The Magnificence Of God’s Activating, Future-oriented, Forgiving Love
Commentary
This Sunday’s lessons proclaim that God and his resurrection have their way with us.
Historically the Sunday after Easter was the first Sunday when newly baptized members could be admitted into the fellowship as full members of the church. Consequently the theme of having life determined by something bigger than we are (the resurrection of Jesus) is most appropriate.
Acts 5:27-32
This lesson is drawn from the second part of a two-part history of the church, traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon). Like the Gospel, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts 1:8).
Theses verses offer a report of the proceedings of the Jewish Sanhedrin on the arrest of the Apostles and Peter’s witness in that context. The high priest questioning the Apostles notes the strict orders given them against teaching Christ’s name, and yet this had been disobeyed (vv.27-28). Peter responds that God must be obeyed rather than human authority (v.29). He proceeds to note that the God of the patriarchs had raised Jesus whom Jewish authorities had killed (v.30). God is said to have exalted Jesus as Leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel for forgiveness of sins. On behalf of all the Apostles Peter claims to have witnessed this along with the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey (vv.31-32).
The Holy Spirit has fallen on hard times in America, despite the growth of Pentecostal churches. A late 2008 poll conducted by The Barna Group found that only 34% of American Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force. Nearly 3 in 5 American Christians (58%) claim that the Holy Spirit is just a symbol of God’s power, not a living entity.
Sermons on this lesson can afford excellent opportunities to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit and his reality in inspiring Peter’s bold witness to Easter before Jewish authorities and our own witness. The boldness of Peter and the boldness we need to give our witness are not the result of our own courage but of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it is by the Spirit that we can come to believe in the Easter miracle, hard as it is sometimes to accept. Try to get worshippers to understand that the Spirit is present whenever they experience faith. The closing comment about the Spirit being given to the faithful is a further reminder that the Spirit is in all our lives. Help hearers to appreciate that wherever there is faith and witness the Spirit is present, not a mere symbol but a divine person who inspires our courage.
Revelation 1:4-8
This reading is drawn from the Apochryphal Book of the late first century expressing hope for salvation after a world-ending new creation. Although parts of the book may predate the fall of Jerusalem and Rome’s destruction of it, it is likely that it achieved its present form during the reign of the Emperor Domitian in Rome between 81 and 96 AD. Christians were being persecuted for refusing to address him as lord and god. The book’s Semitic Greek style suggests that its author was Jewish. Though it purports to be written by John (1:1,4,9; 22:8), his identity is not clear, though the tradition has identified him with the disciple by that name. The book is the report of seven dreams, relying heavily on eschatological images of the Book of Daniel (see 1:7,12-16; cf. Daniel 7:3; 10:5-9).
The verses assigned are part of an introductory salutation to the seven churches of Asia Minor that would receive the seven letters exposited in the book (1:9--3:22). The typical Greek formula of salutation at the outset refers to God in a tri-fold way (He who is, was, and is to come). Reference to seven spirits may allude to angelic beings or energies of the Spirit (v.4b). The greeting refers to Jesus Christ in a tri-fold way; He is identified as Ruler of kings, is said to love, and to free us by his love. This makes us a kingdom of priests which implies the affirmation of the priesthood of all believers (vv.5-6). Poetic testimony follows (vv.7-8). Reference to the coming with the clouds and as the one who will make all the earth’s tribes wail is an illusion to Daniel 7:13 applied to Jesus’ eschatological coming. God is said to be the beginning and the end.
For all the liberalization of American attitudes regarding Christianity, there is still a healthy number of us who believe in the second coming of Christ — 79% of Americans according to a 2006 Pew Research Centre poll. But the news is that in just a decade, by 2016, the number of American Christians holding that belief had dropped to just 48%! Belief in the Second Coming is losing ground.
