Author: Bill Boon

EASTER 7

As we hear Jesus’ farewell to his disciples in John’s Gospel, and read about his ascension to heaven in the book of Acts, let us commit to deepening our understanding of what it means to say goodbye, and learn how saying goodbye is part of God’s plan for our lives.

Readings for this Sunday (24^th May)

PSALM 68:1-10

1 Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered;
let those that hate him flee before him.

2 As the smoke vanishes, so may they vanish away;
as wax melts at the fire,
so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;
let them make merry with gladness.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
exalt him who rides on the clouds.
The Lord is his name; rejoice before him.

5 Father of the fatherless, defender of widows,
God in his holy habitation!

6 God gives the solitary a home
and brings forth prisoners to songs of welcome,
but the rebellious inhabit a burning desert.

7 O God, when you went forth before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,

8 The earth shook and the heavens dropped down rain,
at the presence of God, the Lord of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

9 You sent down a gracious rain, O God;
you refreshed your inheritance when it was weary.

10 Your people came to dwell there;
in your goodness, O God, you provide for the poor.

Acts 1.6-14

Having watched Jesus ascend into heaven, the disciples begin a new phase of their life and ministry. Instead of immediately charging into action, they devote themselves to prayer.

When the apostles met together, they asked Jesus, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

1 Peter 4.12-14; 5.6-11

Sometimes having a living faith in God can make our life harder. As Jesus did, we need to look beyond our immediate difficulties to the glory that is ahead of us.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

John 17.1-11

As Jesus prepares to leave the world he prays for his disciples, lifting them into God’s care and protection, and wanting them to reflect God’s holiness in a changing and violent world.

Jesus looked towards heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one.”

Homily

“The hour has come… I am coming to you.” (John 17:1. 11)

Every life is full of goodbyes in varying degrees – from saying “goodbye” to someone who has served us in a shop, to the pain of losing someone or something that has given meaning and value to our life. It could be saying goodbye to a loved one, a pet or a precious object, to familiar surroundings, or to our youth as we grow older.

The musician and writer Nick Cave and his wife, Susie Bick, lost their fifteen-year-old son Arthur in a tragic accident in 2015. When, in 2019, someone asked him, “How do we say goodbye?”, he responded by writing:

… to say goodbye is an act of appreciation for the past that we have moved beyond, and a prelude to the new you that will, in time, require its own goodbye, and as you continue to grow, further goodbyes, each a rehearsal for the final, most precious goodbye of all.

In the Gospel reading set for this 7^th Sunday of Easter (the last Sunday of the Easter season) we find Jesus saying goodbye to his disciples. It is part of the Upper Room Discourse, which spans chapters thirteen to seventeen of John’s Gospel – with plenty of time on our hands take the opportunity to open your Bible and read them. Here you will find John recalling an intense and intimate time that Jesus spends with his disciples, teaching them about service, love, heaven and prayer. He spells out his impending departure and prepares them for life without him. Within the Upper Room Discourse, today’s passage forms part of what is known as the High Priestly Prayer – and indeed Jesus’ tone is reminiscent of a priest interceding for a congregation in their presence.

There is no prayer in the garden of Gethsemane in John’s account, so this is Jesus’ final prayer before his crucifixion. Afterwards, they will go to Gethsemane where he will be arrested, and the events of the passion will quickly unfold. So, this passage marks the transition between the Upper Room Discourse and Jesus’ passion.

It opens with a reference to “these words” which Jesus has just spoken. These are words addressed to his disciples, ending with Jesus’ astonishing assertion: “Take courage; I have conquered the world!” Now, in chapter seventeen, he addresses God directly as “Father”, and prays for himself, asking God to glorify him, and then prays for the disciples.

By contrast how different is the goodbye that we read in today’s reading from Acts. The resurrected Jesus’ last words before he ascends to be with his Father are full of hope and the promise of the Holy Spirit: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth”.

Saying goodbye is something that has filled the lives of many in these recent months. It is often full of sadness, and the pain of separation is beyond words. We may feel as though we have been ripped, both emotionally and physically, from that which we love. We may feel as though the life has been drained from us. Yet, for all the heartbreak, each goodbye contains within it a new relationship with God. As Christians we can take heart from Jesus’ closing words in our Gospel reading – words that are all about unity: “protect them… so that they may be one, as we are one”. Similarly, Jesus’ ascension, although it is a separation, is a reunion with the Father.

The prophet Ezekiel knew the pain of separation and loss. He was one of those living in exile after Nebuchadnezzar exiled three thousand Jews from Judah, holding them in captivity in Babylonia. For all the upheaval and turbulence, he lived through, Ezekiel’s faith was strong enough for him to be able to write these inspiring words:

The Sovereign LORD says: “I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

This beautiful verse speaks of God’s eternal, unfaltering promise of new life and resurrection: “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”.

