Sunday 16th May - 7th of Easter (white)
Theme: That all may believe
Readings: Ezekiel 36:24-28
Acts 16:16-34 John 17:20-26 Ps 97
Theme: That all may believe
Readings: Ezekiel 36:24-28
Acts 16:16-34 John 17:20-26 Ps 97
Collect:
Risen, ascended Lord,
as we rejoice at your triumph,
fill your Church on earth with power and compassion,
that all who are estranged by sin
may find forgiveness and know your peace,
to the glory of God the Father.
Comment
The Gospel reading is part of Jesus’ prayer just before his arrest and trial. He has prayed for his eleven disciples; in this passage we have his prayer for us, and for all who believe in him.
Jesus prayed first of all that we would be one. The unity he asked for was not that of everyone being identical – he and the Father are not identical. The illustration that I find most helpful is his metaphor of the vine: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’ (John 15:1). A similar one is Paul’s metaphor of the body: ‘You are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it’ (1 Corinthians 12:27). A branch is ‘in’
the vine, and a limb is ‘in’ the body – if they were not, they would die. In another sense, the vine is ‘in’ the branch, giving it its character and life, and the body is in the limb, giving it life and direction – what the limb does, the person does. There is unity in the vine and in the body, for all the constituent parts share the same life, and the same DNA, and all work together. What gives them unity is not simply that they are working together, but that they are all part of the same living organism.
Sometimes part of my body ‘goes to sleep’ – if I am lying on my arm and the blood supply is restricted, it goes cold and unresponsive, and it takes some effort to bring it ‘back to life’. The same thing can happen to members of the Body of Christ if we do not maintain our connection to the rest of the body – and that is what Jesus is praying about. He wants us to be ‘one in him’ – connected to him (and through him to the Father); and connected to each other, sharing the same Spirit of Life, working together to bring the love of God into the world. When we are actively part of what he is doing in the world, when his life and love flow through us and overflow us, when we are acting in harmony, then the world will see the difference Jesus makes. They will see the glory of his love.
Questions
1) How important is it for the world to know that God sent Jesus? What can we do about it? How can unity help?
2) Why is faith in Jesus so important?
Risen, ascended Lord,
as we rejoice at your triumph,
fill your Church on earth with power and compassion,
that all who are estranged by sin
may find forgiveness and know your peace,
to the glory of God the Father.
Comment
The Gospel reading is part of Jesus’ prayer just before his arrest and trial. He has prayed for his eleven disciples; in this passage we have his prayer for us, and for all who believe in him.
Jesus prayed first of all that we would be one. The unity he asked for was not that of everyone being identical – he and the Father are not identical. The illustration that I find most helpful is his metaphor of the vine: ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’ (John 15:1). A similar one is Paul’s metaphor of the body: ‘You are the Body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it’ (1 Corinthians 12:27). A branch is ‘in’
the vine, and a limb is ‘in’ the body – if they were not, they would die. In another sense, the vine is ‘in’ the branch, giving it its character and life, and the body is in the limb, giving it life and direction – what the limb does, the person does. There is unity in the vine and in the body, for all the constituent parts share the same life, and the same DNA, and all work together. What gives them unity is not simply that they are working together, but that they are all part of the same living organism.
Sometimes part of my body ‘goes to sleep’ – if I am lying on my arm and the blood supply is restricted, it goes cold and unresponsive, and it takes some effort to bring it ‘back to life’. The same thing can happen to members of the Body of Christ if we do not maintain our connection to the rest of the body – and that is what Jesus is praying about. He wants us to be ‘one in him’ – connected to him (and through him to the Father); and connected to each other, sharing the same Spirit of Life, working together to bring the love of God into the world. When we are actively part of what he is doing in the world, when his life and love flow through us and overflow us, when we are acting in harmony, then the world will see the difference Jesus makes. They will see the glory of his love.
Questions
1) How important is it for the world to know that God sent Jesus? What can we do about it? How can unity help?
2) Why is faith in Jesus so important?