During this time of lockdown we have more opportunity to spend time alone with God praying, than we usually have.The church has been asked to enter a specific time of prayer between Ascension Day (last Thursday) and the day of Pentecost when we pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon ourselves and our churches along with prayer for five individuals who we would like to come to faith in Jesus. There are many resources to help us on the www.churchofengland.org website under the prayer, “Thy Kingdom Come.” When Jesus prayed for his friends shortly before his crucifixion he looked beyond the cross and the resurrection to the time when having ascended into heaven he would take up his rightful authority and enjoy, the glory he had in his Father’s presence before the world existed. He doesn’t focus on the suffering to come but on the glory and the eternal life he will give to those who come into a relationship with him and the Father.It is because Jesus ascended into heaven and sent his Holy Spirit that we are able to come into a relationship with him. When we trust him and ask for his forgiveness, we become friends with him and we also come into a relationship with the Father and the Spirit because they are one God. Through doing this, we receive his eternal life as a gift.Unlike Jesus’ disciples on earth, we haven’t listened to his earthly voice speaking. We can still come to know him more fully however, through spending time with him as we worship, pray and read his word.Jesus’ work would lead not just to glory for Jesus but glory for each one of usThe glory of Eternal life is not about length of life but quality. To have eternal life is to have the life of GodWhen we receive it now as a gift, as a result of Jesus dying for us, we receive here and now, today, something of the splendour, majesty, joy, peace and holiness which is characteristic of the life of GodJesus says “this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ”Knowing Jesus is more than just knowing about him though that is important, it is also about having an intimate relationship with himIt is used of sexual union in the Bible, when two people became one Jesus wants us to have the same sort of relationship with him and the Father as he shows that he has with the Father in this prayer; a relationship of love and absolute openness and honesty in which we are joined in one heart, mind and soul.Peter shares ways we can sustain our closeness to God during times of suffering such as we are going through as a result of the virus. We are to rejoice because we are sharing Christ’s sufferings so that we may also shout for joy when his glory is revealed and we see him face to face.We are to come to him in humility, submitting ourselves to his might, casting all our care upon him because he cares for us.We are to discipline ourselves. This is often difficult when we are in isolation and haven’t got a timetable to keep, but unless we deliberately make time to worship and pray, it will not happen.Finally, we keep our faith strong, even when we cannot see our way through because our brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kinds of suffering.Peter ends his letter by reminding us that present day sufferings will come to an end. We, like Jesus are called to be with our heavenly Father in his eternal glory. Because Jesus has ascended, we will too. Peter writes, “The God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.”Enjoy spending time with God this week as he restores, supports, strengthens, and establishes you.”Prayer: Risen, ascended Lord,as we rejoice at your triumph,fill your Church on earth with power and compassion,that all who are estranged by sinmay find forgiveness and know your peace,to the glory of God the Father.
Having been hiding away and avoiding the unseen enemy of COVID 19 with its threat of debilitating illness and death for the last two months we could do with being flooded with life.American suggestions (that President Trump appeared to be treating seriously) of injecting those who were ill with disinfectant and ultra violet light would be disastrous, killing patients more quickly than the virus would. Jesus, in our readings offers us the promise of an unseen gift which will dwell with us forever. The promised Holy Spirit will abide with us and dwell within us. We will recognise his presence and come to know his promptings even though others will not see him at work in us.Jesus calls him the “Spirit of truth.” He will help us to live truthful and holy lives and help us to love the Lord Jesus more and keep his commandments.In the original Greek, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our “paraclete, the one who is called to come alongside us.” In the NRSV version of John 14 it is translated “advocate” because it is often used of one called to help in a law court. The Holy Spirit is on our side and gives us the words we need to speak for God in difficult situations.In other versions, the word is translated as helper, encourager, counsellor or comforter. The Holy Spirit gives us courage to cope with life when we are depressed and dispirited Jesus said he would not leave us as orphans. The Holy Spirit enables us to feel part of God’s family. He enables our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus to become more real to us and for us to have a relationship of love in which we feel at home and God feels at home in us.This Thursday is Ascension Day when we celebrate the return of Jesus to heaven. His friends could no longer see him with their earthly eyes, but once the Holy Spirit had flooded their beings, they could see and hear him through the Holy Spirit. Peter makes it clear in his letter that the Holy Spirit will not necessarily stop us suffering and dying. Jesus “was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit.” It was because he died that he was able to proclaim freedom to those who died during the time of Noah because of their unbelief.The Holy Spirit enables us to do God’s work both in this age and in the world to come. Jesus sends his Spirit upon us so that we might know him. Unlike the people in Athens whom Paul preached to who worshipped the unknown God, he longs for us to live and move and have our being in him. He longs that our friends and family come to know his love too.From Ascension day until the Day of Pentecost, we are entering a special time of prayer called, “Thy Kingdom Come,” when along with Christians throughout the world we pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit who brings life and we pray for three friends and members of our family by name that they may believe in Jesus and be filled with his Spirit.(There are resources on the Church of England “Thy Kingdom Come” website both for families and for those of us who are on our own. Do down load them and ask if you have difficulty finding them)
