Acts 16: 9 – 15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21: 10, 22 – 22:
5; John 14: 23 – 29
This is the homily given at St. John’s Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 26, 2019.
“GOD’S MANY WONDERFUL GIFTS”
(Homily texts: Acts 16: 9–15, Revelation 21: 10, 22 – 22:5
& John 14: 23-29)
Normally,
this preacher doesn’t mix the appointed lectionary texts for a Sunday morning
together into one homily, attempting to “cover all the bases” of the three main
texts in one presentation. While it is often true that the appointed Old
Testament passage has something in common with the Gospel of the day (which is
why those passages are chosen, I suspect), it isn’t common that all three texts
have a thread which connects them together.
However,
I see a thread which connects all three of today’s texts, I think. That thread
has to do with the many wonderful gifts that God gives. Allow me to share those
insights with you.
In
our reading from Acts, we hear this phrase: “The Lord opened her (Lydia’s)
heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” In the account of the
interaction between Paul, Timothy and Luke (notice that Luke – the writer of
the Book of Acts – begins to use the word “we” at about this point in the Acts
narrative to describe the action), it might be easy to miss this comment. Our
attention might be drawn to the information concerning a place of prayer beside
the river, or to the fact that Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth (which was
very expensive in ancient times), or to the fact that Lydia’s entire household
was baptized (most likely including the children in the household). But here,
in the statement that it was the Lord who opened Lydia’s heart, we have
evidence of one of God’s wonderful and many gifts: That gift is the gift of being
able to hear, receive and respond to God’s voice.
If we
think about it, we human beings are incapable of hearing, receiving and
responding to God’s call absent God’s work in our hearts beforehand to prepare
our hearts to be oriented toward God. Theologians apply a specific term to this
sort of God’s grace: prevenient grace.
Prevenient grace is – as the word implies - that grace which comes before
hearing, receiving and believing. It is God moving in our hearts and minds in
order that we can respond to God.
The
next wonderful gift that God gives is to be written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Our text from the Book of Revelation describes a wonderful scene of the saints
of God, gathered into the new Jerusalem, gathered around the throne of God and
of the Lamb.
There
is much in the Book of Revelation that is strange, mysterious and puzzling.
(Perhaps that’s why many people try to avoid reading and studying it.) But
here, in the closing chapters of this book, we have a glorious vision of the
promises of God, promised which will be fulfilled in God’s time and in God’s
way, a time when God’s perfection will be known. To be a part of that glorious
plan is the greatest gift any of us could receive and experience.
The
third set of gifts we might consider are to be found in our Gospel text. Jesus
describes four gifts of the Father: 1. Jesus’ one-ness with the Father; 2. The
promise of the Holy Spirit (a subject we will consider in two weeks, on the
Feast of Pentecost); 3. The peace of God; and 4. That though Jesus is going
away, He will come again to those who love Him.
A
fourth gift of God has to do with this Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Easter,
which is Rogation Sunday. (In this week, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the
Rogation Days. Rogation Days always immediately precede the Feast of the
Ascension, which falls on Thursday of this week.)
The
term Rogation comes to us from the Latin verb “to pray”. In former times, it
became the practice for the Church to pray for the spring planting and the
eventual harvest. In England and elsewhere, a procession around the
geographical bounds of the parish of the Church took place. Often, it was a
liturgical procession, complete with cross, torches and vested clergy. (A
parish is – in its most basic understanding – not a congregation, but a
geographical area. So, for example, the parish of St. John’s is actually
Huntingdon County, since we are the only Episcopal church in the county.) Such
a procession is called “Walking the Bounds”.
God’s
gift is the gift of life. In this case, it is the gift of the life of the
plants that will support life, both animal and human, in the seedtime and the
resulting harvest. Absent God’s presence in this process, there wouldn’t be a
harvest to enjoy come autumn.
If we
reflect on it, we can think – perhaps – of many, many ways in which God bestows
gifts on our lives. God’s gifting is tailored to our individual circumstance
and need…..what a blessing that is!
Thanks
be to God!
AMEN.
