to learn new lessons and take new action.
What is this Easter to us?
Living Lord Jesus Christ you have been raised from death. Love reigns. You are life.
You offer us your fullness of life, abundant life. Raise our eyes to recognise you as the new day dawns. Open our ears to hear you call us by name. Help us, like Mary, to move beyond the empty tombs of our lives to accept the hope, the new life and fulfilment you offer.
Prayers could include opening our eyes to areas of prejudice, in our own lives and in our communities - - - - .
And what a transforming life of Christian witness might include - - -
Forgive us, O God, for the partiality we often show:
God calls us to build bridges of understanding across the barriers that divide us.
This is an ideal opportunity to preach from Revelation which has both been widely misused over the years and also greatly neglected. I am indebted to a small book of five studies by Hans-Ruedi Weber, noted Bible study encourager and also a widely experienced art discoverer from many periods and different countries.
While these studies were prepared for Lenten meditations they are applicable to other periods such as post-Easter.
"The Way of the Lamb" – Christ in the Apocalypse by Hans-Ruedi Weber (Risk Book Series – World Council of Churches publication 1988)
The Book of Revelation: The general facts are well known. The writer, John, was an exile on the Island of Patmos. This island was used by the Romans as a penal colony. John had visions on the Lord’s Day and they were in the context of worship which aids our understanding. He was well aware of young churches and groups of Christians worshipping around the Mediterranean Sea and aware, too, that many of them were facing persecution and consequent doubts about their faith. Is the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and the Resurrection really the decisive victory of God over the powers of darkness and evil? Is new life in Christ for real? And the answer John gives in different ways is a decisive ‘yes’.
These verses are a general greeting to the seven churches in Asia which John will address individually in the next two chapters.
‘Grace and peace’ was a usual formal greeting but the words are much more than formal. Grace can convey an element of graciousness – the manner of someone higher up the social scale greeting someone lower. But this is lacking in John’s case or in Paul’s greetings in his letters, for the overwhelmingly feeling is of gratitude for God’s grace, for God’s love and forgiveness, and that puts us all on an equal footing. This is something we remember in the words of a blessing or the Benediction: ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ’. So grace in the greeting has an element of blessing. "God be kind to you" Peace in our general understanding is the absence of war or conflict but the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, which carries over into the New Testament Greek, is a much richer word. It conveys wholeness, harmony and a sense of the fullness of life which Jesus offers in John 10:10. So John begins his greeting to the seven churches. In chapter 2 and 3 he is going to address each church in turn and offer praise and promise, pointing out their strong points as well as their failures or inadequacies.
What follows in these verses is a good example of the use of OT or First Testament references in the book of Revelation. This last book of the Bible is a re-reading of the First Testament in the light of Christ. More than half the verses in Revelation have some reference to texts or concepts. Taking the Jerusalem Bible translation for these verses: From John to the seven churches of Asia: grace and peace to you from him who is, who was and who is to come, from the seven spirits in his presence before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever, Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth, Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. (The First Testament references are in italics - The references are to Psalm 89:37, 27; Isaiah 55:4: Exodus 19:6; Daniel 7:13; and Zechariah 12,10,14.)
See what John regards as the essentials of his understanding of God and Jesus.
There is a strong sense of continuity with the past moving through the present and into the future. (Who was, and is, and is to come) The ministry, the total work of Jesus continues. Although a ‘one off’ in time it is part and parcel of God’s continuing work in which Jesus shares. There is a message to the churches that God has made us a line of kings, implying both honour and great responsibility. God is given great glory and called the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end, the Almighty. This is a fitting reminder in this post-Easter period.
All this can be tied to the reading from John 20:19-31 where for John the giving of the Holy Spirit is on Easter night, not seven weeks later as in Acts. There are two incidents in this passage for Thomas misses the first appearance of Jesus and has difficulty believing the witness of those who were there. There is nothing wrong with doubting, Doubts can encourage deeper thought and probing and Thomas is assured through a second appearance, But the story of Thomas is also very relevant in our contemporary society for many people have difficulty in living with mystery or appreciating much of truth which comes not through scientific ‘touch and handle’ kind of proof but through poetry or art or story (which didn’t necessarily happen like that but has great power none-the-less.)