Today’s gospel is the passage I go to the most when preparing funerals. I believe Jesus when he says he will come and take us to himself. I have hope, that one day we will be forever with our Lord in the dwelling place he has prepared for us.Because I believe God’s arms are open wide in love, I trust that we are going somewhere beautiful that has been made ready by our Lord. In many scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments, there is a promise of feasting and joy. Jesus spoke these words in the context of his last supper with his friends before his crucifixion. It was a foretaste of the communion to come. Even though we are not able to celebrate Holy Communion at the moment, we can look forward to feasting with Christ in his Kingdom.I used to picture the dwelling place Jesus will take me to as a static home for all eternity, partly because the authorised version of the Bible called it a mansion. I now believe that there will be movement as we are changed into Christ’s likeness and made whole. The context for this will be within our heavenly Father’s protection and love as part of his household. Because we will be changed, like Jesus we will have spiritual, resurrection bodies. Christ’s body moved through bricks and mortar so I guess our dwelling place will not contain us in the way we are contained by our homes at the moment.Jesus’ disciples were challenged, as we are, to believe that what is spiritual, that which they couldn’t see or understand was just as real as those things which troubled them and made them afraid. Death would not be the end of their journey. It was just a step towards closer intimacy with Jesus and our heavenly Father. When Jesus said he would come and take us to himself, in his Father’s house he was picturing a Jewish wedding when the bridegroom comes and takes his bride to the home he has prepared and they become united in body and mind. When we see Jesus, he tells us we see the Father because he and the Father are one. Because we are invited into a relationship with Jesus in the here and now, we are invited into this intimate unity whereby we know what God wants and do what he does. He leaves us with the promise that if we ask anything in his name he will do it. Peter writes about growing into salvation as we come to Christ and taste and see that the Lord is good. When we do so he says we are being built into a spiritual house where Christ is the cornerstone. We may be in separate homes but as we worship and pray we are being “fashioned into a royal priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Six weeks in lockdown and I guess most of us are desperate to come out of our homes, go where we want and mix with those we love again. We were not designed to be cooped up. Jesus speaks to us from John 10 about being safe penned in when we are with him in his fold. He is the gate to the fold and won’t let enemies enter. Those who wished the sheep harm in ancient times would have to literally get over the shepherd’s body stretched across the doorway where he slept during the night.Today we are penned in because of a virus that would steal kill and destroy our lives if we mixed freely. We are less afraid of wolves, lions and human thieves, than an enemy that is unseen which appears to be killing randomly.Jesus speaks to us of a place of safety where we can be free from fear. When we come into his sheepfold, we have to come through him first because he is the gate by which we enter. He is also the means by which we are able to leave safely. Jesus is the good shepherd who lay down his life for the sheep.He gave his life upon the cross to save us and keep us safe from sin. 1 Peter 2: 24 reads, “He bore our sins in his body on the cross so that free from sins, we might live to righteousness.”The government is asking that we keep in our pens to save lives. If we go astray we may be infected and infect others. We are seeing doctors, nurses, care workers and ambulance drivers laying down their lives so that those infected by the virus might live.Our sinfulness cuts us off from Jesus who said he has come so that we might have life. Sin is a much more dangerous enemy than COVID 19. We need to return, Peter says to the shepherd and guardian of our souls. We can do this by asking Jesus to forgive us and by following himWhen we have a relationship with Jesus we are never alone. He says my sheep hear my voice and follow me. Being penned in is an opportunity to listen to Jesus, to read his word and to commit ourselves and those we love into his hands. As our values change, we can think about how our world might emerge a better place in which lives are placed before economics and consumerism as people have become more kind, gentle and less selfish. Jesus does not save us from viruses or from suffering. Instead, God entered our world in Christ and gave us an example of how to behave when suffering comes. That does not mean that he wants us to suffer. His desire for his world is that we have the fullness of life, the life of abundant generosity he came to bring.We will not be penned up forever. Jesus leads his sheep out into green pastures and besides still water. Whether staying at home or serving him in the world, we are safe in him. Let us follow as he leads us into all that is life affirming and good.Risen Christ,faithful shepherd of your Father’s sheep:teach us to hear your voiceand to follow your command,that all your people may be gathered into one flock,to the glory of God the Father. Amen
