Easter 6, Year C (2022)

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 22, 2022.

 

“WHICH COMES FIRST?”

(Homily text:  Acts 16:9 – 15)

It isn’t often that we choose to focus in on one of the readings other than the appointed gospel reading for a Sunday. But today, I am struck by the comment in our reading from the book of Acts about Lydia, where Luke (the author of Acts) tells us that the “Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul”.

Today’s passage tells us about Lydia’s conversion process. In her case, it’s clear that the Lord had a hand, a direct one, apparently, in her ability to hear and to receive the Good News (Gospel) that Paul was proclaiming.

It we look at the various accounts of people’s coming to faith in Holy Scripture, it seems clear that there isn’t one, specific pattern that pertains to all of those accounts. There are, however, some commonalities.

Before we look at some examples of various people’s conversion experiences, let’s remind ourselves just a bit about Lydia and her situation.

Lydia was a “seller of purple cloth”, Luke tells us. That might not mean much to us today, but in ancient times, purple cloth was worn only by noble persons, or by persons of considerable wealth. The reason for that lay in the way in which the cloth was dyed. It used a small snail as the source of the dye, snails that had to be harvested from the sea by divers.[1]

It’s safe to assume, therefore, that Lydia was fairly well-off, financially. It’s also possible that she was the head of her household.

Now, let’s look at Lydia’s situation a bit more closely.

We see, first of all, that she was a “God-worshipper”. Most likely, that meant that she was a Gentile woman who worshipped the God of Abraham. A “God-worshipper”, a person who’s mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, was one who didn’t fully convert to Judaism.

What we see in Lydia’s situation is, therefore, an awareness of the God of Abraham, and an openness to prayer and worship, for she came, on the Sabbath day, (Saturday) to the riverside, a “place of prayer”, Luke tells us.

It seems likely that God was working on Lydia’s heart and mind before her encounter with Paul. That’s often the case, it seems like, for God is often at work in a person for a length of time before they are aware of God’s moving and acting. The process of coming to faith, or conversion, isn’t always an instantaneous thing.

I think we can see some evidence for baptismal practices that go beyond what is generally known as “believer’s baptism”[2], for Luke tells us that Lydia’s household was also baptized at the same time (presumably) that she was. Lydia’s household would have included servants or slaves, quite likely, but it also may have included children. (We don’t know for sure.) It’s possible, then, that the younger members of the household were also baptized. [3]

At times, a person’s conversion experience is almost instantaneous. Consider St. Paul’s conversion[4], as an example: He was met on the road to Damascus by the risen Lord, who asks him, “Saul, Saul[5], why are you persecuting me?” In Paul’s situation, the Lord comes crashing in on Paul.

We might contrast Paul’s experience with that of most of the original band of disciples. It surely seems like their conversion experience took a good while to accomplish, beginning with their response to the Lord’s invitation to follow Him, until Easter Day, when the reality of the Lord’s resurrection enabled them to come to faith, and to exclaim, along with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”.

Then there is the fascinating account of Nicodemus, the one who came to see Jesus during the night (see John, chapter three). After Jesus’ death, Nicodemus came, along with Joseph of Arimathea, to anoint Jesus’ body. Is it possible that Nicodemus had become a believer? Maybe.

Joseph of Arimathea is named as a disciple of the Lord, but “secretly, for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). He was the one who asked Pilate to give him Jesus’ body for burial. It seems clear that he had become a believer. John’s gospel account makes no judgment of his discipleship being a quiet one.

A common thread running through these and other accounts, is the one that demonstrates that God is at work, in dramatic, or in quiet ways, to bring a person to faith. Absent God’s movement and doing, no one of us is able to come to faith. We are, then, dependent on God’s acting, no matter what form that acting might take. Our response might be instantaneous, and especially so if God comes crashing in on us like He did with Paul. Or, our response might take awhile, like those first disciples-soon-to-become-apostles. The common thread that binds these varying paths to faith together is the necessity of accepting God’s truth and God’s love, of making a conscious decision to follow the Lord.

