Sermon at St. John’s Church, West Grimstead and All Saints’ Parish Church, Farley – 4th Sunday in Easter – Sunday 11 May 2025
Acts 9:36-43; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:22-30
May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit and may these words be those of you, Lord, and may they be a
blessing to all who listen and hear them.
Last week, in John 21, we looked at Peter’s
restoration at the hands of Jesus, following the Resurrection, when Jesus
appeared amongst the disciples on the lakeside of Galilee whilst Peter and his
fellow brethren were out on the lake fishing.
You will recall, I have no doubt, how it was
only after they had received instructions from Jesus as to where to cast the
net that they caught such an enormous number of fish – 153. That part of the
story reminded us that it is only really with the help of Jesus – either
directly or through the Holy Spirit, that we can successfully achieve God’s
purpose in and for our lives. Prior to Jesus’s arrival on the lakeside, they
had been totally unsuccessful in their fishing despite being professionals. It also reminded us that Jesus can enter into
our presence at the least expected time and circumstances and we must always be
ready to receive and listen to him.
However, the most important part of last
week’s passage from John’s Gospel was Peter being restored to his position
amongst the disciples. Again, you will
recall that Jesus asked Peter not once, but three times, whether he loved Jesus
and three times Peter responded in the affirmative; and on each occasion Peter
was told to feed Jesus’s sheep and be a pastor to His people. Earlier, in the
gospel, we read how Jesus had called upon Peter to act as the rock upon which
Jesus’s worldwide church would be built; but he had probably thought he had
forever forgone that privilege when he had denied Jesus three times on the
night of Jesus’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. Hence the reason for Jesus
asking him three times if Peter really did love Christ.
I think it rather appropriate that our reading
from Acts, this morning, should focus on Peter’s ministry after those events I
have just described. Last Thursday we saw the election of a new Pope, Leo XIV,
in Rome who is considered the direct apostolic successor to Peter who is
regarded, in the Roman Catholic Church, as the first Pope or Bishop of Rome and
Keeper of the Keys to Heaven. Yet
despite the pomp and ceremony and ritual, we should never lose sight of the
fact that Peter was, when we first meet him in the Bible, a humble fisherman
who would have worked hard and probably was what some might describe as a
pretty rough diamond! I grew up in a northern fishing town as many of you know
and the local “deckies” appeared to be the least likely candidates to be
pastors. I pray and hope that our new pope will not forget the humility and
normality of Peter at his calling.
In our reading today we see a different Peter
– a mature Peter and one who, following the bestowing of the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost, demonstrates the power and love of God, through Jesus, by signs and
wonders. In the passages immediately before our reading today, Peter has
already healed a long-term bedridden man in Lydda, called Aeneas, and if we
read earlier chapters, we see Peter having healed a crippled beggar. Earlier in his ministry, Peter and other
disciples had found it impossible to heal anybody until Jesus told them that
they needed to acknowledge and concentrate on the power of prayer. Now, Peter’s
powers are well known in that part of the world to the extent that two
disciples are sent out to bring him to the house of the deceased of another
follower, Tabitha or Dorcas, as she is better known, and there, after much
prayer, he brings her back to life. This act, we read, led to the conversion of
many in and around Joppa and Lydda.
What greater testimony could there be than the
acts of Peter and the apostles in bringing people to believe in the power of
God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit manifested by the acts of these early
disciples.
I think that the real importance of this
passage from Acts is, though, that the emphasis in all the examples of
miraculous healings is the element of prayer – that these wonders being
performed by Peter and the apostles, are actually the work of God through Jesus
and the Holy Spirit and that the apostles are simply the conduit through which
the power passes.
I am afraid that there are many scammers these
days who profess special powers of healing in themselves and, indeed, even ask
for money to perform the miracles being sought. Vulnerable people are paying
money to faith healers and false prophets in the hope of a miracle and when it
doesn’t happen, are told their faith (often in monetary terms) is insufficient.
The real truth is that it is for God to heal
or not. As Jesus told his disciples the
power to heal is tied up in the power of prayer and it is through prayer alone
that a miracle can occur.
This really nicely leads on to our gospel
reading – again taken from John. Unlike last week’s reading this one is, I
find, somewhat more difficult to follow.
The context of this passage is that it occurs
immediately after Jesus has been talking about himself as the “good shepherd”.
He reminds his listeners in those earlier passages that as the good shepherd he
has the full knowledge of his flock, knowing them all by name and they knowing
him to be their true and loyal shepherd. He reminds his listeners that this
differs from the hired hand who would easily run away as he does not have the
same relationship with the sheep. The true shepherd is prepared to lay down his
own life to protect his sheep from the wolf.
This is, of course, a direct reference to his own sacrifice for all
those who believe.
We now find Jesus in Jerusalem at the Festival
of Dedication or Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights – a winter festival in the
Jewish Year (still celebrated shortly before our Christmas) which commemorates
the rededication of the Temple following is desecration by Antiochus. Then, as
now, this was a very important celebration marking the restoration of the
Jewish Faith’s worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.
It was, therefore, very much in the minds of
the Jewish Elders that they continued to await the arrival of the Messiah who
would sweep away Roman occupation and completely restore Judea to complete
Jewish Rule. As in our scriptural passage in Acts which we’ve already looked
at, the theme of restoration was again at the heart of the story. Having listened to Jesus’s preaching they
wanted a firm and plain response to their question “Are you really our
Messiah?” Indeed, there had been quite a
number of previous candidates who had disappointed the Jewish Authorities.
Jesus’s response is not as plain as they had
hoped. He responds by saying that if
they look at all he has done and said during his ministry the answer is clearly
there. If they still need to seek clarity then he refers back to his previous
analogy of the shepherd and his sheep.
If they truly believe they will hear and recognise his voice, but if
they do not then they do not belong to his flock.
In summary, I again refer to our Diocesan
strapline of “Making Jesus Known”. In
order to make Jesus known to others we need to know him ourselves – not, as I
said in my sermon last week, to simply “know about Jesus” but to introduce him
as a living person – to have a relationship with him.
Jesus left us with the Holy Spirit and gave us
a direct conduit through which we can pray directly to God. To have a proper
and meaningful relationship with him. By
reading scripture we can reflect upon how his word spread throughout the world,
not simply by reading scripture but by the acts and experiences of his
followers – followers just like you and me.
I am again reminded of William Holman Hunt’s
painting “The Light of World” which depicts Jesus with a lantern knocking at an
overgrown door without a handle on the outside.
A representation of Jesus knocking at our door of life with only us able
to open it from the inside. This reminds
us of Jesus’s words in Revelation 3:20. The original painting can be seen on
one of the walls of the Chapel of Keble College, Oxford.
If you haven’t let Jesus through your door
yet, then I invite you to do so – to have a fulfilling relationship with
him. If you have done so, I ask you to
reflect on how and when that happened and think how you might encourage others
to do so. Here is a prayer to help
"Lord Jesus, I come before you
as my shepherd, seeking to know you more deeply and to lie down with your flock.
I desire not just to understand your teachings, but to experience your love and
power in my life. Help me to see you in everything I do and to respond to your
call with a willing heart. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I may be
empowered to live a life that reflects your grace and glory. May I walk in your
light and be a witness to your love."
Amen
MFB/216/09052025
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