Acts 5:27-32 The background to this story is Peter and John healing many people as they exercised a ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit with the same effect as Jesus’ ministry. This was too much for the Council of leading Jews. They thought they had got rid of the trouble-maker Jesus but here was the same kind of work going on and they were filled with jealousy. The apostles, the main Christian leaders were arrested and put in prison. That’ll get them out of the way, thought the Council. But no, they were not in the prison. An ‘angel of the Lord’ had released them. Angel means messenger so it might have been human agency that released them from behind locked doors. It’s been known to happen. Undeterred they are back teaching openly in the temple courts but on being brought to trial Peter makes another of his speeches about Jesus, managing to convey a strong message in few words very courageously. The central statement ‘we must obey God rather than man’ (or human authority) has been an encouragement to many another down through the ages persecuted for their faith in this same Jesus.
Break through our doubts with the assurance that you are with us, that the Holy Spirit can strengthen us to be your witnesses and give us courage to face the challenges of living as your loyal followers in today’s society.
Help us to hear again the messages of assurance to our Church today to be faithful, to continue the work Jesus showed us, and to live as though it all depended on each one of us and our own efforts but with God’s Spirit and the support of our fellow Christians.
Revelation 5:11-14
While the Lectionary suggests Romans chapter 5, verses 11-14 the whole chapter needs to be studied.
We’re a very literate people. We consider everyone ought to be able to read.
We also a very literal people. If something is written we take it for truth. If something is reported in the newspaper it must be true. Yet almost every day there is some correction made of a mistake that was made in reporting. We read novels and know the story didn’t actually happen but it is regarded as a good novel if it is true to life. Some of course are make-believe and we know it. Science fiction, "The Lord of the Rings" and so on. And when we read poetry we don’t expect it to be true, in the sense that it is really like that. Take love songs, "My love is like a red, red rose" and so on. We know it’s trying to describe something that can’t really be put into words. There are some things we can’t in any full sense express in words.
One book we find very difficult to read and almost treat it as though it is not in the Bible is the Book of Revelation. It’s so full of imagery it’s very hard to grasp what it is trying to say.
In this chapter we have symbols of the lion, the lamb and the scroll.
In Christian imagery the lion can convey a whole range of meanings, from fierce evil forces to the highest royal majesty and power. When the lion is linked with the person of Jesus Christ the lion points to the power of the resurrection.
There was an early Christian collection of bits and pieces of information and legends about animals, plants and stones. It had a great influence on mediaeval art e.g. "If a lioness gives birth to her offspring and it is born dead she watches over it for three days until the lion comes on the third day. He breathes life into the lifeless cub and restores life to it." So the Book of Revelation says that’s like what happened to Jesus on the third day – brought to life from the tomb – symbolised by the lion.
What about the image of the lamb? It comes from three First Testament references: We know about (1) the Passover lamb, killed before the Hebrew slaves were released from Egypt in the Exodus. The blood of the sacrificed lamb was smeared on the doors to protect that family from the destruction that came to Egyptian families as the first born sons were killed. The Book of Revelation is like the story of a cosmic Exodus. And (2) later there is the reference to the Suffering Servant of God who was led to slaughter, and (3) finally the Messiah, the Promised One of God, is described as the servant shepherd.
So the first part of John’s vision is of the lion of Judah giving life on the third day but then the image changes to a lamb standing upright that seemed to have been sacrificed, giving its life-blood seen flowing into a communion cup. A 12th century engraving on a cross shows Christ, the lamb, because he was ready to give his life blood, is worthy to receive and open the scroll. ( See the illustrations from Hans Rudi-Weber’s book "The Way of the Lamb" details in Easter 2 notes).