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.

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[1]   These days, different means are used to dye purple cloth, but it hasn’t been too many years, apparently, since current means of dying purple cloth has been available.

[2]   Believer’s baptism is the concept that baptism ought to be administered only to persons who are old enough to make their own faith decision, sometimes called the “age of accountability”.

[3]   There is further evidence, perhaps, of children and persons of younger years being baptized later on in this same chapter of Acts, when the Philippian jailer and his entire household were baptized. This is a text we will hear next Sunday.

[4]   Observed in our Church Year on January 25^th.

[5]   Saul was Paul’s original name.

Easter 5, Year C (2022)

Acts 11:1 – 18 / Psalm 148 / Revelation 21:1 – 6 / John 13:31 – 35

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 15, 2022.

 

“LOVE AND LIKE”

(Homily text:  John 13:31 -35)

In today’s appointed Gospel text, we hear Jesus tell His disciples, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

The theme of God’s love for us, made known in its fullest sense in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and the necessity of our love for God and for one another, is a frequent theme found in John’s writings. Today’s instruction was made somewhere near the beginning of the events that took place during the Last Supper. Jesus will repeat His commandment near the end of the account of the events that took place that night, in chapter seventeen of John’s account.

Love is a frequent theme all throughout Holy Scripture. A brief look at a concordance of words as they appear in the Bible will show how often the word “love” appears. For example, we say, “God is love”, denoting the idea that God’s essential nature is one of love.

It’s possible that the concept of “love” is often misunderstood in our common understandings in our culture today. It’s also possible that we can confuse the idea of loving someone with the concept of realizing that it’s a different matter altogether – at times – whether or not we “like” someone.

Perhaps it’d be helpful if we look at the nature of “love”, and then to take a look at the idea of “like”. They are different realities, I think (though I don’t claim to be an expert in the full extent of the meaning of either one!).

We begin with love.

Loving someone, or loving God, it seems to me, informs us that we and the other that we love are in a relationship, an ongoing, deep relationship that should be strong enough to survive the inevitable ups and downs that characterize any relationship. The English language, for all its richness and fullness, has only one word for “love”. The Greek language (the language that most of the New Testament was written in), has three words for “love”: 1. Eros: This would be romantic love; 2. Phileo: This is a brotherly sort of love (as in Philadelphia, which is the city of “Brotherly Love”); and 3. Agape: That self-giving, purer form of love that elevates the value of the one being loved to a high place in our estimations.

Liking someone (or something that someone does or has done) is a different reality altogether. “Like” has the sense of approving of something that someone is doing or has done. Liking someone or something is more dependent on a contemporary situation or condition, I think. For example, we love our children, but we may not like something they are doing at any given moment.

It’s possible, in our culture today, to tie the idea of loving with liking. We make our relationships dependent on the temporary realities of our relationships with others. In effect, we might say something like, “I don’t love that person anymore because I don’t like what they do.”

But if we love another, wouldn’t we want the very best for them, even if it means enduring behaviors or attitudes that we don’t particularly like? Shouldn’t our affection for that other person be deep enough so that we would be able to stick with the relationship, in order that, perhaps, our presence and our love for that other one might prompt some sort of beneficial change?

Our relationship with God can be affected by the confusion caused by equating “love” with “like”. Our relationship with God can suffer because we dislike God’s reprovals or corrective actions for something we’ve done or for some attitude we continue to harbor. But the Book of Revelation reminds us that those that God loves, He disciplines. (Revelation 3:19). Such discipline might seem unpleasant at the time, but it is, ultimately, for our own good in order that we might grow into the full stature of Christ.[1]

Other comment deserves a mention: Sometimes, it might be possible to equate “love” with permissiveness, of the sort of idea that if we love someone, we will allow them to engage in whatever sorts of behaviors and beliefs they might find appealing. In such situations, liking someone is overcome, it seems to me, by the idea that if we love someone, we’ll set aside our approval of their behaviors and beliefs. Here we find another danger in confusing “love” with “like”.

