Worship, prayer and Bible study resources for the Seventh Sunday of Easter
Year C, Colour = White or Gold
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Introduction
This is the last Sunday of the Easter Season and we read the prayer which Jesus made before he is arrested. Soon he will end up being crucified and Jesus knows that this time has come. The last prayer of Jesus is that his disciples will be one, that their unity will be as great as that between him and God the Father. It is through this unity that the world will come to its senses and recognise who Jesus is.
The problem is of course that humanity does not easily become united, we are known by our divisions and differences. We are frightened by those who are different and we seek power and identity by belonging to one group or another. After 2,000 years the church of Jesus is as divided as it has ever been and the prayer of Christ is unanswered.
This is easily said and yet so hard to accomplish. People belong to churches and become familiar with the way things are done. They do not want to change and leave cherished habits, no matter if they are destructive and contrary to the wish of Jesus. Today we do well to rememeber to ask ourselves whether we are seeking with all our hearts to be part of the answer to that prayer of Jesus.
Are we willing to put aside what we like so that we can begin to recognise Christ in people who are different from us?
Are we willing to embrace unity and put aside our differences, so that the world may begin to see Jesus present in his church?
This importance of dependence and sharing with each other is a fundamental part of being, not just as Christian people, but human beings. We know the importance of sharing and intimate and supportive relationships. The concept of a Christian who is isolated from others is fundamentally flawed, we exist only in community - as a part of a body. Feeling lonely is painful is nature's way of telling us that this is not how we should be. So Jesus adrresses this in his prayer that we might be one, even as he and the Father are one - absolutely. We are made to share the joys and sorrows, the burdens and triumphs together.
“Christian unity is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Opening Verse of Scripture Ephesians Chapter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Collect Prayer Before we read we pray
O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. CW
Risen, ascended Lord, as we rejoice at your triumph, fill your Church on earth with power and compassion, that all who are estranged by sin may find forgiveness and know your peace, to the glory of God the Father. CW
First Bible Reading Acts 16:16-34
One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.‘ She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.‘ And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.‘ The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. NRSV
Second Reading Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
I, John, heard a voice saying to me: ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates.
It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’
The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen. NRSV
Gospel Reading John 17:20-26
Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed: ‘Holy Father, I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’ NRSV
Post Communion Prayer
Eternal God, giver of love and power, your Son Jesus Christ has sent us into all the world to preach the gospel of his kingdom: confirm us in this mission, and help us to live the good news we proclaim; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW
Commentary
A strange turn of events
Sometimes things don’t always turn out the way we would expect and it becomes necessary to adapt to the situation we find ourselves in and reflect on what God might be saying to us. This is the situation which Paul finds himself in as we see from our readings from Acts both last week and again this week. After leaving the Council in Jerusalem where a compromise was reached on how Gentiles and Jews should live as a people under God both of whose heritages are respected and acknowledged, Paul returns to Antioch where he stays for a while before setting off on his second missionary journey. He’d originally planned to revisit some of the towns where he and Barnabas had previously travelled but things didn’t turn out quite as expected. Perhaps frustrated at his attempts to spread the gospel in Bithynia in Asia Paul immediately leaves for Europe after he has a night-time vision, perhaps in a dream, of a man calling him over to Macedonia. Paul and his companions leave from Troas and sail up the coast via Samothrace and Neapolis before arriving in Philippi his new intended destination. Paul’s normal practice, once he’d arrived in a new location, was to go immediately to the synagogue, where he could meet with the men there and share the gospel with them. So we can imagine his initial bewilderment when rather than Jews he finds gentiles, and rather than men, he finds a group of women, one of which was Lydia. Lydia was clearly a woman of some standing, arising from the fact that the purple cloth and dye in which she traded was a highly regarded and sought after commodity and therefore a source of significant wealth. She was a worshipper of God, almost certainly not a Jewess but a gentile and, like many, probably the principles and morals of the Jewish law without converting to Judaism. After the encounter she and her houseful were baptised and invited Paul and his friends to use her house as a base for their activity in the town.