Very seldom are Christ the lion and Christ the lamb shown together in Christian art. There is a rare example in an illustration in a Middle Ages Bible. But in the story in the Book of Revelation the lion becomes the lamb. That’s the whole story of Easter but in reverse. The lion of Judah won the victory as the slaughtered lamb. See the changeover. But Resurrection, the lion, precedes the Crucifixion, the sacrificed lamb. Why? I don’t know. But the message hangs together. The Cross has meaning only in the new life that follows. New life in Christ only has meaning after the sacrifice on the Cross for us and our salvation.
Why bother with what is difficult to understand? Because to look at the imagery, the art, in the Book of Revelation opens up our understanding of other parts of the Bible we read more often and we learn to look behind the words and find the deeper meaning, in parables and other stories, for example. It helps us very literal people understand more deeply behind the words. (However, there are other images and symbols which we do not yet understand or cannot unravel. Never mind.)
The whole of chapter 5 is set in heaven in the context of worship.
But there is yet more imagery. There are four living creatures. These originally symbolised the whole of God’s creation. Later they represented the four Gospels.
The song of worship to God and to the slaughtered lamb could now be read – verses 11-14.
Playing "Worthy is the Lamb" from Handel’s ‘Messiah. would be a fitting way to end this meditation.
Consideration of this picture of worship makes us think about worship in this country, at this time. Joy Cowley in "Psalms Down Under" has one entitled "Worship".
It begins:
We step out of our every day selves
and into this cathedral
of sky and earth and sea
where all the parables of life This may inspire you to carry on the images in relation to the scenes round where you are placed and share them with your congregation. Consider what rouses a sense of wonder or stops us in our tracks.
Let your thoughts roam into other scenes of life or art or architecture or music or ???
which inspire this sense of worship, not in heaven, not necessarily in a church building.
If you choose not to preach from Revelation, Acts 9: 1-6 or 1-20 is the conversion of Saul (Paul). In other accounts of this experience given by Paul himself, he regards his experience as a Resurrection appearance and thus he is qualified to be regarded as an apostle. The rest of the book of Acts demonstrates how he took up his commission and was heavily involved in the mission of the Gospel going west through the Roman Empire in time crossing into Europe. All this story is written down and has been available to us through the Bible.
But there is another story of the Gospel going east, through traders and soldiers and other travellers. This story is not in our Bibles and so is much less well known. The evidence comes through archaeological finds and in ancient libraries. It has been researched for us by a NZ Presbyterian minister, Dr John England, and published in
"The Hidden History of Christianity in Asia" – the Churches of the East before 1500.
( ISPCK, Delhi & CCA, Hong Kong 1996)
Forgive us, O God, that we neglect other ways of learning what is true or that we despise truth coming to us through art or images of speech or poetry. Forgive us that we think the whole story comes through what is in the Bible and neglect the stories of faithful witnesses in other parts of the world, different cultures or different expressions of their understanding of the Christian story or different ways of worship.
Open our eyes more widely. Make us less judgmental of what is different from our former understanding or our limited experience.
Acts 9: 36-43
The reading in Acts introduces quite a different theme. There are some useful points to keep in mind when we are considering readings from Luke’s Gospel.
The story of Dorcas or Tabitha follows the Lukan pattern of pairing stories of male and female. Peter heals Aeneas in Acts 9:32-28 and closely following is the story of the raising of Tabitha though more detail is given in this story. The two stories portray Peter as a miracle worker in the line of Elijah, Elisha and Jesus to win converts to Christianity. Why miracles about restoring life? We don’t really know for we must all die some time and these stories are about resuscitation not resurrection as with Jesus.
Tabitha was obviously an important person in the Joppa Christian community. She is identified as a disciple. Acts 9:36 is the only time the feminine form of disciple (mathetria) is used anywhere in the New Testament. She was devoted to ‘good works’ and to ‘acts of charity’ – these words are not used to describe anyone else’s service in Acts. Tabitha is valued as a philanthropist. She spends her own money, not the church’s money, to care for widows. She cares for widows, presumably she is one herself.
