Month: April 2024

Easter 5: Courage

Easter 5

28/4/24

Acts 8:26-40
Psalm 22:24-30
1 John 4:7-21
John 15:1-8

While Easter feels like a long time ago , the Church is still in the Easter season between the Resurrection and Ascension and Pentecost. The readings of these weeks tell the story of the early church and what the disciples were getting up to.

Last week in Acts, Peter was speaking to the assembly after being arrested with John; this week Philip meets the Ethiopian eunuch for a life changing conversation. The Gospel readings have spotlighted the resurrection appearances of Jesus to those who needed to see him most. Last week we met the Good Shepherd who cares for his wayward sheep.This week, Jesus invites us to abide with him as branches on his vine. In both our readings this morning we are given examples of what happens when we pay attention and choose to stay in the moment with God.

The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch begins with an angel of the Lord visiting Philip. The angel tells him to ‘get up and go toward the south’. Philip demonstrates immediate obedience, no argument, no excuses, Philip’s first response is not No! Most other people who encounter angels usually respond with surprise and shock, think of Mary, Joseph and Elizabeth. Philip does not seem to register any fear or shock, he got up and went.

The next thing that Philip does is hugely courageous. Again, he is told what to do and he does it. This time by the Spirit, ‘go over to the chariot and join it.’ Philip approaches the eunuch and asks if he ‘understands what he is reading?’ Whoa! Imagine for a moment the next time you are on a bus or plane or next to someone who is reading a Bible. Would you interrupt them and ask, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

Would you do it?! This is courageous living! We, and by this I mean you, us, me need to be able to explain what faith is about. Not religion, not the churchy stuff, rather the Good News of Jesus as Philip did with the eunuch.

Philip appears to be fearless. Why? I think he knew and recognised the voice of The One calling him. The angel and the Spirit both spoke to Philip and he acted with courage and in obedience. Like the sheep with the Shepherd, he recognised the voice.

Philip was right in the middle of the new church which was growing rapidly, more people were being added every day, there were prayer meetings and meals together. Lots of activity and in the midst of that, Philip recognised the voice of the one who was calling him. He had no reason to fear!

Because he knew the voice, Philip was then obedient to what he was being called to do by approaching the eunuch. This led to an invitation to sit with him and proclaimed the Good News about Jesus. Philip baptised him right then and there on the side of the road.

What good news for the eunuch. We are not given his name but he is a foreigner in Jerusalem. He would have looked and spoke differently. As he was a eunuch he could never be fully accepted by the Jews despite being wealthy and of high social status in his own country. It is good news for other people when we overcome our fears and share the good news of Jesus by our example and by our words.

How can we find the courage to recognize, face and overcome fear? By getting to know the one who calls us. Spending time in his company.

John calls this abiding. Abide is a funny word. It is not normal in most people’s everyday language. It feels somehow outdated as we live in a world that does not allow for much to be static; change happens quickly and we seem to be waiting for the next ‘new thing.’ There is a quality to abiding that speaks of commitment and endurance. To abide is much more personal than just hanging about or waiting.

In these early verses of John 15 Jesus speaks of the vine and the branches; He is the vine and we are the branches. The great desire of Jesus and of God the Father is that we remain together. There is a warning about being apart from the vine; we can do nothing, we will not bear fruit and ultimately we will wither. The branches that do not produce fruit will be removed. I am sure we have all had times and seasons in our lives when we have been far from God and know what it is to wither.

‘Abide in me and as I abide in you’ says Jesus. Ben Quash, an Anglican priest and Professor of Christianity & the Arts writes, ‘the challenge of finding the right ways to be an abider in such a world is huge. It’s the challenge of finding the source from which all life flows, the springs of our own being, the grain with which we are meant to live, and which it damages us to go against. It means being part of communities for whom ‘abiding’ is a watchword – above all, for Christians, the Church.’
Christian abiding is not keeping things as they have always been, nor is it about gritting our teeth and staying the course. Abiding is dynamic, it has a sense of full and personal commitment. As Christians we are to be part of churches who abide.‘ That is what Jesus does for us when we let him abide. Can we do the same by abiding in Him?

The beautiful hymn ‘Abide with Me’ provides an excellent discourse on what it is to abide. The writer of that hymn, Henry Francis Lyte, died of tuberculosis 3 weeks after its completion. ‘Abide with Me’ was apparently played on the deck of the Titanic as it sank and it has been played in Remembrance Services across the UK and the world today. At the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics, singer Emeli Sande performed ‘Abide with Me’ to a universal audience and introduced this fine hymn to a new generation – but even in that there was a haunting sadness and beauty to it.

It is a call to the ‘help of the helpless, thou who changest not’ abide with me. It also speaks to the time when heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee.’ Better times are coming, stay close!

