Today in the Spirit: Easter 5C
At Easter 5, the church begins to highlight some of the teachings of Jesus in the upper room discourse in John. The assigned Gospel reading out of John 13:31-35 in Year C begins that discourse after Judas departs the scene. Directing his attention to the eleven, our Lord says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him,” followed by the “new commandment… that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (34).
The appointed Acts reading for Easter 5C, Acts 13:44-52, gives us Luke’s narration of the events that followed Paul’s sermon at Pisidian Antioch one week earlier. Luke describes, without indicating that Paul even had a chance to speak, the sharp division that arises between the Jewish detractors who are jealous of the attention given to the missionaries and the Gentile God-fearers rejoicing over Paul’s declaration of divine favor on the Gentiles.
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The assigned OT passage, Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18, is the only text from Leviticus to appear in the three-year lectionary. Though the passage is actually assigned at other times (Epiphany 7A and Pentecost, Proper 2A), we hardly ever hear it except at Easter 5C because of the way the lectionary lines up with the calendar year. The contents of the laws given in this text pertain to practical issues surrounding Israel’s settling in the new land. They are the “new commandment” of Jesus given in the Gospel reading applied to a lifestyle of farming crops, hiring field workers, and feeding the helpless.
Our appointed Psalm 145:1-9 or 145:1-9 is one a group of praise psalms at the end of the psalter which turn up often in the lectionary (this one also at Pentecost, Propers 9A and 20A). It is the personal testimony “of David” as king, praising YHWH for his “wondrous works” (5). The first part (1-9) contains “David’s” own observations of the “wondrous works” of YHWH. The second part (10-20), emanating from the first, consists of declarations of God’s greatness which all the “righteous” of David’s kingdom should God readily make.
Moving forward in the Easter Year C series of NT readings out of Revelation, we join our worship with visions of songs of heaven, including two by “great multitudes” (the angels like those of 5:11, or the martyrs of 7:9?), praising God for his judgment against evil and his making way for the “wedding of the Lamb” and “the Bride” (7). Every new song begins with “Hallelujah.”
The reference in the Collect to Jesus Christ as “the way, the truth, and the life” goes together with that famous saying found in John 14, assigned in Year A. The commands, teachings, and visions cited in this year’s readings, however, will cause us to pray “that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal glory; through Jesus Christ.”
The Collect
Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth, and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I Have Made You a Light for the Gentiles (Acts 13:44-52)
44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
Acts 13:44-52
“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. 51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Read Isaiah 49:6 in any translation, and you will note how, according to Luke in Acts, Paul changes the verb tense from “I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth” in Isaiah to “I have made you a light for the Gentiles…(Ac. 13:47b). Future to present perfect. Clearly also, Paul contracts the meaning of “you” in Isaiah, referring to Israel as God’s “servant,” as referring particularly to himself and Barnabas: “For the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles’” (47a).
Is this too big a stretch and a claim made in arrogance? It would be, unless it is true as Paul writes in Galatians that “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (2:20). Paul’s understanding of his vocation as a missionary is completely enveloped in his certainty of a complete spiritual identity change to the likeness of the crucified and risen Christ inside him. Paul is Isaiah’s prophesied “light for the Gentiles” because Jesus is in him, and he is in Jesus. All of us, likewise, are meant to make that jump in our understanding of ourselves, corporately as a church and individually as persons, as a dwelling place of Jesus, a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19), and bearers of the light of God in the world.
Today, in the Spirit, hearing Paul’s declaration about himself in this passage, I join myself in the company of those seeing themselves in Christ as the foretold “light” of God for the world.
You Shall Love Your Neighbor (Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18)
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God. 11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD. 15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
As mentioned above, we hear in this passage a practical application of our Lord’s command issued centuries later to love one another in the believing community. It is also, you can tell by the language, an expansion of the ten commandments given earlier by Moses in the wilderness of Sinai (Ex. 20). Note the like references to swearing by the Lord’s name falsely stealing and dealing falsely with one another found in both sets of rules. These ordinances in Leviticus were set forth for the transition to agrarian living in the promised land. Virtually everyone who heard Moses deliver this sermon could well imagine themselves as a character in the “drama” anticipated in this passage–as a landowner producing crops, or as a worker hired to work the land, or as a widow with few other means of support other than picking up grain at the edges of cultivated fields.
The scriptural movement from general to knitty-gritty practical is one we must endeavor to imagine for ourselves as sincere followers of Christ. The question is, how should “love one another” be applied as fully as possible in the soil of the place I am living? Shall I, Lord, just send a well-wishing text to a brother and sister in trouble or take the time to make a visit and bring a meal? Shall I, Holy Spirit, insist on getting my way on the church council or, out of love, consider carefully the wishes of others and even defer to them? All too often, in our busy lives, we just default to the one that is easier, most convenient, or most fitting to our own points of view.
Today, in the Spirit, I open my heart to be willing to obey the general commands of the Lord at the most practical level.
As for Me (Psalm 145 or 145:1-9)
1 I will magnify you, O God my King, *
Psalm 145:1-9, New Coverdale Psalter (BCP 2019)
and I will praise your Name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I give thanks to you, *
and praise your Name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and most worthy to be praised; *
there is no end of his greatness.