On the last Sunday of Easter our focus remains on resurrection and new life. As we look forward to the arrival of the Holy Spirit – blazing with fiery vitality, next week at Pentecost – it is fitting to meditate on saying goodbye, drawing from our scripture readings a deep understanding of God’s promise of life even in the midst of sadness and loss. Because, although goodbyes can be painful, just as we can rejoice that those we have loved and lost have been united with their heavenly Father, so we too can joyfully anticipate our own reunion with God.

COLLECT PRAYER

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. Amen.

Bill Boon has provided an offering for this Sunday’s worship.

Available now on the site here

Acts 10.34-43
In the house of a Roman centurion, Peter shares what God taught him in a vision: that forgiveness of sins is offered to all, whatever their background, if they believe in Jesus Christ, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and raised from the dead.
Peter began to speak: “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Matthew 28:1-10
On Easter morning an angel rolls the stone away and tells the two women that Jesus is risen, and they must tell others. Jesus himself repeats the instructions, and both reassure them there is nothing to fear.
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

“Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 28:5)

There is a delightful book by Martin Waddell and Barbara Firth entitled Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear? Little Bear’s problem is that he is scared of the dark. Big Bear provides bigger and bigger lanterns but nothing helps. Little Bear knows that outside the cave there is a lot of darkness, and the lanterns make no difference. Eventually Big Bear takes Little Bear outside to look up to the sky and face his fears. When Little Bear sees the moon and the stars, shining far above, splitting the darkness, he is at last able to fall asleep. Now, it’s natural to be afraid of the dark. But Matthew’s story of the resurrection tells us about people who were afraid of the light.

Sometimes, the darkness is easier to cope with. The disciples of Jesus had lived through a roller coaster of emotions during that first Holy Week. They had been carried along by the cheering crowds of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. They had spent the festival vigilant in the face of the risk to Jesus from the authorities – Jewish and Roman. They had experienced the intimacy of eating and drinking with Jesus and one another at the Passover supper. And then the fear, the shame, the despair and the grief of Jesus’ arrest, trial and horrific death. In those circumstances, the deadness of grief seems welcome. It offers the chance to retreat into the dark and to stop feeling for a while. There is comfort in the dark, and a certain bleak peace. So two women called Mary go early in the morning to a tomb they know to be secure and guarded. They go to grieve. The bright light of a Jerusalem morning may be shining around them, but there is darkness in their hearts. And perhaps there is comfort in that. Now that it is all over and the adventure of travelling with Jesus has come to an end, they can do what women do – weep for the dead, and tend to the living. They are sad, of course, devastated even, but they are not afraid, not any more. When the worst you feared has happened, there is no more reason to be afraid. So it is not the darkness that scares them out of their wits, but the light – the light from two figures who ought not to be there. One is from another world, an angel, who should not exist in the real world of a Jerusalem garden. The other – well the other should be dead. Both break into the darkness of grief and despair with a searing white light of hope and joy. And the women are afraid. Grief they understood, it has its rituals and its expectations, and they know what is expected. But this new thing, this unexpected joy, this painfully bright light, this is terrifying. In their grief the walk to the tomb has been long and slow. Now all is movement. They run from the angel and from the empty tomb, not knowing whether to scream or sing. And they run headlong into Jesus. Little wonder that they fall at his feet. And his first words to them echo the message of the angel earlier: “Do not be afraid; go and tell.” Each of the Gospel writers tells the story of the resurrection in a distinctive way. None of the Gospels attempts to tell us what happened to Jesus between Good Friday and Easter Day. That remains a mystery. Instead, the Gospel writers show us the effect of the resurrection on those who were there. Matthew’s account describes an earthquake and an angel like lightning. But he is not alone in describing the first reaction of those who experienced the resurrection as one of fear.

As Christians the world over sing alleluia on Easter Day, it’s probably not the fear of the first believers we are feeling, more like the events that have overtaken the world – events that have had an effect on all of our lives. But perhaps we should not completely lose sight of those first witnesses – they may even give us courage as we move forward in our lives. The women at the tomb were right to be afraid. A bright light had pierced the gloom of the world, and nothing – nothing would ever be the same again. Dark death had been overcome. All the old, comfortable certainties had failed. The world had been turned upside down. And there were consequences. No returning to the safety of simple domestic life for the two Marys, but a commission to spread the news. And no safety for us either, if the light pierces through our lives and into our hearts today, but a life committed to the truth. A life committed to making the message of Jesus real and active to all those we have contact with. The words to the women at the tomb are the words that Jesus speaks to us on this Easter day: “Do not be afraid; go and tell.”

COLLECT PRAYER

Lord of all life and power, who through the mighty resurrection of your Son overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him: grant that we, being dead to sin and alive to you in Jesus Christ, may reign with him in glory; to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and honour, glory and might, now and in all eternity. Amen.

A happy, courageous, and Christ-filled Easter to you all
Bill