Sunday Sermon 17th May 2020
John 14: 15 EASTER 6 CCM
I am sure that many of you will have seen on the TV recently the celebrations to commemorate VE Day on 8th May 1945. 75 years later, there are still many people who remember that day very vividly.
You will have seen on the TV news people out in their streets, at a safe social distance of course, waving flags and singing “We’ll meet again”. I have to say I have heard that song played at so many funerals and it still makes me tear up every single time I hear it.
A number of people, including Vera Lynn, were interviewed and asked why “We’ll meet again” was so popular then, and why it remains so today. Their answers were consistent: it was about hope.
During the war, people needed hope that their loved ones would return from the fighting, that their children would be safe, and that all the hardships, the food rationing and air raids they were enduring were for a purpose.
And at the moment, people need reassurance for reasons no less valid: that they will remain healthy, that this virus would be beaten and that life would once again return to some semblance of normality. Perhaps not completely normal for a while, but by their own perseverance and efforts, and by the community’s efforts, there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope.
Last Sunday we read the Gospel passage of Jesus the way, the truth and the life, and Fr Ian reminded us of the hope we have in the promises of Jesus to his followers. In that passage, Jesus told his friends that he would be going to his father.
Today’s Gospel passage is a continuation of this discourse, and Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit, the comforter. Jesus may not be with them in body much longer, but he would not leave them alone. I am sure they listened to his words in total confusion: who would be their leader if not Jesus? And how could they see Jesus if he was going away? Would he ever return to them?
In two weeks we shall celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples, but of course, the disciples had no idea that would happen. At Pentecost we will look deeper into the Holy Spirit, but for now Jesus gives us just a taste of who the Holy Spirit is.
In Greek, the spirit is called “parakletos” or parclete, which we might understand as counsellor or advocate, or comforter and encourager. To the early Christians, who often faced persecution for their beliefs, the advocate was their defender and supporter. The Holy Spirit was on their side. In the Message translation of the Bible, Eugene Petersen describes the spirit as “the friend”, someone who will always be with us.
The theologian John Stott said that as believers in Jesus Christ, we should not call ourselves Christians: rather, we should call ourselves disciples A Christian is someone who believes in Jesus. But a disciple is someone who follows Jesus. We can be a Christian and still do nothing. But discipleship denotes commitment: it is much greater than just belief in Jesus. It is the holy spirit that is God’s promise that His very presence is within us, helping us to live as God would have us live, and as Jesus taught us.
And we have the wisdom, the power and the will to obey Jesus because we love him and because we are empowered and guided by the holy spirit. Our love for Jesus is about more than words; it is about our commitment and our behavior. If we love Jesus, we act in love.
My friends, we are a people of hope. We know that Jesus death was not the end and that in all circumstances, in isolation and in fellowship, we are his people and he is our Lord. And we have a friend, who will never leave us. The holy spirit, the very presence of God.
AMEN
I am sure that many of you will have seen on the TV recently the celebrations to commemorate VE Day on 8th May 1945. 75 years later, there are still many people who remember that day very vividly.
You will have seen on the TV news people out in their streets, at a safe social distance of course, waving flags and singing “We’ll meet again”. I have to say I have heard that song played at so many funerals and it still makes me tear up every single time I hear it.
A number of people, including Vera Lynn, were interviewed and asked why “We’ll meet again” was so popular then, and why it remains so today. Their answers were consistent: it was about hope.
During the war, people needed hope that their loved ones would return from the fighting, that their children would be safe, and that all the hardships, the food rationing and air raids they were enduring were for a purpose.
And at the moment, people need reassurance for reasons no less valid: that they will remain healthy, that this virus would be beaten and that life would once again return to some semblance of normality. Perhaps not completely normal for a while, but by their own perseverance and efforts, and by the community’s efforts, there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope.
Last Sunday we read the Gospel passage of Jesus the way, the truth and the life, and Fr Ian reminded us of the hope we have in the promises of Jesus to his followers. In that passage, Jesus told his friends that he would be going to his father.
Today’s Gospel passage is a continuation of this discourse, and Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit, the comforter. Jesus may not be with them in body much longer, but he would not leave them alone. I am sure they listened to his words in total confusion: who would be their leader if not Jesus? And how could they see Jesus if he was going away? Would he ever return to them?
In two weeks we shall celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples, but of course, the disciples had no idea that would happen. At Pentecost we will look deeper into the Holy Spirit, but for now Jesus gives us just a taste of who the Holy Spirit is.
In Greek, the spirit is called “parakletos” or parclete, which we might understand as counsellor or advocate, or comforter and encourager. To the early Christians, who often faced persecution for their beliefs, the advocate was their defender and supporter. The Holy Spirit was on their side. In the Message translation of the Bible, Eugene Petersen describes the spirit as “the friend”, someone who will always be with us.
The theologian John Stott said that as believers in Jesus Christ, we should not call ourselves Christians: rather, we should call ourselves disciples A Christian is someone who believes in Jesus. But a disciple is someone who follows Jesus. We can be a Christian and still do nothing. But discipleship denotes commitment: it is much greater than just belief in Jesus. It is the holy spirit that is God’s promise that His very presence is within us, helping us to live as God would have us live, and as Jesus taught us.
And we have the wisdom, the power and the will to obey Jesus because we love him and because we are empowered and guided by the holy spirit. Our love for Jesus is about more than words; it is about our commitment and our behavior. If we love Jesus, we act in love.
My friends, we are a people of hope. We know that Jesus death was not the end and that in all circumstances, in isolation and in fellowship, we are his people and he is our Lord. And we have a friend, who will never leave us. The holy spirit, the very presence of God.
AMEN
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