When men take care of widows (Acts 6:4) Luke calls it ministry. When Tabitha performs the same Luke calls it service – why the difference?
Again the passage is about worship in heaven but includes a different multitude.
See how inclusive it is. John sees God’s people from the perspective of heaven. Heaven and earth are not primarily locations. "Heaven" is the time and space where God’s rule is fully operative and honoured. "Earth" in this context is under the domination of evil powers. All inhabitants of the "Earth" are tempted to become worshippers of the ‘beast’.
In this vision in chapter 7 the great inclusive multitude are robed in white and waving palm branches and shouting the theme of Hosanna, cf Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the Jewish festival of tabernacles when they remember the Exodus, their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and the songs of triumph that accompanied it.
The worship of heaven extends to earth but on earth God’s witnesses are involved in struggle and suffering. Their function is to worship and to witness to God’s truth and promises. The Emperor Domitian ruled from 81-96 CE (AD) . As Caesar he seemed to have complete control. People proclaimed him as saviour and absolute lord. Anxious thoughts arose among Christians. By all human standards Caesar and not Christ the Lamb had won the victory. Is the hope for a new heaven and a new earth just a wishful dream? All this is background to the cry, "Hosanna, salvation to God and to the Lamb". The hosts in heaven sing it with complete confidence. Here on earth we pray it as a plea, often with wavering faith and doubts and hesitations. Sevenfold praise v.12 is sung but a great multitude from every race, nation, tribe and language. In verse 17 we are introduced to the image of the shepherd Lamb, cf David, the shepherd King, who will lead all the peoples to the springs of the waters of eternal life and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. In the midst of images of suffering and persecution there is comfort. Some of these themes will be repeated in later chapters.
In these verses Jesus has the shepherd image but the picture of his sheep is not so inclusive. He speaks about the Jews who do not believe his credentials of deeds
done in God’s name as proof that he is the Messiah, the Promised one of God. Jesus appears to reject them and to speak of his own sheep listening to his voice and following him. He gives them eternal life. Why the inclusive picture in Revelation which does not make such distinctions?
These verses go on to the attempt by the Jews to stone Jesus for blasphemy. Stoning would be the Jews’ way of putting one they regard as a criminal to death. Here they do not carry it out. Yet later they persuade the Roman authorities to put him to death using their method, crucifixion.
When Jesus saw there were Jews picking up stones, Jesus said:
I’ve done these things in your midst
God sent me to do all of them!
So which one of my deeds makes you so angry that you want
to stone me to death.
In whatever I do, God and I do it together.
Jesus eluded them. It was not yet the right moment for the final confrontation.
Sometimes, O God, we are bored with our living. Nothing exciting is happening. It is the same old drudge, day after day. Wake us up to appreciate again life, our ordinary life, and to see in it new possibilities, new awareness of other people, new insights.
We pray, too, for those who are approaching death from incurable diseases. Help them, even with decreased senses to appreciate the love and care with which they are surrounded. Support their family and friends and help their understanding.
For those who have become lost in continuing grief wake them to see that life is good and there is a world to appreciate and new possibilities lie before them.
We pray for those who approach life only with pessimism and cannot see great or small achievements. Open their eyes and ears and grant them new perspectives.
We pray for those who see so many things in life negatively and those who are known for their destructive criticisms. We pray for a change of outlook and reaction.
We pray for those who always question people’s motives and see a dark side to all.
Acts 11:1-18
The story in Acts 11: News reached the leaders of the Church in Judea that Peter had gone to eat with uncircumcised men, Gentiles (refer back to Acts 10, the reading on Easter Day). That is forbidden by Jewish law and the early Christians were Jews who kept the Jewish law. Peter was criticised for his actions though the news was that Gentiles had accepted the word of God and been baptised.