4 One generation shall praise your works to another, *
and shall declare your power.
5 As for me, I will be talking of the glorious splendor of your majesty, *
and of all your wondrous works.
6 They shall speak of the might of your marvelous acts, *
and I also will tell of your greatness.
7 The remembrance of your abundant goodness shall they proclaim, *
and they shall sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, *
long-suffering, and of great kindness.
9 The Lord is loving to everyone, *
and his mercy is over all his works.
Noteworthy in the middle of the first section of this psalm (1-9) are the consecutive verses featuring an exchange between the universal praise of God and “David’s” own: “One generation shall praise your works to another… As for me, I will be talking about the glorious splendor of your majesty (4-5). Then, “They [the generations] shall speak of the might of your marvelous acts, and I also will tell of your greatness” (6). This being a royal psalm, David is not simply stating his position as one of many in the crowd, but declaring that, as king, he will faithfully observe the revelation of the greatness of God and lead his people forward to do the same.
Devotionally, growing in an attitude of praise, submission, and service to God is a must. History has shown us it is difficult for kings, and everyone, to maintain the discipline of humbly worshiping God and not themselves. The Bible tells us that all believers are “kings” and “priests” of God (1 Pet. 3:9, Rev. 1:5-6). Committing oneself as royalty, like David, to stay in the flow of the revelation of God, worship him, and serve others is a decision we must make daily in the strength of the Spirit. Martin Luther expresses the tension this way, “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly free servant of all, subject to all.”
Today, Holy Spirit, grant me the grace to receive my elevation to the status of king and priest with the humility of David in this psalm.
The Bride (Revelation 19:1-9)
1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
Revelation 19:1-9
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 Once more they cried out,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.”
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,
“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
What was perhaps most encouraging for the churches at the time when “John” (1:9) compiled these visions from Jesus Christ was the gradual elevation of the people of God as the visions unfolded. Consider just the readings from Revelation that we have sat under in our worship this Easter season so far: In the inaugural vision of Chapter 1 (Easter 2), the churches appear as “lampstands” (interesting but inanimate) in a depiction of the world unveiled as heaven sees us. In the vision of Chapter 5 (Easter 3), we find the Church in heaven close to the throne of God’s majesty, now alive, and, with the coming of the Lamb, making their voices heard in the celestial chorus. In Chapter 7 (Easter 4), the camera of heaven zooms in on the humans alone–really just the martyrs–enough to see their heavenly dress and hear their voices, so much so that an elder in heaven asks, “Who are they and where do they come from?” (7:13). And now out of Chapter 19 (Easter 5), the people of God become “the Bride” to be joined in marriage to the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is more to come on Easter 6 and Easter 7.
Dear Lord, I now see our place in the universal scheme of things to be far greater than ever I could imagine without your showing it to me. Thank you for the Book of Revelation (and other portions of the Bible) showing me the preparations for a great wedding feast where my brothers and sisters and I will be the Bride of the Son of God, occupying the throne of heaven with the Father. I see it now, God. We are drawn into the Center. We are there now, having already been betrothed by the blood of the Lamb, our Husband, only waiting for the wedding veil to be lifted over our eyes. “Hallelujah” again and again I say, “hallelujah”!
Today, Holy Spirit, let the visions I am seeing in our worship this Easter lift my spirits through the trials and the perplexity of being a Christian in my own day.
Now the Son of Man is Glorified (John 13:31-35)
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
John 13:31-38
Allow me to add the account of Jesus’ prediction of Peter’s denials (36-38) to the end of this reading for devotional purposes. Only John puts together that prediction with the teaching of our Lord that “now” (with the betrayal of Judas) “is the Son of Man glorified” (31). Peter speaks to Jesus almost as if he has not even heard the “new commandment.” He is only concerned with asking Jesus why he cannot follow where Jesus intends to go. Peter claims he would die for Jesus, but Jesus responds that, no, Peter, within a few short hours you will ‘have denied me’ (“disowned me,” NIV) three times. I believe we are meant to see in John here the contrast between the Son being glorified by the Father and his being disowned by the man.
What does this juxtaposition teach us devotionally? Certainly, one idea is that it is the ministry of the Son of Man, and that alone, which will bring him glory. We know the word “glorify” in the NT means to honor or magnify, literally like a “weight” laid on his shoulders. Peter, his sincere intentions aside, cannot in himself do any of the heavy lifting necessary to bring glory to Jesus. We cannot either. Let not Peter’s pride enter into your own calculations of the importance of your ministry and your life. Our lot is to hear the Son of God pointing out our regular betrayals and so see with ever greater acuity the work he is manifesting in us and through us. Our assignment before our Lord is only and always to decrease, that he may increase. We bring no glory to the heavenly throne ourselves; we approach in his light. Remember from the Revelation passage two weeks ago how, only after the bloodied Lamb comes to the Father’s side, could all the earth be ushered into the temple of worship (see Rev. 5:13).
Today, Holy Spirit, let me hear in our worship this week of the work of the Son of Man and rest on the foundation of the “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” Jesus himself provides (2 Cor. 4:17)—and this in spite of my lingering pride in believing I, too, have something to contribute and my denials of his name.
Today in the Spirit
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