The poll data suggest that a lot of us want to believe in Jesus’ second coming, even if it is getting harder to do for some of us. We want to believe that things will be made better in the end. And we also want to believe that Christ already reigns. But we are not so sure how that can be the case given all the evil in the world and all the lethargy about faith exhibited by empty pews the Sunday after Easter. Reference to the Spirit in the text (see above) as well as to the fact that we have all been made priests might be highlighted as present witnesses to Jesus power over evil. Another avenue from which to proceed might be to note that since God is both beginning and end, all time is one in God, so that from God’s point of view the end has come, and we are already in the end times. The analogue of our times and the realities of war after the major battle has been fought and one (like World War II after D-Day or the Civil War after Gettysburg) might be cited to explain how Christ’s reign is on the horizon, has been realized in part since the first Easter, and yet the mop-up operations must still be fought against evil by God and the faithful. Just as final victory was inevitable for the Allies after D-Day, so Christ’s final victory must inevitably be realized, now that death has been overcome on the first Easter.
John 20:19-31
The Gospel provides an account of Jesus’ resurrection appearances and the story of Doubting Thomas, as well as the interactions with him are unique to this, the fourth and newest of the Gospels. Probably not written until the 80s or 90s AD, this Gospel is written in a very different style than that of the previous three (Synoptic) Gospels, though is likely based on them. Identification of the author with John the son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved, is ancient, dating back to Irenaeus in the second century (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, p.414). Recently some scholars have suggested that John’s gospel may have been written by eyewitnesses, as this is implied by comments of the late first – early second century writer Papias (Ibid., pp.154-155; Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, esp. pp.423ff.). Regardless of its origins, though, the book’s main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31).
The story begins reporting on an Easter gathering of Disciples locked in a house for fear of the Jews. The risen Jesus enters and gives them a peace greeting (v.19). The Disciples rejoice (v.20). Jesus then commissions the Disciples, gives them the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive and retain sins (vv.20-23). It is reported that Thomas was not present, and he then expresses doubts about Jesus’ resurrection (vv.24-25). In a gathering the following week, Jesus again appears and has Thomas feel his body. Thomas confesses his faith (vv.26-28). Jesus asks him if he only has believed because he saw Jesus. The Lord adds his blessing for those who have not seen him yet believe (v.29). The author reports that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the Disciples not reported in the Gospel (v.30). The lesson closes (v.31) with a statement of the Gospel’s purpose (see above).
The majority of Americans still believe in that Jesus rose from the dead — 77% according to a 2016 Rasmussen Report poll. Confidence in the Easter reports is far higher on this side of the Atlantic as a BBC poll found that only 1 in 4 British citizens believe it. Though we are far more credulous than western European Christians, there are still 1 in 4 of us not sure, and who knows how many of us who want to believe the Easter miracle are struggling. This is a lesson that invites sermons for addressing those struggling with the question of whether Jesus has really risen or those uncertain as to what the Easter message means for everyday life.
One avenue is to rely on scientific understandings of truth. Contrary to popular understandings of science, the truth claimed by scientists is not absolute. Rather it is a function of developing certain ways of viewing the world (based on data) and then testing the hypothesis to determine whether it can be substantiated. Experimentation only verifies the theory by demonstrating that no evidence against its truth can be adduced (see Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions). This is why we accept atomic theory, though no one has actually observed an atom. (Likewise with gravity and evolution.) Using this approach to verify the resurrection of Jesus seems viable. The claim remains true as long as no one finds Jesus’ skeleton or finds evidence that the body was stolen by his followers. The claim that Jesus has risen makes sense after all! This is one strategy for a sermon aimed at remedying doubts about the Resurrection.
Another avenue for a sermon might be to focus on Jesus’ commission to the Disciples, giving them the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive and retain sins (vv.20-23). Sermons on the forgiveness that Easter brings about and our role as agents of forgiveness by the Holy Spirit are certainly appropriate assuming not much changed since a 2010 StrategyOne poll. It found that the majority of Americans (60%) regard forgiveness as conditional and the same percentage of us believe that people should never be forgiven for some actions like murder and sexual abuse. Easter is more than the bunny and even the empty tomb, and obviously America needs more consideration of the forgiveness that Jesus brings.
There is certainly a catechetical element to the themes of all the lessons for this day — chances to teach about the Holy Spirit, the resurrection of Jesus, and his second coming, all the while reminding us of the magnificence of God’s activating, future-oriented, forgiving love.
