The readings on which this
sermon is based can be found at http://users.bigpond.net.au/frsparky/r162.htm
s162g04 Lockleys 4th Sunday of Easter 2/5/04
ÒHow long
will you keep us in suspense?
If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.Ó John 10.24
It must have
been a trifle frustrating for those who questioned Jesus, and sometimes God and
Jesus can still be a touch frustrating for us. We can assume that for Jesus an acknowledgement of his
divine status is less important than some other things.
Jesus turns
the conversation to the works that he does in the name of the Father, their
unbelief in those works and therefore those who do not believe do not belong to
his flock. He makes the statement
that no one will take away any of his flock, and that the promise is of eternal
life, and the oneness of he and the Father. It is a very convoluted argument, which I for one find
difficult to follow.
So let us
start from the beginning.
The works that Jesus does in the FatherÕs name that arouse unbelief in
some are not primarily the miracles, the healings or the raising from the dead that
Jesus did. Such unbelief
might be based on scepticism and the opposite of scepticism, gullibility, is
not especially good or virtuous.
I have no doubt that people who cannot believe because they are
naturally sceptical are not excluded and they do not necessarily exclude
themselves. They have yet to
see, and the God I worship is patient.
The works
that Jesus does in the FatherÕs name that did arouse unbelief in some are
primarily the association Jesus maintained with people other than themselves. Such unbelief is culpable and
destructive, because people exclude themselves because of the others in the
company God keeps.
Culpable
unbelief is the belief that another person is beyond the blessing of God.
So GodÕs
flock is all people who rejoice to be included and those who are not of GodÕs
flock are those who would weep and gnash their teeth if they happened to find
themselves there amongst these others. I recall my first training Rector saying that the
greatest miracle was that the poor had good news preached to them.
Hence the
importance of the statement that no one will snatch any of the flock out of the
FatherÕs hand. Our rejoicing
to be included is backed up by GodÕs solid determination that such rejoicing is
rewarded. While it is simply
our choice to be included, that choice is inviolable.
It is
eternal life which we are given, we will never perish. It is no wonder that such a gift
so freely given to others is bemoaned by those who think that it has to be
earned.
The
statement by Jesus: ÒI and the Father are oneÓ reinforces that this is not some
new idea dreamt up by Jesus, but this was and is the eternal will of God.
Christ is
risen, so this eternal purpose of God was not thwarted on the Cross. We cannot hold the risen Jesus to
ourselves, for it was precisely those who wished JesusÕ exclusive attention
that had him killed.
One of the
phrases in the Nicene Creed that we say each week is ÒI believe in one, holy,
catholic and apostolic ChurchÓ.
And we understand the Church being ÒoneÓ - even when it isnÕt. We understand that the Church is
somehow special, it is ÒholyÓ - even though not many of us aspire to be holy
ourselves. We understand
that the church is sent out - it is ÒapostolicÓ - or it is meant to be. But for all we are sure of being
ÒoneÓ, ÒholyÓ and ÒapostolicÓ - we have widely differing views of what we are
sent out to do.
For one, the
primary task of the church is to be a good influence in society, to stop people
doing wrong and encouraging them to do the right thing - and this is a noble
aim. For many the church is
supposed to uphold the sanctity of marriage - and again this is a noble
aim. Others focus on ethical
issues like IVF and human cloning.
Others are content to get bums on pews. Others focus on the acceptance of a literal
interpretation of the Bible.
The mission statement of the Schools Ministry Group begins Òto challenge
young people ...Ó I wonder
what happened to loving others?
Sadly we
have neglected the fourth of the words describing the Church and made the word
ÒcatholicÓ an adjective describing the end point of our sending out - we are
meant to be universal. This
can actually become a rod to beat ourselves, if we do not make our society
Christian, then we are not working hard enough.
For me,
ÒCatholicÓ actually is a verb - it means Òembracing allÓ. It is what we are supposed to
do. We are supposed to
embrace others, not necessarily physically, but embrace the good in
others.
So we are
one and special and sent out - to embrace others. When we cease to embrace others, we are not one, we
are not particularly special, and we might as well not go.
I was
reflecting recently, when I was asked to deliver an Easter homily at the Taize
service recently, how those who knew and loved Jesus the most, did not
recognise the risen Jesus.
Peter fishing in the boat had to be told by others that it was
Jesus. Mary weeping outside
the tomb, did not recognise the very person for whom she was weeping. It is quite odd that those who
were really closest to Jesus personally, did not recognise him. And I thought of those other
words of St John, which are never used in this context: ÒHe was in the world,
and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and
his own people did not accept him.Ó
John 1.9. In the case
of Peter, sometimes perhaps the Church needs to be shown that it is indeed the
risen Jesus - just over there.
In the case of Mary Magdalene, her perhaps it was in her very devotion
to Jesus blinded her to the reality of the risen Jesus right in front of
her. In her grief, her
aloneness and despair, she failed to perceive God in the person right next to
her. Perhaps their very
familiarity with who Jesus was, blinded them to what Jesus had become. So too, perhaps the Church, in
her insistence in the primacy of the gospel accounts, are blind to the presence
of the risen Jesus anywhere else.
So too our
healing may well come, not by weeping and praying to God, but in trusting the
person God has put next to us, the person with whom we have been talking to for
some time, unaware that there is Jesus.
The words of
Jesus to Thomas which are so familiar to us: ÒBlessed are those who have not seen
and yet believeÓ may also point us to the grace we can experience from the
person God has put next to us, without having to worry the Lord about our
troubles.
And so
perhaps this is why Jesus was so reluctant to claim divine status or to get
people to follow him. Jesus
had no need of followers, it is us who have need, one for another.
The world
which did not recognise itÕs saviour is not just those who had Jesus crucified,
but also anyone who sees Jesus as Òour ownÓ rather than someone elseÕs. The Church is those who see the
risen Jesus in others besides themselves, and it is wonderful to be a part of
that Church.
Links to other sites on the Web:
Lectionary
Index of Archived Sermons and Read...
Scripture
Index of Archived Sermons
Back to: A Spark of the Spirit