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The Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Jesus said to his disciples, ”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that have you inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen The Message: I had an interesting experience this week that I think illustrates really well what I want to highlight from our Scripture passages this morning. Friends of mine in Canada contacted and told me about a project they were doing for the Pentecost celebration at their church. They were contacting friends from around the world and asking them to record the words: "Come Holy Spirit" and send it to them. They managed to collect 29 different voices and they pulled all those voices together into one recording. I am going to play that for us now. [Audio of a multitude of voices and languages speaking "Come Holy Spirit" played.] I don't know about you but I found that very moving. To hear that invitation to the Holy Spirit in all of those various voices gives us a small glimpse into what the day of Pentecost might have been like. I also want to say that I appreciate Alea being willing to read alongside Fiona as we heard the reading from Acts this morning. Getting us to think about and imagine the variety of voices all proclaiming the story of Jesus, his death, and resurrection in the city of Jerusalem on that day helps us to move beyond this just being a story that we have heard many times before. I would love, at some time in the future, to have a wide variety of voices read for us all at once. So that we might capture something of what it must have been like that day hearing all those voices speaking at once. Now, I have to say I had to correct myself as I wrote that last sentence. I almost wrote "that first Pentecost Day." Pentecost didn't just start that day. The meaning and significance of Pentecost changed when the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples in the upper room, in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and reinterpreted the Festival of Pentecost for Christian Believers. The Hebrew people had been celebrating Pentecost for generations. The coming of the Holy Spirit forever changed how and what was being celebrated. So, there it is the word that I want us to consider this morning "change." Before I get too far with that though I want to go back to what I said at the beginning of my Message. All that I have already talked about is interesting, in and of itself. Some might say that all of that was interesting enough. But I have to say that what was interesting for me was what happened to me on the day my friends contacted me. I was struck by was the fact that my friend contacted me after I sent her my recording of "Come Holy Spirit." They listened to what I sent and they got back to me and said: "Mike could you do it again." "It seems that your accent has been modified by all the time you have spent away from Australia. Can you record it again with a stronger Australian accent?" I had to stop and think about just what that meant. I listened to the recording several times and then with as much concentration as I could give it I recorded the words again. This time they thought it was OK. That is the first time I have ever been asked to emphasize my accent because it didn't sound Australian enough. Being someone who has often been accused of "over-thinking" things I took some time to try to understand what had happened and what exactly they were saying about my accent. There is no question I have an Australian accent. Many of you are probably as surprised as I was by my friend's comment. As I thought about it I realized that my accent has changed. That the experience of living here, speaking here, and preaching here has brought about some change, some modification in my accent. Now, I have to say at this point that there are a variety of Australian accents. Just as there are a variety of American accents. Let's be honest I have never sounded like Steve Irwin. Of course, some of us Australians would say that Steve Irwin worked hard to sound like Steve Irwin. He manufactured his accent for the role he played in his business and on-air personality. But to get back to my point, my accent has been modified. It has changed. Unless someone points it out to me I am fairly oblivious or unaware of the change. Change is fascinating to me. Some change happens gradually and with subtlety. Some change happens because of a life-changing experience. Some change is radical and irreversible. So, let's examine change for a few minutes. The first kind of change I would like to talk about is the kind that we are all involved in. It is the kind of change that we engage in on a constant basis. It is gradual. It is a matter of small adjustments and modifications that lead to a greater end result. Which sometimes, we are unaware of. As we live our daily lives we are ever-evolving and changing. The second kind of change happens because of a major change in direction or commitment. A new job opportunity, Graduation, marriage, the birth of a child, all of these life events bring about change. This kind of change can be associated with a specific period or moment in time. The third kind of change happens when a dramatic and or radical event of some kind happens and circumstances and relationships are forever altered. This can involve the death of a family member, the failure of a marriage, the dissolution of a church community, or on a more positive note a greater, deeper experience of a faith experience. Stepping from "lip service" and tradition to a deeper desire for the things of the Spirit. We have been following Jesus and the disciples