5th May 2024
Reflection – readings follow on below
Psalm 98 extols the victory of God that will extend to the ends of the earth, and which will be celebrated with joy by not just the people but by all creation – plants and animals, and hills and rivers. It is prophetic, encouraging us to look forward and to work towards that future age of glory. And in the fullness of time that victory will be won: God’s kingdom will reign supreme over the whole earth.
If Christ’s resurrection shows his victory over death, then surely the challenge and the hope now is for Christ’s victory over the world! Here I am using the world to describe that rule, that way of life, in which humans are destructive of the environment, are destructive of the wellbeing of their brethren, are greedy and selfish, and who repel all that is good and loving and of God. To achieve victory over the world will be to establish God’s kingdom, God’s rule firmly and for ever on the earth. This victory will produce peace and wellbeing, justice and compassion for all. It will remove war fare and aggression, persecution and oppression. It will end exploitation and build up the common good.
This endeavour – the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth – is one that is ongoing, that is ceaselessly being pursued by Christ through the power of the Holy Sprit. It is an endeavour which Christ shares with us, inviting us to be alongside him. As the gospel of John reminds us, Jesus has appointed us to go forth and bear fruit. We are to establish – plant – God’s commandments and love throughout all the earth. These commands will achieve victory if we adhere to them and share them, ‘for whatever is born of God conquers the world’.
This is not to say that the task will be easy. We see in the gospel stories how Jesus’s disciples – even when they were living alongside him – found his example hard to follow. But we are commanded, and must strive, to love our siblings for that is how we love God. So often however – our ego, our self confidence, our self assurance, gets in the way. We doubt that others will behave in like manner towards us leaving us exposed to suffering and loss and ridicule. We fear giving too much love – and too much of what we own – to our siblings for fear they will not reciprocate.
Is that why we come to church, we we form communities, so that we can support and encourage and reassure each other of the importance and the power of loving our siblings? Maybe we need to remind ourselves and renew our acceptance, of the gift of the Holy Spirit? Jesus does not leave us alone to undertake this endeavour of establishing God’s kingdom on earth. He is with us all the way -just sometimes we look away or ignore him.
Be bold, be full of love.
Acts 10:44-48
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptising these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Psalm 98
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, *
for he has done marvellous things.
2 With his right hand and his holy arm *
has he won for himself the victory.
3 The Lord has made known his victory; *
his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4 He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
5 Shout with joy to the Lord, all you lands; *
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
6 Sing to the Lord with the harp, *
with the harp and the voice of song.
7 With trumpets and the sound of the horn *
shout with joy before the King, the Lord.
8 Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, *
the lands and those who dwell therein.
9 Let the rivers clap their hands, *
and let the hills ring out with joy before the Lord,
when he comes to judge the earth.
10 In righteousness shall he judge the world *
and the peoples with equity.
1 John 5:1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
John 15:9-17
Jesus said to his disciples, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”
The Green Tau 