Seventh Sunday of Easter
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
The church year theological clue
The Sunday after the Ascension, as the Seventh Sunday of Easter previously was designated, was known as Exaudi Sunday and served much the same function as the Seventh Sunday of Easter does today. This Sunday is a time of reflection on the glory God has given Christ by lifting him up to his right hand on the completion of his work. It is also a period of expectation for the coming of the Holy Spirit to the church and the world to empower the church to do the work of Christ. It is also the day when anticipation begins for the promised return of Christ at the end of the era. It, therefore, is a Sunday on which the church gives thanks for the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ that have been completed in his ascension, and a day of preparation for Pentecost, to be celebrated next Sunday. Whether it is called the Sixth Sunday after Easter or the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the purpose and function of the Sunday remain pretty much the same; only two of the lessons are different (the Second Lesson carries over, with alterations in the verses, from the old set of propers, but the First and Third Lessons are changed).
The Prayer of the Day - In the LBW, two prayers are offered instead of a single collect. The first prayer is especially appropriate during the Year of Matthew (despite the fact that the Gospel is from St. John), because it contains the central point of Matthew's Gospel: namely, that Christ has promised to be with his own forever. The address acknowledges the ascension of the Lord ("your Son, our Savior, is with you in eternal glory"), points to the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost ("Give us faith to see, that true to his promise, he is among us still"), and affirms the continued presence of Christ until the last day ("and will be with us to the end of time").
The second prayer was inspired by the Gospel for the Day (John 17:1-11) and is for unity, that the church "might be one," asking that the church might find unity in Jesus Christ, "as he is one with you." This unity is to be functional, so that the unified church, which knows "peace and concord," may carry to the world the message of your love." For liturgical emphasis, it might be well to read both prayers in the day's worship. Homiletically, they remind the preacher that both themes are theologically important and need to be preached for the spiritual welfare and growth of the people.
The Psalm of the Day (LBW) - Psalm 47 - This psalm takes up the refrain of Easter and, in a manner not intended or even imagined by the writer, makes it apply to the Ascension of Our Lord: it actually puts the people who worship on this Sunday in places beside the disciples after the ascension; they went back into Jerusalem, according to St. Luke, praising and praying, and blessing God in the Temple for the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. In its own way, the psalm brings together the approaching conclusion to Easter ("Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a cry of joy"), the Ascension of the Lord ("God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of the ram's horn.... God reigns over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne"), and the mood of the early church ("Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our king, sing praises") as it waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Although it was composed for another and radically different occasion (the defeat of the Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah?), it is most appropriate for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after the Ascension of Our Lord.
The Psalm Prayer
Lord Jesus, the dominion of the universe is yours, for you have ascended on high and are seated on the throne prepared for you by the Father. Gather all peoples into your Church and make them a holy nation, a royal priesthood, your own chosen heritage, to praise and adore your divine majesty now and forever.
The readings:
Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14
It is probably a good idea to use the longer lesson as the preaching text, which includes the introduction to the book and details about the ascension and Christ's instructions to the disciples to return to Jerusalem and wait for the coming - their baptism by fire - of the Holy Spirit, because most members of the average congregation will not have attended the worship on Ascension Day, and may even have been oblivious to it. Verses 12-14 are the new portion of the lesson, and relate the story of the obedience of the disciples immediately after the ascension. The Eleven did as Jesus had commanded them, went to an upper room, and, along with "the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers," ... "with one accord they devoted themselves to prayer...." The Seventh Sunday of Easter, despite its new of orientation, remains - and always will be - the Sunday after the Ascension of Our Lord. It is the final act in the drama of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.
1 Peter 4:13-19
The writer of 1 Peter could have been given the mantle of the prophet, according to his admonition about sharing in the sufferings of Christ that were given to, in all probability, the newly baptized members of the church. Persecutions had already taken over the people who were followers of Christ, and martyrdom was a distinct possibility on the horizon of anyone's life who confessed Christ as Lord and had been baptized in his name. In the face of evil, Christians are to cling to the good, regardless of their fate; they are to accept suffering in the spirit of their Lord and, no doubt, of Stephen and probably others who, by the time this epistle was written, had been persecuted and even murdered for their faith in Christ. The text is a reminder to Christians that faith is expensive; the cost of discipleship may be too rich for our blood, when we compare our situation with that of the pioneers in the Christian Church. But with these early Christians, perhaps we can "entrust (our) souls to a faithful Creator" in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 17:1-11
The high and priestly prayer of Jesus Christ is taken and set down in a completely different liturgical setting than that in which it was originally spoken: the work of the Lord is now totally finished and the door to eternal life has been thrown wide open by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, completed in the ascension. Christ therefore - and this is the main reason that the latter half of this text is appointed for this Sunday - prays for his disciples, who were a gift from God to him. He says:
I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.