for the last few weeks as they have moved through the first two kinds of change. The disciples have experienced the deepening of their understanding and commitment to Jesus as their shepherd and Rabbi - teacher. They have been changed by their experience of Jesus. Then they have been drawn into a deeper and more challenging relationship as he has commissioned and sent them out to exercise the gifts he has bestowed on them. Here we are today at that point where the third kind of change is about to be irrevocably experienced by the disciples. Now. Things change forever. We have been following them and we have seen them shaken to the very core as Jesus' words predicting his death and resurrection have taken place in front of their very eyes. Now we experience, with them, the coming of the Holy Spirit. They cannot contain the impact of the Spirit and they find themselves in the street proclaiming the truth of what has happened, who Jesus is, and what it means for them and for all those who hear this news. In the coming weeks, we will continue this journey with the disciples. We are going to travel with them and we will find out just how much they have been changed by what they have experienced. Remember as we have read the Gospel of John in the past couple of weeks we have seen and heard Jesus talking about the Holy Spirit coming. He has wanted to prepare the disciples. Jesus has been saying he is going away and that the Holy Spirit will come alongside the disciples, that that Holy Spirit will indwell the disciples, the Holy Spirit will empower the disciples. As we think about the changes that happen with the disciples I am reminded of the story of Jesus meeting this same group of disciples on the beach after the crucifixion. Do you recall that event? Peter is shaken and uncertain about what he is expected to do following the death of Jesus. So he does what most of us would do. He goes back to what he knows, what he is familiar with. He goes back to fishing. Jesus meets him on the beach and after some interaction and community building, Jesus commissions Peter. Peter goes back to what he thinks is familiar and Jesus calls back to the journey forward. I would like to suggest that all of us have been through one of those third-level, or third kind, of change through the last year. We have all been changed by the experiences we have been through in this last year. I believe that we, like the disciples before us, have thought that we understood what Jesus was saying to us about what the coming of the Holy Spirit might mean for us. We thought that we would be ready for whatever would come. But for the disciples there is loss, there is grief, there is a change in each one of them. I have to say nothing prepares us for what we experience in the experience of loss. We found that our hopes and our life expectations were dashed by the experience of the last year. Hopes and dreams came to an end. We like Peter are not sure what is coming next. We have been shaken and we have been forever changed. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of us relate to Peter right now. We want to get back to normal. We want to get back to what we are familiar with. Jesus met Peter and brought a new focus to his life. It wasn't in the familiar and what he thought he knew, it wasn't in what he thought he cherished. Peter no longer fit into the life he knew. He was forever changed and the coming of the Holy Spirit would mean a completely different focus and life calling. The new Peter wouldn't fit back into his old life of fishing. Jesus had a new role for him as a fisher of men. What about us? What would it mean if Jesus is calling us to something new and different? What would it mean for us if we wouldn't fit back into our old life? So I am going to play this recording again and I am going to invite you to listen and say the words: "Come Holy Spirit." What might the Holy Spirit be saying to us or calling us to? The Gospel: John 17:6-19
Jesus prayed for his disciples, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” Prayer: Lord, you have promised that when two or three gather in your name you will be present with them. We depend on that promise today and pray that you will move among us. Lord, we pray that have you inspired Mike's preparation, that you will enliven his presentation and that you will empower our application. Amen The Message: You will remember I ended my Sermon last week with this encouragement: As we celebrate this Mother's Day, as we remember the example of Monica and seek to implement Jesus' words from the Gospel of John may we be gracious to one another and remember that Jesus is confident we can do this. Jesus is confident we can do this. Those words hold such power, don't they? As we reflect on the Gospel reading for this morning I hope we can all hear that confidence. I hope we can hear the trust that Jesus has in his disciples, and by implication in us. We are about to enter Graduation season here in the US. Now, Graduations will be a little different this year. Not as restricted or difficult to hold as last year but still different in size and process. I imagine that most will be held outside and that there will be some protocols that have to be followed. One of the elements of Graduation that most people will be expecting and hoping for this year is a rousing Commencement Speech or Commencement Address. Now, you all know that this speech or address is typically given by a notable figure in the community or a graduating student. In many smaller schools, this speech or address is made by the valedictorian. It is designed to reflect on the life of the students together and then to point them in the