Jesus abides in his Father’s love and we are to abide in Jesus’ love. We are called to be a part of this relationship. Abiding gives us a deeper experience of God’s love. As we experience that deep and full love, we should be able to love those around us deeper and better. People are always God’s priority. He first loved us and created us to be in a relationship with him and each other.

As this Easter season continues to unfold around us, we have been given the opportunity to study the early church and how they became a contemplative, compassionate and courageous church. They did this day by day, one person at a time – always listening for the voice of God to guide and direct them, so they could be courageous and obedient in the spreading of the Good News. May we be courageous, obedient and so full of love for others that we can do the same.


Easter 4: Want?


Psalm 23
Acts 4:5-12
John 10:11-18

Easter 4
21/4/24

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.
But I am.

Looking around here this morning, watching the news and social media and listening to people around me tells me that there is a lot of want in the world. What do you find yourself wanting this morning?
Who do you want your wants from?

We are presented with some challenging readings this morning. Peter and John have been arrested and thrown in prison. We can assume they did not want to be there. Jesus is explaining to the disciples that his leadership looks like that of a shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. A dead shepherd leaves his flock alone and exposed. What good is that?!

The Good Shepherd Jesus is often portrayed in a white robe with a fleecy white lamb on his shoulders. Gentle and mild. It is a nice picture even if far from reality. Shepherds lived on the margins of society, uneducated, rough and tumble types looking after animals that cannot look after themselves. What kind of shepherd do you want? What kind of sheep are you? The Christian writer Max Lucado, ‘Now sheep are pretty dumb! Have you ever seen a sheep do tricks? Know someone who has taught a sheep to roll over? Not only dumb – but sheep are defenceless. They have no fangs or claws. They can’t bite you or outrun you. What’s more – sheep are dirty. A cat can clean itself. So can a dog. We see a bird in a bird bath or a bear in a river. But sheep? They get dirty and stay that way.’

Shepherds needed to be robust, strong and able to manage living outdoors in harsh conditions. Maybe the shepherds in the fields of the nativity story comes to mind. They were not strolling beside still waters and green pastures. Shepherds were constantly having to look for pasture and water to keep the sheep alive. A fight for survival in harsh conditions is not what Psalm 23 brings to mind.

In John 10, Jesus starts by telling off the false shepherds of the day for looking after themselves instead of the sheep. Jesus then announces that he himself will search for the sheep and look after them. Jesus, the Good Shepherd will rescue the scattered, search for the lost sheep, take care of those sheep who have been injured and strengthen the weak sheep. Jesus is the gate for the sheep and is here to bring abundant life. I came across this description of the ‘gate’ for the sheep. ‘In ancient times the sheepfold was a circular stone corral with a single narrow opening. After the sheep were inside, the shepherd would lie down across the opening, using his own body to form the gate or ‘door’ of the sheepfold. Nothing could enter or leave the fold without the shepherd knowing about it.’

Jesus is the shepherd who knows everything. How does the shepherd know his own and his own know him? This sounds very straightforward but I have found that a life of faith is often not so certain and straight. We all have fears and doubts, there are things we do not understand. We might question if we even believe at all sometimes. There can be barriers between Jesus’ assurances and my/our faith; barriers of pain, doubt, guilt and doctrine. The shepherd is the gate for the sheep and he is also the undoer of the barriers I build. Maybe Jesus is as straightforward as this passage is saying. I know you and you know me. You belong to me. The conviction of this goes as far as laying down his life for us.

What a beautiful image. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, using his body for our benefit. He did this once for all on the cross of Good Friday. This is not a vision of a gentle shepherd nor of a hired hand who deserts the sheep when the wolf comes. He does it still, day by day as our Good Shepherd who leads us to salvation.

This is Peter’s message to the rulers, leaders and scribes the morning after his and John’s arrest in Jerusalem. A night in jail may chasten some people, but not Peter. He comes out swinging! Jesus had been rejected as the Messiah and Peter wants the crowd to know this was the wrong thing. Jesus’ work carries on in his name and Peter will not deny it. It is only through Jesus that salvation comes by which we are saved. For some people this is hard to swallow, it begs many questions and makes some shy away not wanting to push into what this means.

There are no better alternatives. Left to our own devices we can easily get lost, distracted and end up in a mess. There are the hired hands (think political or social leaders, influencers, people with loud voices, conspiracy theorists) who will run away at the first sign of trouble. The hired hands are temporary at best. There are the rulers and elders of our day who rule with power and greed.

If these are the who the world has to offer, The Lord is still my Shepherd and I shall not be in want is far more attractive. It is a messy world. Let us not pretend that it isn’t. I need a Shepherd that calls me by name and knows me. I want to be able to hear his voice from the masses of others that claim I should listen to them.

The Christian writer and speaker Elisabeth Eliot: Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure.
As we go from here today, let’s make sure we are following the right leader. The one who we can dwell with forever.