The reading concludes on a note which is critical for the health of the church in every age and for the effectiveness of its witness in the world: "Holy father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." The church has but one Lord and finds its unity in him.
A sermon on the Gospel, John 17:1-11 - "A Prayer for the Faithful."
Jesus' "high priestly prayer," as it is set down in the 17th chapter of John's Gospel, is broken up into three parts and used in years A, B, and C, much in the manner that John 10 is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The entire prayer will provide the context for each sermon, which will highlight different emphases in the text.
1. There is a touch of nostalgia in Jesus' last prayer; he is ready to - even longs to - return to the Father in heaven. He knows that the hour of his departure from this world is at hand - and he welcomes it. His work is almost done, nearly finished. He has glorified the Father in his life and ministry here on earth, but the final act of glorification is at hand.
2. Jesus, the Son of God, did a very human thing; he prayed for himself: "Glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee." The supreme moment of "glory" for Jesus comes in a strange way; he is glorified when he is nailed to the cross, a sign posted above his head, "This is the King of the Jews." When he is high and lifted up, the whole world has the opportunity to glorify him.
3. Jesus, about to die, prays for his followers - that God will "keep them in (his) name." The support of the faithful was important to Jesus; he knew what would happen to the believers - they would need all the help they could get. He warned them that their lives would be anything but easy; they knew - and certainly he knew - what they should expect. Christians are never promised exemption from suffering, pain, and tragedy, simply because they are Christians. But they are promised the support and comfort of God.
4. Jesus also prayed for the church and its unity. All parts of the church and all believers are one in him; that's the nature of Christ and his body - that's the way it really is, despite the efforts that are made, and have been quite successful, in fragmenting the church into small bodies of believers and exclusive sects. Jesus wants the church to recognize its unity and to live and operate within it.
A sermon on the First Lesson and the Gospel
Most congregations need to hear a sermon emphasizing the unity of the church in its Lord as central to its existence and its mission in the world. The church can only be "one," because there is only one Lord, who is "one" with the Father, as well as "one" with the church. The ascension affirms that there is but one Lord, that he reigns in heaven over his church and the world.
The Benedictines of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, have done as much as any other group of Christians to promote ecumenicity and the unity of the church in the last quarter of a century. Ever since their great church was built at the beginning of the sixties, they have been inviting people to visit them, worship with them, study with them, and live with them for a time. They have done just about everything they could to break down prejudices and smash the barriers that separate the various denominations from each other - and they have done it because their theology has been sound and scriptural. When a group of seminarians visited the monastery and the abbey church a quarter of a century ago, one asked Father Colman Barry, noted theologian and the host for most visiting groups, "Where is your 'Mary' altar?" Father Colman immediately replied, "Back in the corner, where it belongs." (An ancient statue of the Virgin resides in a side "altar room" chapel toward the rear of the nave. There is only one altar in the nave of the church building.) A few years ago, in conjunction with their university, the Benedictines established an Ecumenical Center on the campus, appointing a non-Roman Christian as director. Currently, a Lutheran pastor, Alvin Rueter, teaches the homiletics courses at St. John's University. At great risk to themselves, (possibly to be censored - or worse - by a bishop or even "Rome"), participation in the worship services of the abbey church by retreat groups, visiting scholars and pastors, and people attending ecumenical conferences, is allowed by the Benedictines. They do so because, theologically, they believe in the unity of the church. They know that the church is one, and can only be one in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Their theology demands that they witness to the unity of the church in every way they can.
1. The unity of the church is an eternal reality. In this era between the ascension of the Lord and his promised return at the end of the age, the church needs to relearn that it is, and can only be, "one" in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Baptism is the sign of that unity, which also finds expression at the Table of the Lord. Dr. Harry Whitley's every Sunday announcement in St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, comes to mind once more; it cannot be remembered or repeated too often, especially where Lutherans are concerned. There has been a radical change in many denominations since I first heard him say, "The Holy Communion will be celebrated in the Murray Aisle Chapel at 12:15. We cordially invite our visitors to join us, remembering that this is the Table of the Lord, and not the table of any one denomination." Episcopalians and Lutherans are not only gathering at each other's altar-tables; they are on the verge of establishing full communion with one another. One prays and hopes that such unity will move the whole church to acknowledge its oneness in the Lord, to gather about his table, and confess the unity of the church in him.