direction that they may wish to continue as they journey on in their life. Many times this speech will reflect on the achievements of the students who make up this particular class. It will certainly have some aspect of challenge and encouragement to the students to go on and to be the "best reflection of themselves and their institution in the years to come." It is a kind of "because of who you have been, this is who you might be, or maybe, in the future" speech. Of course, the hope is that whatever these students will do in the future will bring credit to the school. That the efforts of these students will raise the public notice of the school, its administration, faculty, and staff. That other people might want to send their students to the school because of its reputation and credibility. There is an element of that in Jesus' words to the disciples in John chapter 17 this morning. It is important to note that we are only reading a portion of the whole message from John chapter 17 this morning. This chapter - John 17 - is known as "Jesus' High Priestly Prayer." We are reading the center section of that prayer this morning. In this prayer, Jesus prays for the disciples. He commends them to the Heavenly Father. He sets out before the Heavenly Father what makes them distinctive, what he has done to teach, train, and prepare them for the time ahead. He lays out a path for them, a path that they will pass on to those that they encounter in the future. We are in a similar place that we were last week with Jesus being aware that he is leaving and he must prepare the disciples for what is to come. That they will draw from their experience with him and all that he has taught them. That they will seek to use what he has shown them so that they will be able to minister on his behalf in the future. Of course, there is the implied hope that others, in future generations, will be drawn to Jesus. That more people will be drawn to the teachings, training, and development that is available to those who are drawn to Jesus the Christ. I am going to pause right now and I am going to ask you to turn to the Gospel in your Bulletin or on the screens at the front of the church and I am going to ask you to read John 17: 6-9. Just take a moment and read through it. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel challenged by? What do you understand you are responsible for? With those questions in mind, I would like to give us an opportunity for some evaluation. If you receive the Weekly Update and read it you will have seen this already this week. In my "editorial section" which I have called Mike's Musings I mentioned that I was reminded of the Anglican Five Marks of Mission. I went on to say that as an Episcopal Church, and a member of the Anglican Communion, Christ Church's ministry and mission should reflect the Five Marks of Mission. The Five Marks of Mission are an important statement on the mission of the church. They express the Anglican Communion’s common commitment to, and understanding of, God’s holistic and integral mission. The Five Marks of Mission: The mission of the Church is the mission of Christ 1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom 2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers 3. To respond to human need by loving service 4. To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind, and pursue peace and reconciliation 5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth I asked then asked the question: "How do you think we are doing? "As we look at the life of the community of Christ here at Christ Church how do you feel we are doing fulfilling the Anglican Communion's Five Marks's Mission? How do you feel we are doing with the role and responsibility that Jesus was preparing the disciples for? On a more personal note: "how have you received the mission purpose that Jesus wants us to be involved in?" Can I conclude this morning by saying that many students will attend their Graduation Ceremony this year and walk away with a shrug of their shoulders and an attitude that says: "well, I am glad that is over and done with all that." They will, for a wide variety of reasons, not take up the call to a life of witness and example. They will have their "own agenda" for their lives and it won't have much to do with what they have learned and seen in their time in the institution that they are graduating from. This leads me to ask the question: "do you think it is possible to walk away from our gathering time, here on Sunday, and do the same thing?" Thursday was the day that, traditionally, followers of Christ celebrate The Ascension. This Sunday is the Sunday after The Ascension. Now that Jesus is no longer with us physically what are we depending on to carry on his mission and ministry to the world? Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It is the day when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. What are we anticipating with the coming of the Holy Spirit? What impact has the coming of the Holy Spirit had on us? Acts 17: 28 (a) says: "For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’" Is that true or are we "going through the motions" and hoping for the best? How prepared are we to fulfill the trust and the confidence that Jesus has in us? Or perhaps a better question is how willing are we to fulfill the trust and the confidence that Jesus has in us? Would people we meet this week recognize the activity of the Holy Spirit in us? Would they say of us that we are people who live with the Five Marks of Mission active in our lives? |
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June 2021
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