Historically the Sunday after Easter was the first Sunday when newly baptized members could be admitted into the fellowship as full members of the church. Consequently the theme of having life determined by something bigger than we are (the resurrection of Jesus) is most appropriate.
Acts 5:27-32
This lesson is drawn from the second part of a two-part history of the church, traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon). Like the Gospel, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts 1:8).
Theses verses offer a report of the proceedings of the Jewish Sanhedrin on the arrest of the Apostles and Peter’s witness in that context. The high priest questioning the Apostles notes the strict orders given them against teaching Christ’s name, and yet this had been disobeyed (vv.27-28). Peter responds that God must be obeyed rather than human authority (v.29). He proceeds to note that the God of the patriarchs had raised Jesus whom Jewish authorities had killed (v.30). God is said to have exalted Jesus as Leader and Savior to give repentance to Israel for forgiveness of sins. On behalf of all the Apostles Peter claims to have witnessed this along with the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey (vv.31-32).
The Holy Spirit has fallen on hard times in America, despite the growth of Pentecostal churches. A late 2008 poll conducted by The Barna Group found that only 34% of American Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force. Nearly 3 in 5 American Christians (58%) claim that the Holy Spirit is just a symbol of God’s power, not a living entity.
Sermons on this lesson can afford excellent opportunities to focus on the work of the Holy Spirit and his reality in inspiring Peter’s bold witness to Easter before Jewish authorities and our own witness. The boldness of Peter and the boldness we need to give our witness are not the result of our own courage but of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it is by the Spirit that we can come to believe in the Easter miracle, hard as it is sometimes to accept. Try to get worshippers to understand that the Spirit is present whenever they experience faith. The closing comment about the Spirit being given to the faithful is a further reminder that the Spirit is in all our lives. Help hearers to appreciate that wherever there is faith and witness the Spirit is present, not a mere symbol but a divine person who inspires our courage.
Revelation 1:4-8
This reading is drawn from the Apochryphal Book of the late first century expressing hope for salvation after a world-ending new creation. Although parts of the book may predate the fall of Jerusalem and Rome’s destruction of it, it is likely that it achieved its present form during the reign of the Emperor Domitian in Rome between 81 and 96 AD. Christians were being persecuted for refusing to address him as lord and god. The book’s Semitic Greek style suggests that its author was Jewish. Though it purports to be written by John (1:1,4,9; 22:8), his identity is not clear, though the tradition has identified him with the disciple by that name. The book is the report of seven dreams, relying heavily on eschatological images of the Book of Daniel (see 1:7,12-16; cf. Daniel 7:3; 10:5-9).
The verses assigned are part of an introductory salutation to the seven churches of Asia Minor that would receive the seven letters exposited in the book (1:9--3:22). The typical Greek formula of salutation at the outset refers to God in a tri-fold way (He who is, was, and is to come). Reference to seven spirits may allude to angelic beings or energies of the Spirit (v.4b). The greeting refers to Jesus Christ in a tri-fold way; He is identified as Ruler of kings, is said to love, and to free us by his love. This makes us a kingdom of priests which implies the affirmation of the priesthood of all believers (vv.5-6). Poetic testimony follows (vv.7-8). Reference to the coming with the clouds and as the one who will make all the earth’s tribes wail is an illusion to Daniel 7:13 applied to Jesus’ eschatological coming. God is said to be the beginning and the end.
For all the liberalization of American attitudes regarding Christianity, there is still a healthy number of us who believe in the second coming of Christ — 79% of Americans according to a 2006 Pew Research Centre poll. But the news is that in just a decade, by 2016, the number of American Christians holding that belief had dropped to just 48%! Belief in the Second Coming is losing ground.
