Easter 6, Cycle B (2015)

THEME OF THE DAY:  God’s love brings us together

All the texts remind us that our unity and relating to each other in love flow from God’s love and grace (Church, Social Ethics, Sanctification, and Justification By Grace).

Psalm 98
This Psalm is a hymn proclaiming the future establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth.  It is one of the so-called Enthronement Psalms proclaiming God’s Kingship and was likely used at festivals.  The new song [shir] said to be sung (v.1) could be read as suggesting the New Covenant initiated by Easter.  References to God’s victory (vv.2-3) might imply Christ’s victory over evil.  A summons to all nations and the physical universe to praise God the King is issued (vv.4-9).  Reference to God judging [shaphat] the world/earth [tebe] in righteousness [tsedeq] and equity/uprightness [yashan] (v.9) reminds us of the Easter-event bestowing God’s righteousness on us and abolishing distinctions (Romans 3:21-26; Galatians 3:28).     

It is good to remind ourselves again that the concept of “righteousness” even in an Old Testament context is not to imply that the believer lives in faultless conformity to some moral norm.  It has to do with living in right relationship with God (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, pp. 370-371).  The Hebrew term for judgment in ancient Hebrew, mishpat, can refer to a sense of comfort, not just to punishment (Gerhard von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol.1, p.358). 

Application: This Psalm invites sermons on Justification By Grace which highlight the comfort it brings and its implications for Sanctification and Social Ethics (bringing people together in God).  Sermons of the Atonement (Christ’s conquest over evil), the beauties of Creation, Eschatology, and Christian life as praise are all viable alternatives.     

Acts 10:44-48
This Book is the second half of the two-part early history of the Church attributed to Paul’s Gentile associate, Luke (Colossians 4:14; II Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24).   Along with Luke’s Gospel, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the Church (1:8).  Addressed to Theophilus (1:1), it is not clear if this means that the work was written for a recent convert or for a Roman official from whom the Church sought tolerance.  But since Theophilus means “lover of God” it is possible that the author addressed all the faithful.  This Lesson describes the Spirit-filled reaction of Jewish Christians to Peter’s sermon in Caesarea after he came to accept the conversion of Gentiles.

Speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit [pneuma hagios] (presumably recognized through speaking in tongues), which fell on all His hearers, Jewish Christians were astounded that the gift of the Spirit had been poured on Gentiles/nations [ethnos] (vv.44-45).  The Gentiles, it seems, were also speaking in tongues [glossa] and praising God (v.46).  Peter concludes that none therefore could withhold Baptism from the Gentiles since they had received the Spirit, and so he orders their Baptism (vv.47-48a).  Luke wants to clarify Peter’s support of the admission of the Gentiles.  When the baptized Gentiles invite Peter to stay with them it is another example of the Jewish-Gentile barriers breaking down (v.48b).         

Application: This text invites sermons pointing out that the gift of the Holy Spirit provides the final and irrefutable evidence that the inclusion of all is God’s Will.  Doctrines of Holy Spirit, Social Ethics, and Church warrant attention.

I John 5:1–6
Like the previous week, this Lesson emerges in a treatise or sermon by an unknown teacher of the Johannine tradition, probably aiming to clarify the proper interpretation of the Gospel of John.  In fact it may have been written in order to refute opponents who had departed from the community’s beliefs about Jesus (2:24).  Since the end of the 2nd century the Epistle has been recognized as written by the author of the fourth Gospel or by another member of his circle.  The Book addresses disputes over Gnostic or Docetic doubts about whether Jesus was truly a human being and whether His death on the Cross was a sacrifice for sin (1:1-3,7; 2:2; 3:16; 3:2,10; 5:6).  This Lesson is a discussion of the victorious faith.

The author refers to those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are regenerated [gennao, born of God], and that everyone who loves the parent loves the child (v.1).  It follows, then, that we know we love the children of God when we love and obey His commandments (v.2).  The love [agape] of God is that we obey/keep [tereo] His commandments [entole], and they are not burdensome since being born/begotten [gennao] of God entails that the world is conquered/overcome [nikao] (vv.3-4a).  This phrase suggests the theme of being regenerated or changed into the inheritance Jesus has obtained.  So faith in Jesus conquers the world (vv.4b-5).  Jesus is said to have come with water and blood.  The Spirit is the One Who testifies/witnesses [mart], for the Spirit is truth [aletheia] (v.6).      