Whilst this may have seemed a little strange to Paul, who was probably intending to meet with Jewish man in their synagogue, he could perhaps understand what was happening in terms of the overall mission he had to the gentiles. But then events took yet another turn which Paul certainly would not have predicted. Whilst they were in the region of Philippi, presumably staying with Lydia in Thyatira, Paul and Silas went to daily prayer. As they did so they were pestered on a regular basis by a slave girl, probably someone we would see as a stalker in today’s language and society. She makes a great deal of money for her owners by her supposed clairvoyance. One day this constant barrage of apparent but empty praise seems to exasperate Paul more than usual and he turns round and orders the Spirit to leave the woman in order that she can be free. Seeing that their source of income has now disappeared the owners of the slave girl turn on Paul and Silas, engaging the power and influence of the Romans to do so. The slave girl’s owners accuse Paul and Silas of causing a disturbance (always something the Romans were keen to take action to maintain their own steely rule and order) and accused them of practices that were unlawful for Romans (something else on which the Romans were keen to take a hard line), something akin to treason. Not surprisingly then Paul and Silas were hauled before the magistrates, severely flogged and then thrown into prison. We can imagine as Paul sits in jail, hurting all over from the beating he’d just received, his feet in stocks, thinking, ‘This is not how I thought things would turn out. What is God doing?’ Later that night we read that Paul and Silas are singing and praying! However surprising this may seem it appears to result in the whole place being shaken, the doors flying open and their chains falling off. Rather than run away, Paul and Silas stay, an action which leads the jailer and his family to be converted and the magistrates releasing Paul and Silas. Interestingly it’s only now that Paul and Silas seem to claim their rights as Roman citizens and demand an apology from the embarrassed authorities and magistrates. In the verses that follow today’s reading the officials are entreated to come to the prison in person to see them, which they do. As Roman citizens Paul and Silas should at least have had a fair trial and almost certainly should not been imprisoned. Not surprisingly, the authorities request that Paul and Silas leave quietly, which they do, returning to Lydia’s house before departing for Thessalonica, Berea and ultimately Athens.
Like Paul we’re perhaps left thinking, ‘So what did all this achieve, what was God up to?’ The central theme of Acts is the message of salvation to the Gentiles. This may have been because the Jews are often portrayed as rejecting this same message. Gentile Christians were legitimate heirs of the promises of God. This message is seen as one of the underpinning themes of Luke’s gospel, where we see Jesus rejected by his own (country) people, (Lk 4 v 24) and the praise of a Gentile’s faith in contrast to that of the Jews (Lk 7 v 9). But one of the other themes that permeates Acts is that of the innocence of Christians. In both Luke and Acts we see various Christians being tried before the Roman (and Jewish) courts and proclamations of innocence. In Jesus’ own trial Pilate pronounces Jesus innocent (Lk 23 v 4), and later a centurion pronounces Jesus innocent too (Lk 23 v 47). After Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem the King himself says to Festus, the procurator, that Paul could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar. So perhaps the meaning of the story in today’s reading in Acts is threefold. Firstly Luke is showing that whatever it may seem, Christianity is not subversive to the Roman rule and government, but at the same time is clear about who the true Lord is and where He is to be found. Secondly he shows Roman officials (even if somewhat reluctantly) acting reasonably and in some cases even favourably towards Christianity and its proponents and supporters. Perhaps a message to others that Christianity should not be persecuted. And thirdly, Luke shows a God who is in control of everything, irrespective of how things may appear. However black things look, however much things are not turning out as we might expect, God is in control. Jesus has overcome death itself and His believers have His Spirit with them wherever they may go. We are as united with the Father though Christ as Christ was Himself. It’s a new world which has been inaugurated.
John, the writer of Revelation speaks about the end of time. He looks down on the Holy City and sees that there is no Temple. For years the Temple, and before that the Tent of the Tabernacle, had been signs of God’s presence with His people. But in the New Jerusalem John sees that God Almighty and Jesus, the Lamb of God are present themselves. The signs of God’s presence have given way to the reality. God is present Himself, there is no longer any need for the Temple. Throughout the book of Revelation we see a God who is involved in human affairs, a God who is involved in creating and recreating a New World in which there will be no evil of suffering and in which all will be united with each other and with God. A New World in which God will be there, exercising His gentle and ultimate control, with us in person as a living reality as the Messiah who has come takes His rightful place in creation and the cosmos. The Reverend Dr Sam Cappleman
Meditation
Singing the Lord’s Song in a strange land (Ps 137 v 4)
Pete Askew of the Northumbria Community has asked, ‘Who do we seek? How shall we live? How do we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’ It’s easy to imagine Paul and the early believers having thoughts similar to these as they started out on their journey of faith and commitment to communicate the gospel message, a message and mission which was to change the known world. Many of the early believers came from and would continue to encounter a very mixed background of religious beliefs and practice. Some of them would feel a very Jewish, or Greek influence on their faith. In addition to this there would also be the religious and ritualistic practices of the Romans, much of them centred on the worship of the Emperor. How could the early believers communicate the clear message of the gospel of Christ against the cacophony of practices, customs and beliefs that many of them encountered? How could they communicate the gospel to those people who had become so tired of religion that they just turned a deaf ear to anything that was said on the subject? And yet communicate they did. What made the early believers stand out was not so much what they said, but the way they lived. A life characterised by love, unity and the care and concern for others in their society, irrespective of their beliefs. As they went about their daily business, however mundane it may have seemed at times, others looked on at these early believers and were attracted to the genuineness of their lives, their generosity of spirit, and their willing to share all they had, and all they had discovered with anyone who came along or would listen. They had truly found how to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land. We are called to do the same.
Hymns
Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead
"Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian. If it is well
cultivated and nourished it will produce fruit, but if it is neglected, it will wither and die."