2. Divisions in the church - theological and denominational - are the work of people, not God. They tend to sap the strength of the church as it seeks to make its witness for Christ in the world; non-believers look at the church and - until quite recently - could not say, "See how these Christians love one another." Such divisions work their way down to the level of congregations so that there is disunity rather than unity in the Lord.
3. Ecumenicity is a sign that God has hope for the unity of the church; Christ is finally getting to his own and making them conscious of the fact that. he is the Lord of the church - and that the church is one in him. I was invited to preach at a Saturday evening mass in the chapel of a Roman Catholic "house-monastery." Before he began the Eucharistic prayer, the priest-chaplain asked me, "Would you, please, elevate the cup when I elevate the bread?" He didn't even wait for an answer, but simply offered it for me to hold and to elevate at the proper time. For both of us - although we never discussed the matter - this was a response to the message of the Lord that the church is one in him.
4. With the disciples after the ascension,it is the business of the church to engage in regular and heartfelt prayer - not simply for the world, but for the church. We don't know what the prayers of the disciples and the others were after Jesus' departure, but we do know one thing that we must pray for today, the unity of the church - that God will make the church what it is, one in Christ the Lord.
A sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Peter 4:13-19 - "The Christian Initiation Fee."
1. Jesus paid the initiation fee for becoming a Christian with his death on the cross of Calvary. No one can buy his or her way into the kingdom of God; Jesus gave his life "for many" to gain entrance into the church and the kingdom.
2. Persecution - be it in the form of verbal opposition that may take the shape of ridicule or other types of derision and/or actual physical violence - is something that Christians should be prepared to expect. Those who "follow Christ" will often receive the same kind of treatment that their Lord experienced in his ministry and death. The "noble army of martyrs" has paid the ultimate price by laying down their lives, as did their Lord, for the faith.
3. Christians must still pay a high price for being members of the body of Christ, the church. It is a price that each committed person has to pay for herself/himself in terms of faithful discipleship, stewardship of time, talents, and possessions, and work in - and for - the kingdom of God. Commitment to Christ will inevitably involve suffering in one form or another. Christians can be certain of that.
4. When suffering of any kind comes from the opponents of Christ and the church, Peter's word reminds us to accept such suffering in the spirit of the Lord, who not only reigns over us but is with us on our journey of faith to the very gates of heaven.
The Sunday after the Ascension, as the Seventh Sunday of Easter previously was designated, was known as Exaudi Sunday and served much the same function as the Seventh Sunday of Easter does today. This Sunday is a time of reflection on the glory God has given Christ by lifting him up to his right hand on the completion of his work. It is also a period of expectation for the coming of the Holy Spirit to the church and the world to empower the church to do the work of Christ. It is also the day when anticipation begins for the promised return of Christ at the end of the era. It, therefore, is a Sunday on which the church gives thanks for the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ that have been completed in his ascension, and a day of preparation for Pentecost, to be celebrated next Sunday. Whether it is called the Sixth Sunday after Easter or the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the purpose and function of the Sunday remain pretty much the same; only two of the lessons are different (the Second Lesson carries over, with alterations in the verses, from the old set of propers, but the First and Third Lessons are changed).
The Prayer of the Day - In the LBW, two prayers are offered instead of a single collect. The first prayer is especially appropriate during the Year of Matthew (despite the fact that the Gospel is from St. John), because it contains the central point of Matthew's Gospel: namely, that Christ has promised to be with his own forever. The address acknowledges the ascension of the Lord ("your Son, our Savior, is with you in eternal glory"), points to the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost ("Give us faith to see, that true to his promise, he is among us still"), and affirms the continued presence of Christ until the last day ("and will be with us to the end of time").
The second prayer was inspired by the Gospel for the Day (John 17:1-11) and is for unity, that the church "might be one," asking that the church might find unity in Jesus Christ, "as he is one with you." This unity is to be functional, so that the unified church, which knows "peace and concord," may carry to the world the message of your love." For liturgical emphasis, it might be well to read both prayers in the day's worship. Homiletically, they remind the preacher that both themes are theologically important and need to be preached for the spiritual welfare and growth of the people.
The Psalm of the Day (LBW) - Psalm 47 - This psalm takes up the refrain of Easter and, in a manner not intended or even imagined by the writer, makes it apply to the Ascension of Our Lord: it actually puts the people who worship on this Sunday in places beside the disciples after the ascension; they went back into Jerusalem, according to St. Luke, praising and praying, and blessing God in the Temple for the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. In its own way, the psalm brings together the approaching conclusion to Easter ("Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a cry of joy"), the Ascension of the Lord ("God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of the ram's horn.... God reigns over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne"), and the mood of the early church ("Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our king, sing praises") as it waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Although it was composed for another and radically different occasion (the defeat of the Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah?), it is most appropriate for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after the Ascension of Our Lord.