Application: Sermons on the Christian life and love (Sanctification), rooted in God’s love, what Christ has done, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit emerge readily from this text.  

John 15:9–17
Again we note that this Book is the last of the four Gospels to be written, probably not composed until the last two decades of the first century.  It is very different in style in comparison to the other three (so-called Synoptic) Gospels.  In fact it is probably based on these earlier Gospels.  The Book has been identified with John the Son of Zebedee, the Disciple whom Jesus loved, and this claim was made as long ago as late in the first century by the famed theologian of the early Church Irenaeus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, p.414).  It is likely that it was written by a disciple of John.  Hints of that possibility are offered by the first post-Biblical Church Historian Eusebius of Caesarea who claimed that the Book was written on the basis of the external facts  made plain in the Gospel and so John is a “spiritual Gospel” (presumably one not based on eye-witness accounts of the author) (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol.1, p.261).  More recently, as we have observed, scholars have rediscovered the assessment of another early writer of the Church, Papias, who claimed that John was an eyewitness.  This has led such scholars to suggest that this Gospel may have been eyewitness testimony after all ( Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, pp.423ff.; cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, pp.154-155).   Its main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31).     

The Lesson is a continuation of the previous week’s Gospel Lesson recounting Jesus’ Farewell Discourse (esp. His discussion of the pattern of the Christian life), unique to this Gospel.  This is the teaching of the New Commandment and Jesus’ declaration of friendship with the faithful.  Jesus says that as the Father loved [agapao] Him, so He loves the faithful.  He exhorts them to abide/continue [meno] in His love [agape] (v.9).  To keep His Commandments [entole] is to abide in His love, just as Jesus is in God’s love as He abides in His commands (v.10).  These things bring joy (v.11).  He gives The New Commandment – to love one another as He has loved us (v.12; 13:34).  There is no greater love than laying down [tithemi] one’s life for friends [philos] (v.13).  Those who do what Jesus commands are His friends (v.14).  They are friends, not servants, because they know what the master is doing (v.15).  The faithful did not choose Jesus, because He chose [eklego] them, appointing them to go and bear fruit that will last.  He adds that the Father will give them whatever they ask in His Name (v.16).  He gives the Commandment that His followers will love one another (v.17). 

Application: Sermons on this Lesson open the way to an examination of the character of love (Sanctification) in the Christian life and how it has its roots in God’s love and so in Justification   By Grace. 

John 15:9-17

Few texts within the Fourth Gospel reveal more about the way in which the Johannine community and its leaders perceived themselves than does this pericope. The text is principally about the relationships of the members of the Johannine community to each other and to their Johannine Jesus.

According to this text, the members of the Johannine community in this portion of their “Farewell Discourse” of Jesus reflected about the significance of the life and of the death of Jesus and expressed their belief that Jesus had put down his life for them (John 15:13). Elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel, such as in John 3:16-17, there are indications that some within the community, or perhaps the community at an earlier stage in its development, had perceived that God had sent Jesus because of God’s love for “the world” (a concept that is much broader than that of the community itself). Here, however, in John 15:9-17, Jesus’ death is said to have been for the members of the Johannine community, for Jesus’ much loved “friends.” The members of the Johannine community were obviously very proud of this designation of themselves as hoi philoi (“the friends”) of Jesus. The leaders and members of the Johannine community, inspired by God, were affirming that Jesus had put down his life for them! For the members of the Johannine community, this was their basic statement of faith.

At one time they had considered themselves to have been “servants” of Jesus, but now they considered themselves to be Jesus’ much loved “friends.” They were his much loved friends, “the Disciple whom Jesus loved,” because Jesus had revealed to them (so they claimed) everything that Jesus had heard from his Father (John 15:15). According to these accounts within the Fourth Gospel, Jesus may have revealed some things to people in other groups, but to the members of the Fourth Gospel community Jesus had revealed everything that Jesus had heard from the Father. In this sense, the leaders and members of the Johannine community were similar to the Gnostic and Gnosticizing Christians in their claims that they had been chosen to have within themselves knowledge of everything about God. Nevertheless, the claims of the Johannine community as we have them in the Fourth Gospel were not as absolute as were the claims of the Gnostic Christians. The claims of the members of the Fourth Gospel community and their relationship with Jesus were still somewhat conditional. They stated that they would be Jesus’ much loved friends if they would continue to do the things that Jesus was commanding them to do (John 15:14). What they believed that Jesus was commanding them to do most of all, according to John 15:9-10, 12-13, 17, was to continue to love each other. The admonition to love each other became so important (and apparently so necessary!) within the Johannine community that it even became a “new commandment” of the Johannine Jesus to the community in John 13:34-35, as well as here in this John 15:9-17 text. This “new commandment” to love each other was reiterated many times elsewhere in the Fourth Gospel and in 1 John and in 2 John.

