Tagged: Church

March 31, 2017

Acts 2:42-47

This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on May 7, 2017.

The heart of every churchman will warm as he or she reads this paragraph that closes this remarkable chapter. It begins with the new generation being baptized in the Holy Spirit early in the morning. When the Spirit moves into their hearts, he energizes them in worship and witness. The church of Jesus Christ takes its place in history.

In response to the Spirit-empowered preaching of the Gospel by Peter, while being supported by the rest of the Apostles, the number in the church multiplied from 120 to 3120 in that one day. In the immediate days ahead Luke reports with descriptive words what life was like for these new believers. It is a remarkable beginning. Not one to be imitated, but a good description of what we should prayerfully expect in our churches. We should allow this passage to mold our expectations of the church where we serve. As we study this description of life in the church, we must always be mindful that these are people in whom God dwells by His Spirit. This is not a movement of men, but a movement of the Living Christ.

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April 25, 2016

John 17:20-26

This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on May 8, 2016.

All four canonical Gospels report that Jesus, after the supper and before his arrest, prayed. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the reported prayer is in Gethsemane and poured out in anguish for himself, for his being spared the cup of suffering, yet for the will of God to be done. In John’s Gospel, the reported prayer is in a room with his disciples and is substantially for them, as well as for future believers. The prayer has been understood by the church to be of enormous significance. It has often been called his “High-Priestly Prayer,” because it is offered on the verge of his final sacrifice, making supplication for his people in an intimate sanctity that could rightly be called “the Holy of Holies.”

One measure of its importance to the church is the fact that every year, parts of it are assigned to the final Sunday of the Easter season. The Revised Common Lectionary apportions John 17 as follows: Year A, 17:1-11; Year B, 17:6-19; Year C, 17:20-26. These divisions roughly correspond to the three natural divisions of the prayer: Jesus prays for himself (17:1-5), for his disciples (17:6-19), and for future believers (17:20-26).

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March 30, 2016

John 21:1-19

This text is used for the Lectionary Year C on April 10, 2016.

John’s epilogue provides a powerful conclusion to the gospel, despite the number of perplexing elements to the story. A number of unanswered questions arise from the text. Why do the disciples return to fishing? Why are we told the specific number of fish caught in the nets (153)? Why are there two different words for “love” mentioned in this text? Why were the disciples able to catch fish simply by casting their nets on the other side of the boat? While these enigmatic issues are fascinating, the preacher is better off centering the sermon on the clearer declarations within the text.

The setting invites some intertextual observations which can inform the sermon. The disciples are fishing on the Sea of Tiberius (21:1). The only other time the Sea of Tiberius is mentioned in the gospel is when it serves as the setting for the feeding of the 5000 in chapter 6. In that story, Jesus provides a miraculous meal for a large crowd. In this story, Jesus provides an ordinary breakfast for a small crowd. In both stories, Jesus proves to be the provider for those who follow him. Like God who provided manna in the wilderness, Jesus provides fish and bread to sustain his people in their need.

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