We have readings today from two Johns. John bar Zebedee, the apostle, wrote the Gospel most likely in collaboration with others or by his associates. A later John, perhaps of Asia, wrote Revelation. This John endured persecution and exile.
John, the apostle, lived to an advanced age according to contemporary sources. He knew Jesus personally. As the others who knew Jesus in his human form died, it became important to the early church to have John’s insights written down. If you look at the Gospel of John from the view that// this mature Christian man had 50 some years to contemplate Jesus’ words and actions, one can consider how John’s love and understanding of Jesus grew over that time. He was also addressing where the church should go to expand into the second century so Jesus’ mission was continued. His goal was to assure that the baptized understood that the church could flourish without the original apostles.
The passages we read from the two Johns have a similar theme with three common points.
1. Christ loves us. From Rev. “To him who loves us...” And from the Gospel, “Peace be to you.”
2. The historical event of the atonement. From Rev. “…and has freed us from our sins by his own blood.” And from the Gospel, “…he showed them his hands and his side.”
3. The effect of the redemption is to set up a community that shares Christ’s kingly and priestly functions. From Rev. “…and has made us a kingdom, priests to God….” And from the Gospel, “Even as the father sent me, so I send you.”
The Gospel of John wasn’t written so much as an historical account as it was written that the church might discover God and also, Christology-who Jesus is. Jesus returned to his closest disciples to commission them to continue his work: expanding God’s kingdom. His greeting, “Peace be to you,” meant far more. He was asking that God give them every good thing. He tells them, “Even as the father sent me, so I send you.”
Jesus is telling them that he and God need them. God needs the church. Jesus was returning to the father. His message for all humans wouldn’t go very far without the church. Jesus is dependent on his church.
The church needs Jesus. To go out, we must be sent by someone. We must have a message to take. We must have the power to deliver it. And we need Jesus to back us up when we meet with difficulties or resistance. The church is dependent on Jesus.
God sent Jesus then Jesus sent his disciples. Jesus was able to do what he did because he was in continual communion with God through prayer, obedience and love. The challenge for the church is to practice this same prayerful obedience and love to continue Jesus’ work. We can forward the kingdom of God if our actions are for Christ rather than for our own agendas.
Jesus doesn’t just send the apostles, he breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit that fortified Peter and the other apostles with him to speak out to the Sanhedrin after they had forbidden them to speak of Jesus, after they had been arrested for doing so. It was the Holy Spirit Peter mentioned in the passage from Acts. Peter told the Sanhedrin that the Holy Spirit was a witness to Jesus’ ability to offer forgiveness from sin.
Receiving the Holy Spirit is a powerful experience. Ezekiel’s description of the dry bones that become full and alive human beings is one of the best of relating this power. Receiving the Spirit is like awakening the dead. When the Holy Spirit comes upon the Church, she is recreated for her task.
This early community was the Kingdom of God in the world. When one faltered, the others would bolster her up until she got her bearings again. Not one person seemed to have any more authority than any other. Jesus called a ministry circle, if you will. He knew the skills of each person and he knew the skills of the whole group combined would do great things. Especially, if they paused and listened to the Spirit. With prayerful obedience to God and love for God and one another, they would carry the church as long as they were alive. The tensions between them would create compromise and new ministries. If these men and women had been told how far Jesus’ radical ideas would spread in their own lifetimes, they never would have believed it possible. And John was the one who saw the most because he lived the longest.
The one person I have known really well and then lost, is my husband, Jim. We here are well aware of Jim’s impact here at St. Mark-all the things he did for us, for me. He was also well-loved and respected by folks in the diocese and the people he worked with at Boeing. My extended family and his family loved him and appreciated him. I am friends with some of his high school cohort and they talk about how much they miss him. And, some aspects of my life are harder for me because he is no longer here. Jim had impact on the world-in many ways positive impact. I also think about our little circle here. The Reverend Robin Moore used to tell us that as small as a congregation is, there are still all the talents needed to do ministry. We will soon go through a discernment process to determine if we have people available to study together to increase our opportunities for ministry.
I sometimes fall into negative thoughts when I think how small we are. What if I get really sick, lose my mind, or die? What will happen to St. Mark? Yet, most of the time, I am patiently waiting to see what happens. I am looking forward to discovering the gifts within the congregation.
So, I thought about these apostles Jesus breathed upon and I thought about our congregation here. We have people who are good at details who are willing to count money and make bank deposits and remind us of our pledge obligations. We have people who actually like sorting out the mail and prioritizing it. We have people who have been trained to preach and prayerfully consider the readings. We have people willing to come together to study the Bible. I am thankful for those of you who are so delighted to have children in your midst that you even enjoy their noise.
There are people who load and unload the dishwasher and set up the Eucharistic dishes. People who dust the communion rail and the pews. People who remember how things have been done in the past. People who are willing to make decisions about how we spend our income and what our mission statement should be. We have people who trim shrubs and make repairs. We have people who organize our stuff so we can find it when we need it. We have people who order the stuff so it can be organized.
Most of all, we have people who are willing to love. Sometimes it’s homemade cookies or bread with the coffee. Often, it is remembering that someone was ill or their son needed work. It is inspecting a scar from surgery, calling to say someone was missed, or visiting someone in a nursing home, the jail, or the hospital. It’s holding someone’s newborn and sharing their joy. It’s passing the Lord’s peace with enthusiasm. It’s asking how things are going and really listening to the answer.
Our little circle here is tightly knit together yet, my experience has been that it easily opens to include others. This place holds the Holy Spirit and is a place where we all can receive support when we fall. Jesus loves us, Jesus died for us, and Jesus has sent us out. We can in loving obedience, further God’s kingdom here.