From a superficial reading of the Fourth Gospel and of 1 John and 2 John, we get the impression that the people by whom and for whom these documents were written were members of a most loving and congenial community of faith. A closer look, however, indicates that they were, in effect, “protesting too much” about their love for each other. Love for one another was apparently greatly needed within this community, so needed that they were in the process of making love for each other a requirement and of perceiving love for one another legalistically. If they would love each other, then the Johannine Jesus would be happy with them and their joy would be completed, perfected, fulfilled (John 15:11). Then they would go and bear fruit that would remain. Then whatever they would ask the Father in the name of the Johannine Jesus would be given to them (John 15:16).

1 John 5:1-6

According to this text, Jesus is the Christ because he came not only with the water of baptism but also with the blood of the cross. The person who believes that Jesus is the Christ shall demonstrate that the person is a child of God by keeping God’s commandments. Because the person who has been and is “born of God” has overcome the temptations of the world, it is not a burden for that person to keep the commandments of God.

Although the view of the writer of this 1 John 5:1-6 text regarding our ability to keep the commandments of God differs greatly from the view of the Apostle Paul as expressed in chapters 1-5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Church included both documents within its developing New Testament canon and has lived under the authority of both documents for many centuries. The inclusion of these differing views illustrates the ongoing, creative tension that exists in Christian theology and practice and in the theology and practice of other theistic religions between the importance of adequate faith and right living. Both adequate faith and right living are important within a theistic religion. We should not raise one of these factors above the other, nor should we exclude one in favor of the other. Both factors are firmly imbedded within the New Testament documents and, of course, within the Old Testament documents as well. We see them also throughout the Qur’an of Islam. Both should be emphasized in their ongoing, creative tension in our proclamation and in our parenesis.

Acts 10:44-48

This text was particularly important during the latter years of the first century of the common era and later as a validation of the inclusion of non-Jewish background followers of Jesus as full participants in the new religion along with those who were of Jewish background. Today this text is significant as a biblical basis, together with other texts in Acts of Apostles, for the claims of some Christians that they have received special gifts from the Holy Spirit of God. All of us have the right to claim special gifts from the Holy Spirit of God and the responsibility to note that these gifts are intended for the entire Church and not only for a few gifted individuals and groups.

Psalm 98

The struggles and anxieties apparent within the three New Testament texts chosen for our use next Sunday seem to melt away in the words of this psalm, “Let us sing to the Lord a new song!” In this psalm, rather than in the three texts from the Newer Testament, the “gospel” is expressed most joyfully. In this psalm the texts for this day reach their highest point of love, joy, and acclamation of God. Therefore, we may wish to alter the sequence of the readings so that this psalm is read last among the texts used on this occasion.

THEME OF THE DAY: The heavenly power and cosmic presence of Christ.

Like every year, this Festival encourages sermons celebrating the glory of God and His Providential Rule as well as Christ’s conquest over the forces of evil and His Present Rule in our lives (Atonement, Christology, and Justification By Grace).  

Psalm 47
This is a Korah Psalm, a family of Psalms written for or by a professional musician of that name (see I Chronicles 15:16-22; Nehemiah 12:41-46). These Psalms (42-49) may be attributed to one of Israel’s chief groups of singers (II Chronicles 20:19). This one is an Enthronement Psalm, a group of Psalms used on festival occasions when God was declared King. Our Lesson celebrates God’s Enthronement as King [melek] of all nations. It begins with a summons to all the world to praise God with shouts, loud songs, and the clapping of hands (v.1). Yahweh Elohim is said to be awesome and a great King over all the earth [erets], subduing peoples under the Hebrew nation (vv.2 -4). As we have previously noted, the word Selah appearing in a Psalm as occurs after v.4 in this one, is a liturgical direction which may indicate that there should be an instrumental interlude at that point in the singing of the Psalm. This universal theme is consistent with the theme of God’s Power manifested in The Ascension. The Psalm is likely composed to accompany religious ceremonies associated with The Ark of the Covenant (vv.5-9). The closing call to all peoples to praise refers to many of the themes of the first three verses.

