Lectionary Reading Easter 6 Part 2
Collect. Almighty Father, whose Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the light of the world: set us on fire with your Spirit of power that, in everything we think and say and do, we may proclaim the wonder of Christ’s resurrection. He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen
Read.1 Peter 3:13-22 The letter from Peter has an overall theme of suffering and as such is a letter that might touch the situation in which we find ourselves today. Not that we can compare suffering as a Christian in the ancient world to our suffering today, yet our limitations do ask us to review our experience of life. In our passage for today Peter makes reference to Noah. Now we all know the story of Noah: he built an ark at the command of God and loaded up pairs of every living creature; then after they and Noah’s family were all aboard, God closed the door to the ark and the rain cascaded down and water covered the whole earth. In the deluge every living thing was destroyed. (You can read the full story in Genesis chapters 6-9) Though the story is well known we have probably missed one of the most important parts of the story which we find in Genesis 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. Here in that verse we read that God reinstates with Noah the covenant promise that he made to Adam in Genesis 1:28 “ God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” Now there is a whole lot we could say about that but to cut straight to the chase it really means that in the story of Noah we see the Creator God beginning the life of creation again: Cleansed of all its pollution and with a “righteous family” as its caretaker. A whole new beginning! It reminds me of that great verse from Paul, So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17 17
Peter in our reading links Baptism with the story of Noah and the new beginning that ensued when the polluted creation was restored after the flood. Baptism entails believing in Jesus, accepting Jesus and all that he has done for us in his death and resurrection. Baptism is the sign for us that Jesus has done all that was needed to be done. The reading reminds us that Jesus suffered on our behalf and established for us a new beginning; a whole new start where the past is washed away and we are reinstated directly with God. Peter acknowledges that there will still be suffering and maybe trials we have to go through, yet we should never forget the hope that is in us, that through Jesus we have been given a completely new start, and securely enfolded into God and his great love for us. This is a great message for us to take onboard as we think about the world that we are experiencing at the moment. Many families have lost loved ones, many, like most of us are separated from family members, and even some among our fellow travellers are refusing to admit there is a serious problem and are rebelling against the restrictions. Others are using the opportunity to justify racial hatred. Our reading is reminding us as followers of Jesus to understand our new beginning and as participants in a new creation we need to act accordingly, trusting in all that Jesus has done on our behalf.
Prayer.
Lord we thank you that through Jesus Christ you have given to us a new beginning, the old has gone and all things have become new. Help us to leave behind the things that hold us back and help us to go forward filled with the knowledge that your love is all we need. Help us to lift our heads and face life with a new confidence day by day, knowing always that you are with us and your power and love enables us to be your disciples. Into your loving care we commit all those we love and all those for whom we pray; may all know the bounty of your grace that they together with us may face the future with hope. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour. Amen
Read. John 14:15-21
In ancient religions the requirement was keeping the god or gods happy and placated. In the Old and New Testament s the consistent message was that God loved his people and the basic response was they in turn would live in harmony with God. So when we read the words of Jesus in our passage for today the same message is coming through. As 1 John says, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins”. 1 John 4:10 Understanding what Jesus has done leads naturally to love and love leads to obedience. So often we get that order wrong, we try to fix up what is wrong with the way we live out the Christian life. We can become so focussed on correcting what is wrong we find it hard to move on. This makes it virtually impossible to follow Christ as a true disciple. Let’s be clear, all fall short, as Paul says “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:22- So we can spend a lot of time and effort trying to correct what Jesus has already dealt with, for as the Scriptures remind us, “In Jesus Christ we are forgiven” ( 1John 2:12) Through the forgiveness of being put right with God the appropriate response is not by being careless the appropriate response is love. As love of Jesus Christ becomes the core of our life we begin to walk in obedience. By walking in obedience, even though that walk may be less than perfect we walk with Jesus and in doing so, receive that added power which comes through the Holy Spirit. The Christian life really begins when we fully realise that God loves us, that in Jesus Christ we are put right with God, and in that transaction we receive the Holy Spirit. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes our Christian life effective in honouring Jesus. Just as the Father and the Son are so in harmony they are one together, the Holy Spirit and the believer are at one with each other. This is both an amazing and a glorious privilege. It is by being in harmony with the Spirit that we can become effective living stones and take our place in the spiritual house that is the community of Jesus Christ. There is great mystery here but there is also great excitement as we take our place in the dynamic fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer. Holy Father, what a privilege is ours to be in harmony with your Son through the Holy Spirit, what a joy to serve in his name among our fellow sisters and brothers. We thank you for the guidance and leadership of the Holy Spirit working in harmony with you and with us to accomplish your ministry and mission. We thank you that nothing can prevent the completed victory of our Saviour Christ as he brings about your kingdom here on earth. Lord, hasten the day when peace and harmony will be experienced in every part of your creation. This we pray in the name of Jesus our Saviour. Amen
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