Jesus' Prayer for Us

Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 17.20-26

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 19:00)

 

Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Next Sunday is the Day of Pentecost. Which means we are in the home stretch of this Eastertide marathon. This last week of Eastertide is a bit unique in its feel because, from the perspective of the disciples, Jesus is gone. Out of the picture. This past Thursday we celebrated Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. During the last six weeks, between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, he has been preparing his disciples for this eventuality. And always quick to reassure them that he was not abandoning them. That he would send his Spirit—the Holy Spirit—to be a guide and companion in their ongoing mission and ministry. We know that it was a mere ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit did arrive. But they don’t know that at the time. So they find themselves in a liminal time of waiting. They are a bit at a loss as to what is happening. Not unlike the uncertainty and sense of loss they experienced during another liminal time just seven weeks before. During that time between Jesus’ death and his resurrection.

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The Peace the World Cannot Give

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 14.23-29

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 17:50)

 

Wednesday morning I attended a meeting of CLUE—Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. An interfaith organization that “educates, organizes, and mobilizes the faith community to accompany workers and their families in their struggle for good jobs, dignity, and justice.”[i] As is pretty common at meetings of such organizations, you start off giving your name and the organization you represent. And more often than not, there is some sort of check-in question. The question at the start of Wednesday’s meeting was “How is your soul doing?” I don’t normally care much for check-in questions, finding them to be a bit contrived. But this question really resonated with me that morning. And I have returned to that question several times since then, sort of checking in, not with a group, but with myself. Checking in with my soul. Before I go any further with my sermon, I’m going to stop for a moment and ask you to ponder that same question. How is your soul doing?

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Who Are We to Hinder God?

Fifth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Acts 11.1-18; John 13.31-35

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:40)

 

I don’t think it would come as a shock to anyone here that we have an “us” versus “them” problem. I’m not specifically talking about here at St. Gregory’s. I’m speaking in general terms. That societally we have an “us” versus “them” problem. Virtually everywhere you turn, the prevailing messaging is about how “we” and those who are like us or who agree with us are good, and “they,” “them,” “those,” and others like them or who agree with them are bad. Or if not bad, at least need to be viewed with suspicion. This is most evident in the political sphere. Increasing division between liberals and conservatives, between our political parties. With each “side” having its core positions that one has to agree with in order to be considered one of “us.” Identity politics playing out in the once-sacred halls of our governmental institutions, not to mention on the nightly news, in social media, in our streets, and even around our family dinner tables. Just look at the issues occupying all these forums in recent days and weeks. Some being pretty clear-cut, like the war in Ukraine. Definitely “us” and “them”—Russia attacking Ukraine on the spurious pretense of liberating the Ukrainian people from their allegedly neo-Nazi government. Or closer to home, the vast increase in racial tension over the last couple of years. A very visible “us” versus “them” based on color of skin and stereotypes about behavior and character that supposedly go with skin color. Then there are the divisions based on deeply held beliefs, be they religious or otherwise. The most current being pro-life versus pro-choice, as we await the United States Supreme Court’s impending decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Or throughout the pandemic, those who believe the science around COVID-19 versus those who think its all a hoax. And the related issues of requiring vaccinations or masking, boiling down to protection of public health versus perceived individual rights. And there are so many more “us” and “them” issues out there. Some that impact our society as a whole, and some that impact only a subset of our population. Divisions that are perhaps more insidious and potentially more dangerous as they often go virtually unseen by most people. Resulting in an attitude of “why should I be concerned with that if it doesn’t directly affect me?”

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The Good Shepherding of the Lamb of God

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C)

Revelation 7.9-17; John 10.22-30

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning at 20:40)

 

We are still in the Easter season, but as of last week, we exhausted our accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to his disciples. In the remaining four weeks of Eastertide, our Gospel readings focus on Jesus’ teachings about faith and intimacy with God. Focusing on our relationship with God. How we relate to God and how God through Christ relates to us. And the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Easter always focuses on one of the most well-known and perhaps most beloved images of that relationship: the Good Shepherd. With each year of our lectionary delving into a portion of the Good Shepherd discourse from the Gospel according to John.

 

I find it interesting that whenever I prepare a sermon, no matter how many times I have preached on a particular theme or particular set of readings, I invariably notice something that I had never noticed before. A detail in a reading jumps out, as if being read for the first time. Or how the whole set of readings for a particular Sunday come together to present an image I never noticed before. That is what happened for me this week, as I contemplated how to preach about the Good Shepherd for the umpteenth time in my career as a priest. As I pondered the readings for today, something jumped out at me that never had in my nearly 17 years of ordained ministry. As I tried to figure out how to approach the story of the Good Shepherd this year, as I tried to come up with a new angle, I noticed that the image of sheep figure prominently in our reading from the Gospel according to John and in the Epistle reading from the Revelation to John. Both books traditionally attributed to the same author: to John, the Beloved Disciple. The Gospel according to John using the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd to his sheep, and the Revelation to John incorporating the image of Christ as the Lamb of God. Both images pointing to answers to the question Jesus is asked as he walks through the Temple: “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (Jn 10.24). You will note that “the Jews gathered around him” asked this question. It is important to recognize that throughout John’s Gospel, when he refers to “the Jews,” he typically is referring to the Jewish authorities.

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Meeting Us Where We Are

Third Sunday of Easter (Year C)

John 21.1-19

St. Gregory’s, Long Beach

Live Streamed on Parish Facebook Page (beginning 19:45)

 

I love all the accounts of the post-resurrection appearances that we hear in these days after Easter. They are all very different, each conveying something about the Risen Lord, but also something about the people Christ appears to. And in the process, these stories somehow weave together attributes of the Risen Lord and attributes of those to whom he appeared, to say something about who we are as the Body of Christ. As those called to carry on his mission and ministry in the world in our own time.

 

It's hard to pick which of the post-resurrection stories is my favorite, as they are all so wonderful and endearing in their own unique ways. But today’ account of Jesus appearing to the disciples on the beach definitely ranks right up there. First off, I like the fact that the story is a bit whimsical. Portraying both Jesus and the disciples in a bit of a lighter manner than in many of the other post-resurrection appearances. As a result, this account is so relatable in many ways. The disciples are certainly relatable in their reactions. And even Jesus is relatable. Which I find interesting, as throughout the Gospel according to John, Jesus seems a bit unapproachable. Not that he is, but John definitely seeks to portray Jesus from a perspective referred to as “high Christology”—that Jesus’ divinity is more evident and on display than in the other Gospels. Given John’s high Christology, what I find so appealing about this story is that after Jesus’ death and resurrection, when he is definitely inhabiting more the divine realm than the human realm, that Jesus comes off as more human. More approachable. More relatable. Even, more playful. And maybe that’s the key to today’s Gospel story.

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