Application: A sermon on the Psalm joyfully celebrates that God is King Who rules over all the earth, noting how this celebration is a call to everyone. The Power of God celebrated here might be related to the Power of Christ’s Work manifested in His Ascension (Creation, Providence, Christology and Sanctification).

or

Psalm 93
This is another of the Enthronement Psalms, like the one described above, extolling God as King, probably composed for a festival. It is closely related to Psalm 47, above. Yahweh’s Majesty [geuth] and establishment of the world are proclaimed. He has ruled from eternity/everlasting [olam] (vv.1-2). He is said to rule over the waters [mayim, interpreted as chaos] (vv.3-4). Perhaps this image could suggest that the occasion for this Psalm was the annual Fall Festival of Booths or Tabernacles or Booths, when the Lord’s victory over chaos is evident in harvest. It is also possible that the image of water is employed here in view of the fact that Mesopotamian and Canaanite conceptions of divine kingship were understood as established by victory over the sea (74:12-17; 104:7-9). In any case, the powers of the chaos are said to testify to Him, exposing the divine goodness. God is praised for the steadfastness [aman] of His witness/testimonies [edah] and for the holiness [qodesh] of The Temple (v.5).

Application: This Psalm presents another opportunity for a sermon on God’s Providential rule. The stress on God’s rule over chaos provides entrée for sermons on giving hope in the midst of fear or hard times. The stability of God’s witness and His Church in the midst of this chaos is another angle for sermons.

Acts 1:1-11
On this Festival we continue to read from the very beginning of the second half of a two-part history of the Church traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; II Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). We note again that there is some dispute about the date of composition, whether it was composed before Paul’s Martyrdom (in 65-67 AD) or much later, after the destruction of The Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD. In any case the author’s stress on the universal mission of the Church (1:8) and so an effort to validate Paul’s ministry reflects in this Lesson. This Lesson is the introduction to the Book and an account of Jesus’ Ascension in heaven.   

Like Luke, the Book begins addressing Theophilus. It is not clear if this means that these works were written for a recent convert or a Roman official from whom the Church sought tolerance. But since Theophilus means “lover of God” it is possible that the author addressed all the faithful. The author notes his earlier book (Luke) in which all Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the Ascension is recorded (vv.1-2). Forty days of Jesus’ Resurrection appearances are noted. Many convincing proofs [sure tokens, tekmerion] are said to be offered (see Luke 24:13-53). Reportedly he spoke of the Kingdom of God [basileia tou Theou], ordering the Apostles to remain in Jerusalem to wait for the Father’s Promise (vv.3-4). As John the Baptist baptized with water, the Apostles will be baptized with the Holy Spirit [pnuema hagios] (v.5; cf. Luke 3:16; Mark 1:8). The Apostles ask if their Lord will restore the kingdom to Israel, presumably a reference to the possibility that God might restore Israel’s political independence (v.6; cf. Luke 1:32). Jesus replies that it is not for them to know the time or periods set by the Father (v.7). It seems that the mission of the Church replaces concern about the Kingdom of God for Luke (Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According To Luke, p.326). The Apostles are told that they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them and will be Jesus’ witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, to the ends of the earth [perhaps a reference to ministry to the Gentiles] (v.8). This theme of the Spirit empowering the faithful as well as their universal mission is central to the Book (2:12ff.; Robert Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts: A literary Interpretation, p.57). Then Jesus begins to Ascend. Reference to a cloud [nephele] into which His Ascends signifies the Presence and activity of God (v.9; cf. Exodus 24:15-18; Luke 9:34). Two men [andres] in white robes then appear. These men (presumably angels, though the Greek term employed does not authorize that interpretation) inform them that Jesus will come again in the same way that they had seen Him ascend into heaven (vv.10-11; cf. Luke 24:50-51).      

Application: The text provides an opportunity to reflect on how Jesus’ Ascension makes love in Christ cosmic, so that to think of Jesus’ love for us becomes all the more awesome, majestic, and mysterious, not just a trivial thing to be ignored (Justification By Grace Through Faith). Opportunity is also provided to preach on the Holy Spirit’s role in baptizing the faithful and empowering the faithful to a universal mission which overcomes all that resists Christ. Attention to Christ’s Second Coming is also an appropriate sermon theme.

Ephesians 1:15-23
The Lesson is drawn from a circular letter, either written by Paul from prison late in his career or by a follower of Paul who had had a hand in assembling the collection of his Epistles. These conclusions follow from the fact that the Letter includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristic different from the authentic Pauline corpus. It was likely addressed to a younger, later generation of Christians (1:15).

