Freed and freeing; invited and inviting

Free Version- The Seventh Sunday of Easter- Acts 16:16-34; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26

Greetings! Christ is Risen!

I am releasing these notes a bit later than usual as my family took an unexpected trip this week to visit a loved one who is sick.

You can find this week’s readings here. As always, I encourage you to check out our subscription options which are a MUCH deeper look at each of the readings. Included in the “Deep Dive” subscription is a weekly conversation with other pastors on the readings (via Zoom). It’s always a great time!

All three readings invite us into a new way of being, which requires releasing control, and trusting in the Spirit of God. All three readings jostle us in our self-centeredness, thinking that we can make things right, that we can heal the world on our own. All three readings remind us of God’s love for us.

In our Acts reading (16:16-34), we encounter a world enslaved. This is illustrated by a girl enslaved to unjust economic realities. This girl (unlike Lydia in the previous passage) is not even named. Paul, in his annoyance(!) Declares liberation to the girl. We quickly discover that it is not only the girl, but the masters who are enslaved; not physically, but to their greed and an exploitative system. They bring Paul and Silas before the magistrates, who are also enslaved, beholden to the whims of the crowd. This oppressive system is also illustrated by a jailer who himself is enslaved, believing that, if he disappoints the system, his own life is not worth living. Such a system requires the proclamation of a new world, the world of salvation in Christ.

Revelation 22 (12:14, 16-17, 20-21) paints the picture of this new world in fullness, centered on the one who is the First and the Last. In chapter 21, we were told that the gates will never be shut, but in chapter 22 we are told that there are those who will choose to remain outside the gates. Specifically, those who prefer to control the world on their own, who choose destructive and idolatrous paths, and prefer to live lies rather than seeking the truth remain outside. Why? Because in a new world centered on Jesus, those things must remain apart. Yet, the Spirit and the bride (the Christian community) shout “Come!” It is a shout of welcome to all who are thirsty. Because the water of life is a free gift.

In our gospel reading (John 17:20-26), Jesus prays for the unity of his followers, a unity which only God can give. The purpose of this unity is that the world would know God’s love. This is not an affinity-based, personality-based, or even doctrinally-based unity. It is not something that we can make happen. It is rooted in the unity of the Triune God: the love that the Father has for the Son, and the love of God for his world.