So Peter tells the Council the whole story of his vision and obeying the Spirit,
10:12 – and not to make a distinction between them and us. Other translations suggest and ‘not to hesitate’ about going with the messengers from Cornelius. Six other brothers - Christians - had accompanied him. He had not been acting on his own. Cornelius was a seeker and had also had a vision – of an angel telling him to send to Joppa and "he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved’.
Peter tells the meeting that the Holy Spirit fell on them as it had upon Peter himself and the other disciples in the beginning. It is a powerful statement Peter gives, very logical even though it refers to visions and angels and so on. And the Jerusalem meeting’s criticism is silenced. Then they praised God proclaiming that ‘God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life’. The Jerusalem Bible says: ‘God can evidently grant even the pagans the repentance that leads to life’.
The Council acknowledged that Peter’s actions were right and gave praise for the outcome but they were so condescending about the experience of fellow human being who didn’t happen to be Jews. But we keep on doing it. We keep on criticising the actions of our fellow Christians when, following their understanding of the leading of the Spirit, they are inclusive, and neither judgmental nor condescending.
That meeting did listen. Sometimes we do not.
The Church through the centuries has had to recognise that slaves are human beings to be included, that colour of skin does not mean inferiority or superiority, that women are equal in the sight of God. What else still divides us? What are current issues similar to what faced that group in Jerusalem? We are still very loath to accept that we might have been wrong, that our assumptions have been inadequate, that we have yet more things to learn.
What about sexual orientation? What about people of other faiths? What other issues divide us? What is God saying to us in our contemporary society? Remember the vision in Revelation that was so inclusive.
A new heaven and a new earth? What can that mean for us today?
The new Jerusalem appears ‘coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband’. John has blended the conventional motif of a new Jerusalem kept in heaven till the last days, with the metaphor of the church and the people of God. The bride’s ‘fine linen, bright and pure’ is said to be the ‘righteous deeds of the saints,’
(Rev. 19:8)
The bride metaphor stresses the ideal bride was of pure origin with nothing that would compromise her loyalty to her husband, Christ. Loyalty was necessary to John’s claim that one day God will call all persons to account for their deeds on earth.
In the Book of Revelation there appears to be a note of triumphalism but the Lamb who invites us to the wedding feast is the Lamb who went on his way to a Cross. It is this Christ whom we meet as we respond to the invitation.
Many of us who were involved in the churches of the 60s became aware of new dimensions to our understanding of mission in today’s world: Poverty, hunger, conservation, pollution, racism, apartheid, human rights, the need for social justice began to claim our attention. We re-discovered the First Testament (OT) prophets like Amos: ‘Let justice roll down like a river’. But we believed hunger could be overcome by greater sharing of resources. Care of the earth, conservation, could be encouraged in place of the exploitation of the earth - which some readers of Genesis 1 felt was allowed. Pollution could be dealt with by better planning. Different races could learn to live together in harmony. But we thought we could solve all these problems with understanding, cooperation and hard work in the strength of the Spirit. In the latter decades of the 20th century we learnt more accurately the magnitude of the problems and we also encountered the opposition of Big Business and Multi-national companies unwilling to see the possibility of less profit. And many of these Christians ‘lost their nerve’ or suffered from ‘compassion fatigue’ or have grown old. So any possible danger of and feelings of triumphalism has past away. Instead some suffer from disillusionment and loss of hope. That is different from the suffering and persecution of early Christians in the power struggles of the first and second centuries but we too need to re-capture the image of a new Jerusalem and a new sense of hope and human responsibility.
On the other hand there have always been Christians who thought personal salvation is the only thing. ‘Leave the rest to God’. And there is a strong element of this in the Book of Revelation. But there is also a strong message of responsibility to act and to witness in the world, ‘the earth’ dominated by evil powers. God relies on our witness and action. The new Jerusalem comes down to earth out of God’s heaven. This earth is important to preserve.
There are examples of mediaeval art which draw on the images in Revelation. For many of these artists Revelation was their Bible, though they recognised the images were often from other parts of the Bible, particularly the First Testament. Sometimes the art clarifies the text in amazing ways, sometimes it goes beyond into further fantasies. But it helps us realise the images are not to be taken literally. They are images, metaphors, pictures, visions. And throughout the Book there is worship.