This Lesson involves the author’s praise of the Ephesians and a thanksgiving for the blessings of God’s cosmic plans. The Ephesian faithful are first praised for their faith and love toward the saints [hagios] (v.15). Paul (the author) prays that they may receive wisdom regarding the greatness of God’s power for the faithful (vv.17-19). God is said to put His power/ authority [exousia] to work in Christ in raising Him and seating Him at the Lord’s right hand [dexios] (in the Ascension) (v.20). This is probably a reference to Psalm 110:1, where Yahweh directs His priest-king to sit at His right hand. To be at one’s right hand was to stand in the place of power and honor of a ruler (see I Kings 2:19). The Ascension then entails that all things are under Christ, including the Church of which He is the Head [kephale]. (This designation is not used in the authentic Pauline Letters.) The Church is then His Body [soma], the fullness [pleroma] of Him Who fills all in all (vv.22-23; cf. Romans 12:5; I Corinthians 12:1-27).       

Application: Sermons on this text might explore the impact of Christ’s Ascension for His leadership of the Church and the comfort this Word brings (Justification By Grace and Providence).

Luke 24:44-53
We turn to the first installment of a two-part history of the Church traditionally attributed to Luke (see the First Lesson for details on the Book’s origins and the author’s agenda). This text is the conclusion of Jesus’ commissioning of the Disciples during His final Resurrection appearance (vv.44-49), followed by the account of His Ascension (vv.50-53). Only in Acts (in the First Lesson) is express reference to the latter also made. Jesus claims that the words He uttered to the Disciples (that the Messiah should suffer [v.26]) demonstrate that the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and Psalms has been fulfilled (v.44). He opens the minds of the Disciples to understand that His suffering and Resurrection fulfill these Old Testament texts (vv.45-46; cf. Hosea 6:2). This theme is more characteristic of Matthew, and it is interesting that the only parallel account to Luke’s story is found in Matthew (28:16ff.), which does not include this proof from Old Testament Prophecy.

The Risen Lord proceeds to instruct that this Word is to be proclaimed with the word of repentance [metanoia] and forgiveness/remission [aphesis] of sins (v.47). We have previously noted how characteristic it is of Luke to connect repentance and salvation, while not identifying them (Acts 2:38; Hans Conzelman, The Theology of St. Luke, p.228). As witnesses [martus], Jesus notes, the Disciples are to receive what the Father promises (power [dunamis] from on high [ex hupsos]) and remain in Jerusalem until this is received (vv.47-49). No doubt this is another Lukan reference to the faithful’s need for empowerment of the Holy Spirit in doing their mission. (It is interesting to note that the Greek term for witness is similar to the term for Martyr [martur].) Jesus is reported as leading the Disciples to the east of Jerusalem to Bethany, to bless them, and then Ascends to heaven (vv.50-51). The Disciples respond with worship [proskun, literally to kiss the hand], return to Jerusalem with joy, and are continually in The Temple blessing God    (vv.52-53).     

Application: A sermon on this text affords occasion to examine The Ascension and its significance for daily life, how Jesus’ Ascension was related to the giving of the Holy Spirit Who makes Christ Present to the faithful (Pneumatology, Sanctification, and Mission). The Mission to which the faithful are called includes involves repentance and forgiveness (Justification By Grace and Sanctification).   

The Ascension of the Lord texts in Luke-Acts (Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11) accomplish four major objectives. First, they provide an explanation of where the Risen Christ is now. Second, they provide an explanation of why the Risen Christ was seen by many followers of Jesus during the first few weeks after his crucifixion and resurrection but is being seen in the same way no longer. Third, they provide assurance that the Risen Christ is still with us spiritually and that the Risen Christ will return. Finally, they establish more clearly the responsibilities of the followers of Jesus to be witnesses of the Risen Christ throughout the world.

These are very important objectives, and we miss our opportunity to follow through with a dramatic culmination of our forty-day Lenten season and of our forty-day Easter season if we do not have a meaningful and memorable worship service on Ascension Day each year.

Psalm 47

Our use of this psalm on our Christian Ascension Day is an indication that we consider the Risen Christ to be our Lord and God in a way that is quite similar to the way that the ancient Israelites perceived the Lord God for them. They perceived the Lord God to be the one who had won the victory for them over their enemies and over all evil and as the one who was, as it is stated in the picturesque language of this psalm, “sitting on the holy throne of God” the “Most High King over all of the earth.” As Christians, we perceive Jesus the Risen Christ in much the same way as the Lord God was and is perceived and acclaimed by Israelites and by Jews in Psalm 47.

