Easter 6 (full size gallery)
We had 31 inhouse and also those online. The Long family filled the pews.
Tucker was also back from the Grand Canyon where he hiked from the southern rim to the northern rim in back. He was amazed a trees growing at the side of cliffs without visible signs of moisture. It was very hot on the Colorado river (where he took a dip) and he got heat stroke along the way. He is off to South American next, in particular Machu Picchu in Peru.
From Bishop Rob Wright, John 15: 9-17 on “Friends”
“To be a servant of God and neighbor is what Jesus holds up for us, until today. According to Jesus, “…servants don’t know what the Master is doing.” But now, “I have told you everything,” Jesus says. That means we are now his “friends.”
Being friends with Jesus changes everything. It moves us from obedience, as necessary and honorable as that is, into a shared-ness with Jesus. Being friends is about mutual compassion and shared responsibility. Being friends is about not needing to be browbeat, shamed or threatened into behavior. Being friends is about focusing our agency of our own volition on Jesus’ priorities because we want to be beside our friend. Being friends is about delight in the deep connection. Being friends is not about taking up behaviors so we can win the title “good person.”
Many of us have asked Jesus in prayer during this pandemic for many things, as we should, but what do we want to give Him in this pandemic? We sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus…,” but would Jesus sing what a friend I have in (insert your name here)________________?
Today’s readings urge believers to come together in a community characterized by love. In his sermon, Peter tells Cornelius of God’s work in Jesus Christ, thus opening the doors of the Church to Gentiles. A few simple words from today’s psalm unify today’s readings: “sing…a new song.” That allusion to newness captures the spirit of rebirth in spring as well as God’s marvelous surprises. We can almost imagine the jaws dropping as the Jewish believers discover the shocking truth that God’s grace has been poured out on Gentiles too. The author of 1 John describes Jesus as God’s love for us, and calls us to embrace one another in that love. In the gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they have been chosen to love one another; in this they will find perfect joy.
This missionary speech in the Act’s reading "(Acts 10:44-48) marks an important turning point in the outreach of the early Church. Many Jewish Christians feared and resisted the possible inclusion of Gentiles, but Luke makes clear that Peter himself (even before Paul) began the mission to the Gentiles under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Cornelius was a “God-fearing” Roman, one who worshiped God but had not adopted all of the Jewish religious practices. Cornelius receives the sacrament of baptism, but not before he and his gathered household receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This event marks a new Pentecost. The circle of Christian faith has now broadened to include the inhabitants of “the ends of the earth” (1:8). The Spirit first came to Jews (2:1-4), then to the despised Samaritans (8:14-17), and now to the Gentiles.
The writing of 1 John seems to have been occasioned by a schism in the community due to heresy, specifically the denial of Jesus’ humanity. The central theme of 1 John is that “God is love” (4:8). As 1 John points out, the important, new discovery is not that we love God, but that God loves us. For centuries, humans tried to placate angry deities. The significance of this statement is explored through repeated meditation that interweaves theology and ethics
The Gospel reading from the discourse on the vine and the branches deals with the disciples’ relationships with one another. Jesus’ relationship with the Father has now become the model for all believers. The Father and Son’s relationship of mutual indwelling is now extended to Christians. The Father’s love for the Son is the basis, both in origin and in quality, of the Son’s love for the believer.
Believers are to love one another with a love characterized by self-sacrifice. Thus while Christians are still "servants" (v. 15, literally “slaves”) of Christ in terms of ministry (see 12:26; 13:14-16), they are "friends" (v. 15) of Christ in terms of intimacy with God. In and through this relationship Christians are appointed to "bear fruit" (v. 16).