The poll data suggest that a lot of us want to believe in Jesus’ second coming, even if it is getting harder to do for some of us. We want to believe that things will be made better in the end. And we also want to believe that Christ already reigns. But we are not so sure how that can be the case given all the evil in the world and all the lethargy about faith exhibited by empty pews the Sunday after Easter. Reference to the Spirit in the text (see above) as well as to the fact that we have all been made priests might be highlighted as present witnesses to Jesus power over evil. Another avenue from which to proceed might be to note that since God is both beginning and end, all time is one in God, so that from God’s point of view the end has come, and we are already in the end times. The analogue of our times and the realities of war after the major battle has been fought and one (like World War II after D-Day or the Civil War after Gettysburg) might be cited to explain how Christ’s reign is on the horizon, has been realized in part since the first Easter, and yet the mop-up operations must still be fought against evil by God and the faithful. Just as final victory was inevitable for the Allies after D-Day, so Christ’s final victory must inevitably be realized, now that death has been overcome on the first Easter.
John 20:19-31
The Gospel provides an account of Jesus’ resurrection appearances and the story of Doubting Thomas, as well as the interactions with him are unique to this, the fourth and newest of the Gospels. Probably not written until the 80s or 90s AD, this Gospel is written in a very different style than that of the previous three (Synoptic) Gospels, though is likely based on them. Identification of the author with John the son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved, is ancient, dating back to Irenaeus in the second century (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, p.414). Recently some scholars have suggested that John’s gospel may have been written by eyewitnesses, as this is implied by comments of the late first – early second century writer Papias (Ibid., pp.154-155; Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, esp. pp.423ff.). Regardless of its origins, though, the book’s main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31).
The story begins reporting on an Easter gathering of Disciples locked in a house for fear of the Jews. The risen Jesus enters and gives them a peace greeting (v.19). The Disciples rejoice (v.20). Jesus then commissions the Disciples, gives them the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive and retain sins (vv.20-23). It is reported that Thomas was not present, and he then expresses doubts about Jesus’ resurrection (vv.24-25). In a gathering the following week, Jesus again appears and has Thomas feel his body. Thomas confesses his faith (vv.26-28). Jesus asks him if he only has believed because he saw Jesus. The Lord adds his blessing for those who have not seen him yet believe (v.29). The author reports that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the Disciples not reported in the Gospel (v.30). The lesson closes (v.31) with a statement of the Gospel’s purpose (see above).
The majority of Americans still believe in that Jesus rose from the dead — 77% according to a 2016 Rasmussen Report poll. Confidence in the Easter reports is far higher on this side of the Atlantic as a BBC poll found that only 1 in 4 British citizens believe it. Though we are far more credulous than western European Christians, there are still 1 in 4 of us not sure, and who knows how many of us who want to believe the Easter miracle are struggling. This is a lesson that invites sermons for addressing those struggling with the question of whether Jesus has really risen or those uncertain as to what the Easter message means for everyday life.
One avenue is to rely on scientific understandings of truth. Contrary to popular understandings of science, the truth claimed by scientists is not absolute. Rather it is a function of developing certain ways of viewing the world (based on data) and then testing the hypothesis to determine whether it can be substantiated. Experimentation only verifies the theory by demonstrating that no evidence against its truth can be adduced (see Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions). This is why we accept atomic theory, though no one has actually observed an atom. (Likewise with gravity and evolution.) Using this approach to verify the resurrection of Jesus seems viable. The claim remains true as long as no one finds Jesus’ skeleton or finds evidence that the body was stolen by his followers. The claim that Jesus has risen makes sense after all! This is one strategy for a sermon aimed at remedying doubts about the Resurrection.
Another avenue for a sermon might be to focus on Jesus’ commission to the Disciples, giving them the Holy Spirit and the power to forgive and retain sins (vv.20-23). Sermons on the forgiveness that Easter brings about and our role as agents of forgiveness by the Holy Spirit are certainly appropriate assuming not much changed since a 2010 StrategyOne poll. It found that the majority of Americans (60%) regard forgiveness as conditional and the same percentage of us believe that people should never be forgiven for some actions like murder and sexual abuse. Easter is more than the bunny and even the empty tomb, and obviously America needs more consideration of the forgiveness that Jesus brings.
There is certainly a catechetical element to the themes of all the lessons for this day — chances to teach about the Holy Spirit, the resurrection of Jesus, and his second coming, all the while reminding us of the magnificence of God’s activating, future-oriented, forgiving love.