Psalm 93

There are numerous similarities between Psalm 47 and Psalm 93. The Lord is acclaimed in Psalm 93 as the king clothed with power and majesty, whose throne is established eternally. The Lord’s rule is holy and just and will be for ever.

Acts 1:1-11

Since the principal literary antecedent of Acts 1:1-11 is the Septuagint text of 2 Kings 2:1-18, it is helpful to review the 2 Kings text in preparation for a Christian Ascension Day worship service. Genesis 5:21-24 and Deuteronomy 34:1-7 should also be read to provide the Enoch and Moses analogies.

We note that the inspired Lukan writer linked the Ascension account closely to the Lukan empty tomb account by having “two men clothed in white robes” interpreting the significance of the ascension of the Risen Christ in Acts 1:10-11 just as the Lukan writer had “two men in dazzling apparel” interpret the significance of the resurrection of Jesus in Luke 24:4-7. Perhaps we could benefit from the use of this Acts 1:1-11 drama best if we would begin the Ascension Day service outside the church building with the reading of this Acts 1:1-11 text. It would not be necessary for anyone to play the role of the Risen Christ, but it would help to dramatize the event to have two of the men of the congregation dressed in white robes appear from around a corner somewhere at the point of Acts 1:10 in the reading while the rest of those gathered for the worship service are standing together “gazing up into the heavens.” The two men should appear and say to the group, “Why are you all standing here, looking up into the heavens? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come again as you have seen him going into the heavens!” The worship service can then continue with the people entering into the sanctuary, singing an Ascension Day hymn, and using an Ascension Day liturgy.

Ephesians 1:15-23

At least once during our three-year cycle in the lectionary that we are using, it would be effective to utilize this Ephesians 1:15-23 reading as the primary text for the Ascension Day message. This text articulates what is desired for the People of God in the Church on Ascension Day. It refers specifically to the thought that the Risen Christ is sitting at the right hand of God in “the heavenly places.” It uses the analogy of the ancient throne scene to depict how some people in the early Church late in the 1st century perceived the Risen Christ. What is said here about the power of the Risen Christ over the Roman Emperor and all of the political authorities who are persecuting and threatening the early Christians should be emphasized as we consider this text.

Luke 24:44-53

The Lukan themes of understanding the Scriptures and of claiming that everything about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection written in the Israelite Scriptures has now been fulfilled are prominent in this text. What the Lukan writer did not say in this text about the expected return of Jesus as the Risen Christ is supplied in the Acts 1:1-11 reading. What Luke 24:44-53 does stress is the great joy of the followers of Jesus and their constant worship and blessing of God. Let us continue this joy and this worship and blessing of God for the Risen Christ now and always!

THEME OF THE DAY:  The Holy Spirit Gets Around.

Sermons on the Holy Spirit and the Church are especially appropriate, but the Sunday’s Trinitarian perspective entails that Creation and the Spirit’s Work in the Church and in that Christian life (Sanctification) are also relevant themes. 

Psalm 104:24-34,35b
This is a hymn to God the Creator, with praise for His Providential interventions.  It has similarities to the Egyptian Hymn to Aten.  The verses considered focus in praise on the multiplicity of creatures that God has created (vv.24-25).  God is said to have subdued all the things of the sea, including the monster of chaos, Leviathan (vv.25-26; cf. 79:12-17).  This reference to subduing the sea may relate to the Priestly version of Creation in Genesis, which refers to the watery chaos which God is said to have overcame in creating us (Genesis 1:9-10).  Providence and the creating role of the Sprit [ruach, also translated “wind”] are stressed in the Psalm (v.30; God as the One Who gives food and other good things with the Spirit and Who also takes away life [vv.27-29]).  All living things depend on Him.  These themes could also be related to the ecological agenda or to justice.  The Lesson concludes with praise of God’s awesomeness (vv.32ff.).

Application: As in the year past on Pentecost Sunday, this Psalm affords several sermon possibilities.  Sermons on Creation, Providence, the unity of all living things in the midst of their diversity are legitimate directions.  Care for creation and human unity also legitimately emerge as themes (Social Ethics) as well as the Spirit of God’s life-giving and sustaining role – a construal of the Trinity most suggestive of Pentecost and its Word of the Spirit giving life.

