Today in the Spirit: Easter 6A
Easter 6 Sunday is the last before Ascensiontide, the ten-day period between the remembrance of Jesus’ ascension on the Thursday following this Sunday and Pentecost Sunday. From earlier prayer books, the BCP 2019 has restored the title “Rogation Sunday” to this day. Rogation comes from the Latin rogatio which means “asking.” This Sunday precedes the three weekdays before Ascension during which the church has traditionally asked for God’s protection from evil (perhaps in keeping with Jesus’ prayer in John 17:15 “to keep them from the evil one”?) and to prosper the industry, agriculture, and commerce of society.
The assigned Gospel reading from John 15:1-11 features another “I am” statement of Jesus: “I am the vine” (1,5). The statement appears twice in the reading in slightly different forms. “I am the true vine” in contrast to “and my Father is the gardener” (1); and “I am the vine” as distinct from his followers, “you are the branches” (5). In the passage, Jesus goes on to state that the relationship between himself and his followers is one of obedience, as it is between himself and the Father.
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The preferred first reading in Acts 17:(16-21)22-34 narrates Paul’s first stop as a missionary in the Roman province of Achaia (Greece). Athens was the political and cultural capital of the region, the center of pagan worship and philosophy in the region. His proclamation of the good news in this passage is renowned as an example of effective cross-cultural missionary preaching:
“Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”
Acts 17:22-23
The alternative first reading from Isaiah 41:17-20 offers comfort to exiles in Babylon. In response to the people’s concern about a return from Babylon–how will they avoid being swallowed up by marauding nations and how will they survive the journey home–YHWH delivers an encouraging promise: “‘When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them’” (17).
Among the last five Hallelujah (“Praise the LORD”) psalms in the psalter, Psalm 148, appearing only here in the three-year register, is unique in its call for universal praise: beginning with the celestial, heavens and angels and sun and moon (1-6), and extending to the earth, kings and commoners and all creatures (7-12). All creation shall worship YHWH and acknowledge Israel as “the people who are near him” (14).
The assigned NT reading moves us forward in our Year A series of meditations in 1 Peter, this time in 1 Peter 3:8-18, where the apostle encourages the faithful to persevere in “unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love” (8) toward one another, even if they should be called “to suffer for righteousness’ sake” (14).
In keeping with the theme of rogation (asking for protection and prosperity), the assigned collect has the church confessing by way of revealed truth that God has prepared for those who love [him] such good things as surpass our understanding.” The petition, continuing with language of abundance, is that we may obtain things promised “which exceed all that we can desire.” Here, however, there is a contingency: that we love God above all things. In our weakness, we can only ask that love toward God be worked into us by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).
The Collect
O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
This I Proclaim to You (Acts 17:(16-21)22-34)
[16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.] 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Or, [Paul’s] spirit was greatly upset because he saw the city was full of idols (16, NET). Paul is highly irritated by the idolatry on display in Athens. And that anger provokes him to a courageous proclamation of the gospel before an intimidating audience. Take note of the apostle’s boldness when he declares, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (23). To this band of philosophers, all so secure in their understanding of the world and proud of their place in society, Paul will dare to say in effect, “I know from God that you don’t.”
Now, yes, of course, we need to be humble as to our human limitations, admitting that we ourselves are broken sinners without answers to every question; but there comes a time when in the company of unbelieving family, friends, and strangers, we must be able to confess out loud that we know the way–and so can they. In that spirit, Paul supplies us with those compelling words in Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (1:16). We must be more unashamed of the gospel than we are “ashamed” in ourselves to proclaim it. Our unworthiness never disqualifies us from speaking the good news to those who have not heard it. One verse of Charles Wesley’s hymn “O Thou Who Camest from Above” goes like this: “Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire to work and speak and think for thee. Still let me guard the holy fire and still stir up the gift in me.”
Today, in the Spirit, inspired by the confidence of Paul to speak of that which he knows to those who do not know Jesus, let us put aside every internal doubt or demonic accusation designed to keep us silent and say, “I know some precious news that you do not, and God wants you to have it.
I the God of Israel Will Not Forsake Them (Isaiah 41:17-20)
17 When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them;
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
18 I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys.
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.
19 I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.
I will set in the desert the cypress,
the plane and the pine together,
20 that they may see and know,
may consider and understand together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Figurative though it may be, the language in this passage relays the desire of YHWH early on to communicate his plans to return the exiles in Babylon (at least the new generations of them) home to Judah (chs. 40-55). The journey will be hard; there is no water in the desert, no shade from trees along the road. But here, as we see often in Scripture, the Lord God promises he himself will meet every need with miraculous provision: “I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (17-18). “I will…I will…I will.”
Devotionally, we can easily put ourselves into the sandals of these Israelite exiles as they ponder the promise of a difficult trip in the near future. In our walk with the Lord from exile in sin to new life in glory, there is, as there is in this text, the assurance of adversity, but always with the personal promise of his presence and provision of power to overcome the inevitable difficulties. Jesus said to his disciples, “‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The compulsion of passages like these is always in the “I”s. By faith, we must choose to give greater weight to God’s intervention than to the presence of opposition. See the “I”s, beloved; read them aloud, so you can hear the power of them as the voice of God himself; and, when you are called to undertake a hard road, put your trust in his promises to be with you, to strengthen you for the journey, and to convert by his mighty power the obstacles that would deter you into the means of bringing you to the end.