There will be occasions when the hymn, "Holy, holy, holy" will be appropriate to sing in the service or other hymns or songs with the theme of worship and glory to God.
It may be important not to have the reading from Revelation early in the service without some background before the reading. It may be more appropriate to include the reading within the sermon, even to have it read by another voice – but it should be a good reader and someone who is willing to practise beforehand.
John 13:31-35. A reminder may not be out of place that Jesus reiterates his message of the importance of love. Another translation suggests: ‘Accept and respect each other despite who you are and what you each may have been. If you can do this seriously and sincerely then everyone will know that you are my companions’.
Pray for committees and other meetings which have to make important decisions. Help us all to learn from that meeting in Jerusalem - first of all to listen attentively and then not to discount or ignore that ‘God may be doing a new thing’, that there may be new ways to learn, new insights to take into account, new behaviours to put into practice.
Paul has arrived in Europe. He presumes there is a Sabbath gathering at the riverside in Philippi. A Jewish Synagogue could be established if there were 10 adult males as a core. A form of Jewish liturgy could be used if there were only women or fewer than 10 men. Presumably that is the situation described in this passage. Paul normally made his first contact with a Jewish community. Lydia, a Gentile woman, was there listening. What Paul said obviously met her need and what she was searching for. She and her household asked for baptism and invited Paul and the others with him to make her home their centre.
Lydia was a businesswoman with contact through her trade with the elite of Philippi. She is head of her household and she would be wealthy. She embodies Luke’s ideal of women’s contribution to the church – to provide housing or hospitality and economic resources, cf Luke 8:1-3, the women who accompanied Jesus. Lydia is not credited with any leadership role in the church.
The story of Lydia is an abbreviated counterpart to the much longer story of Cornelius and Peter, referred to on Easter Day (Acts 10). Cornelius is the first official Gentile convert to Christianity. Lydia is the first official European convert.
It is hard for us to see reference to a new Jerusalem without remembering the geographical Jerusalem, the Holy City for three great religions; for Jews, Christians and Muslims. A city which has been fought over, destroyed, rebuilt and is still fought over.
John pictures the new Jerusalem with many differences.
In his vision John is taken to a great high mountain (mountains have considerable significance in the Bible; the giving of the Ten Commandments, the Mount of Transfiguration, to mention only two) In his vision John sees the ‘holy city coming down out of heaven from God’. There was no temple in the city, no designated place of worship ‘for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb’. The glory of God gives sufficient light that there is no need of sun or moon. An amazing vision and one wonders what is the impact, the significance of it. One has to go back to the setting – persecution, suffering, the threat of death for those who remained faithful witnesses.
I remember hearing of the church in Korea before the Korean war of the 50s. Japan had ruled Korea for many years. Everyone was expected to bow down when ordered to and worship the image of the Japanese emperor. Many Christian refused to do so and the consequences were very severe.
For these Christians in the first and second centuries C.E. (AD) belief in God and witness to a personal experience of new life in Christ became a matter of life and death.
John’s vision tells them to base their conviction and stake their lives that Christ’s death and resurrection was the decisive victory and it had cosmic repercussions, that ‘heaven’ i.e. God’s saving and judging presence (not a geographical ‘place’) penetrates this earth. The holy city comes down to earth. God’s presence is pervasive, its light, and source of life in living waters.
New life comes even to those with disabilities and regardless of age!
Pray for those who live with long-term, severe and restricting disabilities; for those who live with a partner with dementia, for those in similar or different situations who have lost hope. While the story of the healing at the Pool of Bethesda may hold out hope for some, for others it may add to their struggle and their feelings of helplessness as they continue coping. Grant to us all some increased understanding of those in such unrelenting situations.
May other women gain strength from the story of Lydia’s leadership and see the gift of hospitality.
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?
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.
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.