Acts 2:1-21     
We could not begin the Pentecost Season without a report of the first Pentecost from the second half of a two-part history of the Church traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; II Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24).  We note again that there is some dispute about the date of composition, whether it was composed before Paul’s Martyrdom (in 65-67 AD) or much later, after the destruction of The Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD.  In any case the author’s stress on the universal mission of the Church (1:8) and so an effort to validate Paul’s ministry reflects in this Lesson.  The attention given by the Book to recounting of the gift of the Holy Spirit to the faithful (and the origin of the Church) at Pentecost is hardly surprising given the author’s concern to stress the Work of the Holy Spirit ([Brevard Childs, The New Testament as Canon: An Introduction, p.221).   

Jewish tradition held that the Law was given on the day that Christians commemorate as Pentecost, fifty days after Passover (Leviticus 23:15-21).  Luke often says that all faithful were together in order to underscore unity of the community (2:44; 4:24; 5:12).  This theme is emphasized in this Lesson.  The gift of the Holy Spirit [pneuma hagion] (baptism of the Holy Spirit) had been promised by John the Baptist (Luke 3:16).  Reference to the Spirit’s appearance as of tongues [glossa] of fire (v.3) is reminiscent of references to the tongues/flames [lahab] of fire issued by Old Testament writers to suggest God’s Presence (Isaiah 66:15-16; 5:24; cf. Exodus 19:18).  Luke reports that John the Baptist had promised a Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire [pur] (Luke 3: 16; also see Jesus’ Promise in Luke 24:49).  The report of speaking in other languages [dialektos] and the ability to understand each other (vv.4-11) is a reversal of The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) and another mark of the unity of the community.  This experience of actually understanding foreign language may be different from the Pentecostal experiences reported by Paul about the Corinthian church which seems to have manifested not in foreign languages but ecstatic, incoherent forms of speech [glossa] (I Corinthians 14:1-33).  But the skepticism of some who observed the event, accusing those who had the experience of the Spirit of being drunk [full of new wine] (v.13), is a reference suggestive of the Pentecostal experience noted in I Corinthians 12:13.  And the fact that the Greek term glossa (as in glossolalia) is also used in this account suggests that the first Pentecost also seems to have been an ecstatic experience. 

Peter is reported to stand to defend the validity of the experience that those filled with the Spirit are not drunk (vv.14-16).  His sermon, based on Joel 2:28-32, follows (vv.17-21).  It teaches that the pouring out of the Spirit on all (even on slaves and women, vv.18) is a mark of the Messianic Age.  The sermon based on the Joel text underlines the eschatological nature of the text.  Peter then proclaims Justification By Faith (v.21).

Application: The text continues to invite sermons on the Church (its multi-cultural unity which counteracts how The Tower of Babel experience has divided us) and its implications for how the faitful live in harmony (Sanctification) on the Holy Spirit (as a sign of the End Times in which we live [Realized Eschatology]), or about charismatic/pentecostal experience (see the discussion, above of the different kinds of manifestations of tongues in the New Testament).

or

Ezekiel 37:1–14
Ezekiel was a Prophet from a priestly family whose ministry to his fellow Exiles during the Babylonian Captivity extended from 593 BC to 563 BC.  Some of the oracles pre-date Jerusalem’s fall.  The original collection was rewritten and expanded by an editor.  The Book includes judgment of Judah for its idolatry and defilement of the sanctuary, the proclamation of God’s abiding Presence among the people, consolation and hope expressed in a proclamation of God’s unconditional care. 

This text recounts the famed vision of the reviving of the dry bones.  These bones [etsem] represent the Exiles and the hopes of Israel’s resuscitation (vv.11-13).  Ezekiel’s response to whether the bones can come back to life bespeaks an affirmation of God’s power (v.3).  The Word of the Lord is the means of giving new life (v.4).  References to the “breath” to be put in the bones (vv.5,9-10) use the same Hebrew word ruach as is translated “the Lord’s Spirit” (v.14), bringing the bones to life.  The Spirit of God gives life.  Note that the Hebraic holistic view of persons, not a Greek view of the immortal soul, operates here.  The Hebrews will return to the land (v.14).  A continuity is posited with the Old Covenant, as reference is made to obedience to the Law/statutes [chuqqah] even after the resuscitation of the people (v.24).  The resurrection of Israel is a testimony to God’s act in history.               