The renowned missionary to India, Amy Carmichael, wrote, “Give me the Love that leads the way, The Faith that nothing can dismay, The Hope no disappointments tire, The Passion that’ll burn like fire.” Today, in the Spirit, we gladly receive this prophecy of the “I”s of God as a word to us of encouragement to set out on the hard roads.
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 148)
1 Praise the LORD. O praise the LORD of heaven; *
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you angels of his; *
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon; *
praise him, all you stars of light.
4 Praise him, all you highest heavens, *
and you waters that are above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the Name of the LORD, *
for he spoke the word, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.
6 He has made them stand fast for ever and ever; *
he has given them a law which shall not be broken.
7 Praise the LORD upon earth, *
you sea monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and fog, *
wind and storm, fulfilling his word;
9 Mountains and all hills, *
fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle, *
creeping things and birds of the air;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, *
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and maidens, *
old men and children together.
13 Let them praise the Name of the LORD, *
for his Name only is excellent, and his praise above heaven and earth.
14 He shall exalt the horn of his people; all his faithful shall praise him, *
the children of Israel, the people who are near him.
Praise the LORD (BCP, New Coverdale).
From the human perspective, there is a descending order in the call to a worshiping audience: from “the highest heavens” (4) to the “earth” (7) to the nature on earth, to humanity; and even within humanity, from “kings” (11) and nations to commoners, “old men and children together” (12). The “them” in verse 13 is vague (in English and Hebrew), but in context it clearly refers to all of the above. To the whole group, the temple prophet cries out: “Let [all of creation together] praise the Name of the LORD” (13).
But why? Why praise God? There is not much said about that until the last verse: “He shall exalt the horn of his people, the children of Israel” (14). The summons is issued to praise the one God for his merciful inclination toward the salvation (“horn,” meaning strength or victory) of Israel, through whom will come the blessing of all peoples. Everyone has a stake in the redeeming work of God’s servant, Jesus, and his body in the world. Understanding this, it is possible Paul’s teaching in Romans can be interpreted more fully: “…that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Rom. 8:22) may be the sound of praise with longing.
As we come to our worship on this Sunday, our duty, first, is to join the throng. We must not see ourselves just as individuals or a small community in worship, but as part of a choir far bigger. The eucharistic prayer leads us in that direction when we hear, “Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven:” and when we respond, “Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory” (BCP, p. 132). But, second, we must be precise concerning the principal motive of our worship: “Holy and gracious Father: In your infinite love you made us for yours; and when we had sinned against you and become subject to evil and death, you, in your mercy, sent your Son Jesus Christ into the world for our salvation” (BCP, p. 132-133).
So today, in the Spirit, humbly and joyfully, we join in universal praise to the Father and the Son, for who they are and for the saving work they have done for all creation.
Finally All of You (1 Peter 3:8-18)
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit…
There are two things to bear in mind about this passage as we prepare to hear it in worship: 1) It is written under the influence of the specter of suffering to come. Peter, who is likely in Rome experiencing the birth pangs of persecution against Christians, and others to whom he is writing, may soon have to endure, shows no inclination whatsoever to advise burying one’s faith in the face of trouble. 2) It is addressed to the whole group without exception. Peter wants nothing less than full cooperation from “all of you” in the quest “to have unity of mind, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (8).
Devotionally, we must resist the temptation of thinking:
- “Well, we don’t live in such bad times, so what’s the fuss?” Friends, until Christ returns, we never enjoy the luxury of freedom from gospel war. No Christian does, no matter what time or place they are in. Even in what appears to be an atmosphere of peace, the body of Christ is under siege by spiritual forces in our culture wars, political power struggles, and temptations to give up our allegiance to God. Neither can we ever suppose:
- “Well, I am not in leadership in the church. Spiritual warfare is only for pastors and missionaries.” Peter would never have addressed his letter in the way he does if this were the case. We are all engaged in battle. The apostolic command for the whole body to engage the enemy with weapons of the Holy Spirit comes to us through the apostle as marching orders from Jesus himself.
Today, we quicken our ears and stand at attention to hear Peter’s admonitions to the church under siege, that all of us may steady ourselves, in the Spirit, for conflict.
As the Father Has Loved Me and I Have Loved You (John 15:1-11)
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Two times in this precious discourse of our Lord do we observe the command “Abide” (or, “Remain” NIV): first, “abide in me” (4); then later, “abide in my love” (9). Preceding each command, Jesus delivers teaching points, laying down foundational facts on which the impulse to remain is established. Looking only at the second instance, Jesus says, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love.” Is this not a two-fold course of lifelong Christian study for disciples of every era? It is a curriculum never to be completed in mortal life but of inestimable worth in starting.
- “As the Father has loved me:” In the first servant song of Isaiah, YHWH describes his servant as “my chosen, in whom my soul delights” (42:1). The account of the voice from heaven in Matthew’s Gospel echoes this word: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (3:17). In John’s Gospel, Jesus often testifies to the Father’s love for him, as in John 3:35, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hands” (see also 5:20).
- “So have I loved you.” The Greek word for “loved” (ēgapēsa) is simple past but looks prophetically forward to include what comes later, namely Jesus’ death and resurrection and ascension. Generally, our Lord demonstrated his love for the disciples far more than he talked about it. But he did say just a few verses beyond our passage that, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (15:13); and of course, he follows through by dying on the cross.
Today, Holy Spirit, assist us in our worship to carefully consider in the Scriptures the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for his disciples, that we might be enabled to “abide.”
Today in the Spirit
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