The Psalm Prayer
Lord Jesus, the dominion of the universe is yours, for you have ascended on high and are seated on the throne prepared for you by the Father. Gather all peoples into your Church and make them a holy nation, a royal priesthood, your own chosen heritage, to praise and adore your divine majesty now and forever.
The readings:
Acts 1:(1-7) 8-14
It is probably a good idea to use the longer lesson as the preaching text, which includes the introduction to the book and details about the ascension and Christ's instructions to the disciples to return to Jerusalem and wait for the coming - their baptism by fire - of the Holy Spirit, because most members of the average congregation will not have attended the worship on Ascension Day, and may even have been oblivious to it. Verses 12-14 are the new portion of the lesson, and relate the story of the obedience of the disciples immediately after the ascension. The Eleven did as Jesus had commanded them, went to an upper room, and, along with "the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers," ... "with one accord they devoted themselves to prayer...." The Seventh Sunday of Easter, despite its new of orientation, remains - and always will be - the Sunday after the Ascension of Our Lord. It is the final act in the drama of Jesus' resurrection from the dead.
1 Peter 4:13-19
The writer of 1 Peter could have been given the mantle of the prophet, according to his admonition about sharing in the sufferings of Christ that were given to, in all probability, the newly baptized members of the church. Persecutions had already taken over the people who were followers of Christ, and martyrdom was a distinct possibility on the horizon of anyone's life who confessed Christ as Lord and had been baptized in his name. In the face of evil, Christians are to cling to the good, regardless of their fate; they are to accept suffering in the spirit of their Lord and, no doubt, of Stephen and probably others who, by the time this epistle was written, had been persecuted and even murdered for their faith in Christ. The text is a reminder to Christians that faith is expensive; the cost of discipleship may be too rich for our blood, when we compare our situation with that of the pioneers in the Christian Church. But with these early Christians, perhaps we can "entrust (our) souls to a faithful Creator" in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 17:1-11
The high and priestly prayer of Jesus Christ is taken and set down in a completely different liturgical setting than that in which it was originally spoken: the work of the Lord is now totally finished and the door to eternal life has been thrown wide open by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, completed in the ascension. Christ therefore - and this is the main reason that the latter half of this text is appointed for this Sunday - prays for his disciples, who were a gift from God to him. He says:
I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine; all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them.
The reading concludes on a note which is critical for the health of the church in every age and for the effectiveness of its witness in the world: "Holy father, keep them in thy name, which thou hast given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." The church has but one Lord and finds its unity in him.
A sermon on the Gospel, John 17:1-11 - "A Prayer for the Faithful."
Jesus' "high priestly prayer," as it is set down in the 17th chapter of John's Gospel, is broken up into three parts and used in years A, B, and C, much in the manner that John 10 is appointed for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The entire prayer will provide the context for each sermon, which will highlight different emphases in the text.
1. There is a touch of nostalgia in Jesus' last prayer; he is ready to - even longs to - return to the Father in heaven. He knows that the hour of his departure from this world is at hand - and he welcomes it. His work is almost done, nearly finished. He has glorified the Father in his life and ministry here on earth, but the final act of glorification is at hand.
2. Jesus, the Son of God, did a very human thing; he prayed for himself: "Glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee." The supreme moment of "glory" for Jesus comes in a strange way; he is glorified when he is nailed to the cross, a sign posted above his head, "This is the King of the Jews." When he is high and lifted up, the whole world has the opportunity to glorify him.
3. Jesus, about to die, prays for his followers - that God will "keep them in (his) name." The support of the faithful was important to Jesus; he knew what would happen to the believers - they would need all the help they could get. He warned them that their lives would be anything but easy; they knew - and certainly he knew - what they should expect. Christians are never promised exemption from suffering, pain, and tragedy, simply because they are Christians. But they are promised the support and comfort of God.
4. Jesus also prayed for the church and its unity. All parts of the church and all believers are one in him; that's the nature of Christ and his body - that's the way it really is, despite the efforts that are made, and have been quite successful, in fragmenting the church into small bodies of believers and exclusive sects. Jesus wants the church to recognize its unity and to live and operate within it.
A sermon on the First Lesson and the Gospel
Most congregations need to hear a sermon emphasizing the unity of the church in its Lord as central to its existence and its mission in the world. The church can only be "one," because there is only one Lord, who is "one" with the Father, as well as "one" with the church. The ascension affirms that there is but one Lord, that he reigns in heaven over his church and the world.