Application: Sermons on this text can proclaim a fresh start from stagnation or oppression (Justification By Grace and Realized Eschatology).  The Spirit’s role in this liberation should be stressed. 

Romans 8:22-27
This authentically Pauline Epistle was probably written between 54 AD and 58 AD.  It is a letter of introduction to a church which Paul had not previously visited, a church which may have been comprised of largely Jewish Christians.  This may explain his focus on the different (grace-oriented vision) of the role of the Law in the Christian life.

In this Lesson Paul continues a discussion of the impact of God’s saving act in view of the continuing realities of sin.  Nature is thought of as sharing the stress, anxiety, and pain which we ourselves feel as we await redemption.  The text proclaims the hope of fulfillment.  The faithful and the whole of creation [ktisis] groans [sustenazo] in labor pains.  The metaphor of birth pains was used by other early Christian writers to describe the eschatological transition from one era to another (cf. Mark 13:8).  Paul notes that, possessing the Spirit’s first fruits, we groan inwardly,  but wait for fulfillment (vv.22-23).  Reference is made to the hope [elpis] in which we are saved [sozo].  He is not seen; we must wait with patience (vv.24-25).  The Spirit [pneuma] helps in our weakness, Paul adds.  We do not know how to pray, but the Spirit intercedes [entugchano] (vv.26-27).

Application: This text will inspire sermons which call attention to our sinful condition (how it impacts the whole created order) along with the Good News that the Holy Spirit ushers in a new era, helping us in our weakness and interceding for us (Justification, Sanctification, and Realized Eschatology).   

or Acts 2:1–21
See the first option for the First Lesson.  

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Again we note that this Book is the last of the four Gospels to be written, probably not composed until the last two decades of the first century.  It is very different in style in comparison to the other three (so-called Synoptic) Gospels.  In fact it is probably based on these earlier Gospels.  The Book has been identified with John the Son of Zebedee, the Disciple whom Jesus loved, and this claim was made as long ago as late in the first century by the famed theologian of the early Church Irenaeus (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, p.414).  It is likely that it was written by a disciple of John.  Hints of that possibility are offered by the first post-Biblical Church Historian Eusebius of Caesarea who claimed that the Book was written on the basis of the external facts  made plain in the Gospel, and so John is a “spiritual Gospel” (presumably one not based on eye-witness accounts of the author) (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol.1, p.261).  More recently, as we have observed, scholars have rediscovered the assessment of another early writer of the Church, Papias, who claimed that John was an eyewitness.  This has led such scholars to suggest that this Gospel may have been eyewitness testimony after all ( Richard Bauckham, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, pp.423ff.; cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol.1, pp.154-155).   Its main agenda was probably to encourage Jewish Christians in conflict with the synagogue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (20:31; cf. 16:2).     

The Lesson is a continuation of Jesus’ Farewell Discourse.  It begins with Jesus claiming that He will send the Advocate (parakletos, helper or defense lawyer), the Spirit of truth [pneuma tace aletheias] Who proceeds [ekporeuomai] from the Father (15:26).  Jesus claims to reveal  new things to His Disciples not previously taught because He was with them.  But now He is returning to the One Who sent Him (16:4b-5).  Despite sorrow that might emerge as a result of His departure, Jesus notes it is to His followers’ advantage, since then the Advocate will be sent (16:6-7).  The Spirit will prove the world wrong about [convict the world of] sin and about righteousness [dikaiosune] and judgment [krisis], for the ruler of the world has been condemned (16:8-11).  The Greek term used for world in v.8 is kosmos, which can refer to present human reality. 

Jesus proclaims that He has more to say, but His followers cannot bear it now (16:12).  Yet the Spirit will guide them into truth and, speaking not on His own, will declare what is to come (16:13).  The Spirit will glorify [doxa] Christ, taking what is Christ’s and declare it (16:14).  All that the Father has, Jesus claims, is His; this is why the Spirit takes what is His and declares it to the faithful (16:15).  Jesus concludes by noting that in a little while He will not be seen [theoreo], but then again a little while longer and He will be seen (16:16).  This seems to be an eschatological comment, pointing to Jesus’ ongoing Presence after His Resurrection and eschatological Return.

Application: Sermons on this text can proclaim the gifts of the Holy Spirit, how He reveals new insights (Eschatology), convicts Sin, advocates for the faithful, and gives the faithful all that God has (Justification By Grace).  References to the relation of  Spirit, Father, and Son open the way to reflections on the Trinity.