Rev Hugh Perry

Readings

Acts 1: 1-11

This is the beginning of the book of Acts and the author, Luke opens this book, as he opened his Gospel, by addressing Theophilus and, then, like any good sequel, he recaps the ending of his Gospel.

Only Luke tells the story of the ascension, both here and in his Gospel, and the way Luke has constructed his Gospel makes the ascension vital to the narrative’s credibility.  At the beginning of the Gospel he promises Theophilus an ordered account so having made certain that we understand that the Risen Christ is not a ghost, but a reality that can be touched and eats fish like anyone else, Luke has to explain to his readers why Jesus does not pop into visit them for a meal from time to time.  William Barclay notes that ‘Jesus won an immortality of influence for his effect upon the world’ and then he goes on to say:

Above all, there is an immortality of presence and power. Jesus not only left an immortal name and influence; he is still alive and still active. He is not the one who was, he is the one who is. ^[1]

Luke 24:44-53

Earle Ellis comments on this passage by saying:

Luke’s story began with a righteous priest giving his blessing to the congregation of Israel.  It closes with Jesus, the resurrected high priest, giving his blessing to the messianic Israel.  The priest Zechariah went into the temple with a petition for the redemption of Israel.  The followers of the resurrected Jesus also go to the ‘temple’.  But their prayer is one of joy and thanksgiving.  The redemption of Israel has been accomplished, and the messianic community, the new temple of God, has been established.^[2]

What Ellis is saying is that in this closing passage Luke is referring to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, taking his turn as temple priest as was the practice in the past.  Now, however the Risen Christ has passed on the role of temple to the followers of Christ who have direct access to God through and in Christ.

Sermon

This is the Sunday that we celebrate Ascension rather than the 9^th of May presumably because contemporary people are unlikely to come to an extra service on a weekday.  Furthermore, if we made Ascension a public holiday people would make a long weekend of it and certain business groups and politicians would wail that religion was wrecking the economy.

However there is an even more concerning element to our reading from Luke that William Barclay notes in his commentary.  Firstly, he notes that Luke has to reinforce Jesus’ presence in the heavenly realm.  For two thousand years and counting Jesus has not be available to attend a youth group fish and chip night or even a parish dinner.  That is despite the resurrection appearances we have been reading about since Easter.

So Luke answers that concern by having those first disciples witness Jesus not only go back up to heaven but he also promise to come back.  As Barclay notes, by promising to return Jesus introduces the idea of a second coming and two thousand years and counting of speculation on timing.

Furthermore some Christians have seen that as removing their obligation to transform the world by acting as Christ to others.  Super Jesus will fix everything.

But we are looking at the work of Luke the Gospel writer not Marvel Comics or Tika Waititi.  In next week’s exciting episode, the Holy Spirit will descend as of tongues of fire on a representative group of Jesus disciples. By that Spirit we will all be empowered and obligated to change the world through the power of Christ within us.  Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, ‘he’ll be back!’  But unlike any superhero he will be living and transforming the world through us.

The post Easter readings have unsurprisingly focussed on the resurrection appearances.  They employ all sorts of symbolism and metaphors to convince the readers that they didn’t imagine it, they didn’t see a ghost, and locked doors couldn’t shut it out.  Dominic Crossan, among others, suggest that what they were trying to impress on their readers was that resurrection is not something we try and persuade people happened.  We must demonstrate it in the way we live. Continue reading Sunday 12th May →

Rev Barbara Peddie

Building community

Acts 10: 44-48 and John 15: 9-17. Easter 6B 2021

These past weeks have seen a series of readings about building Christian community, and the challenge to widen the boundaries of God’s new commonwealth on earth. There’s an air of wonder about them. Not surprising. The new Church was growing and changing almost from day to day.

Pause, and remember the seasons of the year -–and of the church. The early church was in its springtime, and spring in our climate is a time of rapid change and growth. The church today is moving through another season. We can’t pretend we’re at the beginning. We have to work out what the tasks are, for this community, and this Methodist Connexion, in this country of Aotearoa New Zealand. That’s our mission.

At the same time, we can remember and celebrate the springtime of the church, and search out the links for our context. The seasons of the church year get a little muddled for us, because we have Easter in autumn and Advent and Epiphany in high summer – and Pentecost at the beginning of dormant winter. That adds another dimension of challenge us to stretch our imaginations to embrace and celebrate the cycles of change here and now!

Those first Jewish Christians were uneasy because their treasures – their taonga- were suddenly open to outsiders to share. We are often uneasy because our culture is changing around us. We’ve become multicultural – and it wasn’t necessarily by choice. Our churches are fragmenting, as our culture fragments. How do we build our communities when the old materials slip through our fingers? Where do we find our building blocks?

Today’s Gospel gives us some answers – perhaps one of the most important answers, and one of the hardest to live out. Love one another ‘as I have loved you,’ Jesus says. That’s the heart of the Gospel. But today I want to tease out some other aspects of this reading that can get lost behind the great commandment. I want to talk about the gifts of friendship and community.

This Gospel passage talks about ‘laying down one’s life for one’s friends.’ Sometimes we stop there. We hear the call to sacrificial love – and we recoil. It’s too much to ask, and it’s not something that will ever come my way. Probably not – or not in the literal sense. But it doesn’t let us off the hook of taking friendship seriously, and engaging with it, and recognising it as part of the glue that holds any Christian community together.

In Jesus’ world, friendship was valued as a virtue and a fully human love. When Jesus talked about friends, he wasn’t talking about drop-in type acquaintances, mates who come and go in our lives, people we do things with for a while because it’s convenient. He wasn’t talking about companions. He wasn’t talking about allies. He was talking about relationship and interconnectedness. Continue reading Sunday 5th May →