The Benedictines of St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, have done as much as any other group of Christians to promote ecumenicity and the unity of the church in the last quarter of a century. Ever since their great church was built at the beginning of the sixties, they have been inviting people to visit them, worship with them, study with them, and live with them for a time. They have done just about everything they could to break down prejudices and smash the barriers that separate the various denominations from each other - and they have done it because their theology has been sound and scriptural. When a group of seminarians visited the monastery and the abbey church a quarter of a century ago, one asked Father Colman Barry, noted theologian and the host for most visiting groups, "Where is your 'Mary' altar?" Father Colman immediately replied, "Back in the corner, where it belongs." (An ancient statue of the Virgin resides in a side "altar room" chapel toward the rear of the nave. There is only one altar in the nave of the church building.) A few years ago, in conjunction with their university, the Benedictines established an Ecumenical Center on the campus, appointing a non-Roman Christian as director. Currently, a Lutheran pastor, Alvin Rueter, teaches the homiletics courses at St. John's University. At great risk to themselves, (possibly to be censored - or worse - by a bishop or even "Rome"), participation in the worship services of the abbey church by retreat groups, visiting scholars and pastors, and people attending ecumenical conferences, is allowed by the Benedictines. They do so because, theologically, they believe in the unity of the church. They know that the church is one, and can only be one in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Their theology demands that they witness to the unity of the church in every way they can.
1. The unity of the church is an eternal reality. In this era between the ascension of the Lord and his promised return at the end of the age, the church needs to relearn that it is, and can only be, "one" in Jesus Christ, the Lord. Baptism is the sign of that unity, which also finds expression at the Table of the Lord. Dr. Harry Whitley's every Sunday announcement in St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, comes to mind once more; it cannot be remembered or repeated too often, especially where Lutherans are concerned. There has been a radical change in many denominations since I first heard him say, "The Holy Communion will be celebrated in the Murray Aisle Chapel at 12:15. We cordially invite our visitors to join us, remembering that this is the Table of the Lord, and not the table of any one denomination." Episcopalians and Lutherans are not only gathering at each other's altar-tables; they are on the verge of establishing full communion with one another. One prays and hopes that such unity will move the whole church to acknowledge its oneness in the Lord, to gather about his table, and confess the unity of the church in him.
2. Divisions in the church - theological and denominational - are the work of people, not God. They tend to sap the strength of the church as it seeks to make its witness for Christ in the world; non-believers look at the church and - until quite recently - could not say, "See how these Christians love one another." Such divisions work their way down to the level of congregations so that there is disunity rather than unity in the Lord.
3. Ecumenicity is a sign that God has hope for the unity of the church; Christ is finally getting to his own and making them conscious of the fact that. he is the Lord of the church - and that the church is one in him. I was invited to preach at a Saturday evening mass in the chapel of a Roman Catholic "house-monastery." Before he began the Eucharistic prayer, the priest-chaplain asked me, "Would you, please, elevate the cup when I elevate the bread?" He didn't even wait for an answer, but simply offered it for me to hold and to elevate at the proper time. For both of us - although we never discussed the matter - this was a response to the message of the Lord that the church is one in him.
4. With the disciples after the ascension,it is the business of the church to engage in regular and heartfelt prayer - not simply for the world, but for the church. We don't know what the prayers of the disciples and the others were after Jesus' departure, but we do know one thing that we must pray for today, the unity of the church - that God will make the church what it is, one in Christ the Lord.
A sermon on the Second Lesson, 1 Peter 4:13-19 - "The Christian Initiation Fee."
1. Jesus paid the initiation fee for becoming a Christian with his death on the cross of Calvary. No one can buy his or her way into the kingdom of God; Jesus gave his life "for many" to gain entrance into the church and the kingdom.
2. Persecution - be it in the form of verbal opposition that may take the shape of ridicule or other types of derision and/or actual physical violence - is something that Christians should be prepared to expect. Those who "follow Christ" will often receive the same kind of treatment that their Lord experienced in his ministry and death. The "noble army of martyrs" has paid the ultimate price by laying down their lives, as did their Lord, for the faith.
3. Christians must still pay a high price for being members of the body of Christ, the church. It is a price that each committed person has to pay for herself/himself in terms of faithful discipleship, stewardship of time, talents, and possessions, and work in - and for - the kingdom of God. Commitment to Christ will inevitably involve suffering in one form or another. Christians can be certain of that.
4. When suffering of any kind comes from the opponents of Christ and the church, Peter's word reminds us to accept such suffering in the spirit of the Lord, who not only reigns over us but is with us on our journey of faith to the very gates of heaven.