God of glory, as you made yourself present in the person of Your Son, grant that we, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, may be your presence and glory in the world, that through you and obedience to your precepts all nations would know your lasting peace and hope. Amen
All shall be Amen and Alleluia. We shall rest and we shall see, we shall see and we shall know, we shall know and we shall love, we shall love and we shall praise. Behold our end which is no end. Amen St Augustine
At Easter we rejoice in the salvation of the world. Christ is risen; let us arise in him! Christ enters new life; let us live in him! Christ has come forth from the tomb; Let us shake off the fetters of evil! The gates of hell are open, the powers of evil are overcome! In Christ a new creation is coming to birth, Alleluia! Lord make us new, Alleluia! Amen
Living God, you have given us an eternal and living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: grant that we, being risen with Him, may fix our hearts on heavenly things and share in your eternal life, worshipping you for ever at your throne in heaven. Amen
The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight; and may the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen
Additional Resources
Have you ever entered one of those competitions on cereal
packets or some other commodity from the supermarket. They ask you simple
questions and then conclude with a final challenge to write a slogan. It
will say something like ‘now describe in less than 10 words why Shreddies
are the best cereal.’ It focuses the mind to try and make a simple and easy
to understand slogan which encapsulates the goodness of Shreddies.
When we have to boil things down in this way it helps us to get rid of the
unimportant stuff and go to the heart of the matter. This is what marketing
is all about, getting to the core of the product and then explaining it in a
few words so that it captures the imagination and sells!
I suspect that if the church employed marketing consultants, they would
pronounce the verdict that we are failing to get our message across. Most
people 'in the street' have very little clue what the church is really
about. Ask the typical man on the bus what Methodists are about and he is
more likely to say something like ‘they don’t drink’ than any theological
understanding about grace. If he was asked the same question about Anglicans
he would probably start thinking about internal divisions.
There is an urgent need for Christians to eradicate the negative and
accentuate the positive. We have to recognise our shared common goals, the
things which really matter, and then find ways of getting our core message
across. Too much of our time is wasted on internal struggle and strife,
vociferous debates in which we condemn particular things, or people or
ideas. The stuff that we hate we make sure everybody knows about!
This is not very profound, but the church has found it very difficult. It is
no surprise that because Christian people have failed to put into an
understandable way what we are about, others have failed to catch on. This
might seem like sound bite religion, and perhaps it is, but we need to
recognise that Jesus was excellent at sound bites! Jesus deliberately took
very complicated messages and reduced them to a few words, a simple picture
or even a short story. People instantly knew the things he was about, love,
forgiveness and living a better life, he made them understandable.
In the passage from the Gospel of John today Jesus draws attention to one of
these core principles of being a Christian. Jesus gives the same simple
treatment to the complicated idea of unity, but like all of his teaching it
is simple, not simplistic.
Somebody asked me recently ‘what does it mean to be a ecumenical.’ I suppose
I could have gone to great lengths to explain the development of the
ecumenical message but I simply drew attention to the words of Jesus from
the reading in John’s Gospel today. Jesus makes it clear that he expects his
followers to be drawn together in unity. He captures this principle with the
wonderful catch phrase ‘that they may be one as we are one’. If this had
been a contest to find a slogan, it would have been a surefire winner. This
is what it means to be ecumenical, it is obedience to the deep desire of
Jesus that his followers should be united. It is not a suggestion, it is not
a complicated theological idea, it is just the straightforward prayer of
Christ. When we read these words we might wonder what all the fuss has been
about with different denominations and Christian churches. To be faithful to
Christ our divisions must fall and we must learn to be as one.
This importance of dependence and sharing with each other is a fundamental part of being, not just as Christian people, but human beings. We know the importance of sharing and intimate and supportive relationship. The concept of a Christian who is isolated from others is fundamentally flawed, we exist only in community - as a part of a body. Feeling lonely is painful, but is it nature's way of telling us that this is not how we should be. So Jesus takes this on in his prayer that we might be one, even as he and the father are one - absolutely. We are made to share the joys and sorrows, the burdens and triumphs together. As individuals we need to recognise the importance of being a part of others and we have to grow into mature adults so that we are able to know ourselves and others well enough to be able to get along without falling out. Immature Christians and churches need to grow up sufficiently that they will be able to get on with other Christians and churches whose only failure may be that they think or act differently. We are living some kind of fiction if we fail to realise that the fracturing of the church of Christ owes more to immaturity, tantrums and a determination by those seeking power to get their own way, than to any pursuit of godly truth. Charles Royden
Hymns
Would you walk by on the other side
when someone called for aid?
Would you walk by on the other side
and would you be a-fraid?
Cross over the road my friend
ask the Lord his strength to lend
his compassion has no end.
Cross over the road
Would you walk by on the other side
when you saw a loved one stray?
Would you walk by on the other side
or would you watch and pray?
Would you walk by on the other side
when starving children cried?
Would you walk by on the other side
and would you not provide?