AMEN.

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[1]   The letter to the Hebrews, chapter twelve, has much to say on this topic.

Easter 4, Year C (2022) Good Shepherd Sunday

Acts 9:36 – 43 / Psalm 23 / Revelation 7:9 – 17 / John 10:22 – 30

 

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 8, 2022.

 

“CAREER ASPIRATIONS”

(Homily text:  John 10:22 – 30)

Once upon a time, we had two Cocker Spaniels, two little girls named Phoebe and Zoe. From time to time, we’d look at them and engage in some good-humored fun, asking them this: “Are you a dog? How long have you been a dog? Do you have any other career aspirations?”

Of course, as you can imagine, the looks we got from these two were interesting. Mostly, their reactions seemed to be telling us that their food dishes were empty, or that they needed some rubbing (bellies, mostly).

Career aspirations.

If one had choices in one’s career back in biblical times (and it’s worth saying that many people, maybe even most people, didn’t have much choice about their lifetime’s work), being a shepherd wouldn’t be high on the list of the things someone would want to take up.

In biblical times, shepherds ranked somewhere nearer to the bottom end of desirable careers or lifestyles. Shepherds weren’t well thought-of, back in those times.

What does it say, then, about the God we worship and love, if we call Him our shepherd, as in Psalm 23 (our appointed Psalm for this Sunday), which begins by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd”?

Perhaps the imagery of God as our shepherd, or as Jesus as our Good Shepherd, reminds us that the God whom we love, worship and serve, also seeks to serve us, in much the same way that an earthly shepherd exists for the welfare of the sheep in his care.

In this understanding of God as one who serves us, we see the other side of God, if you will, that side which says that God is higher than we are, yet He is one who seeks to come underneath us to support us and to preserve and redeem us.

God’s “career choice” seems to be one of service, in addition to adoration and worship which He richly deserves. Wow! What an awesome God to be in love with, one who guides, governs and rules over us, yet one who seeks to serve us and to support us.

Thanks be to God!

AMEN.

                                                                  

Easter 3, Year C (2022)

Acts 9:1 – 6 / Psalm 30 / Revelation 5:11 – 14 / John 21:1 – 19

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, May 1, 2022.

 

“NOT RECYCLED, BUT REFITTED”

(Homily text:  John 21:1 - 19)

Many veterans who’ve undergone the experience of “boot camp” or some similar entry-level training in the military recall their experiences vividly, even if those experiences were formed many years ago.

During my Army basic training, I recall two words that continue in my consciousness till today. The first one was “Trainee”. The second one was “Recycle”. Trainee was the word used (often derogatorily, I might add) to describe those who were going through the training, those who were, not yet, soldiers, Marines, sailors, or airmen/women. Recycle meant that the individual had failed some part of the training, and would have to repeat all the training, all over again, from the very beginning. It’s safe to say that most of us in my Army basic training unit didn’t particularly like the term “Trainee”, but we really hated and dreaded the word “Recycle”.

Today’s Gospel relates Peter’s transformation from being a “Trainee” to being a soldier for the Lord. Fortunately, for Peter, he wasn’t recycled. Instead, the Lord refitted him for effective service.

Today’s encounter forms part of what has become known, in biblical scholarship circles, as the “Epilogue” to John’s account.[1] It seems as though the end of chapter twenty, just prior to today’s passage, is the original end of the Gospel text. But chapter twenty-one adds information about Peter’s rehabilitation (refitting), and about Peter’s eventual martyrdom and about the Beloved Disciple (traditionally, John) and his future. Chapter twenty-one also ends with a convincing conclusion, just as chapter twenty does.

It would be worth our while to notes two aspects of the encounter with Jesus that Peter and the other disciples who’d decided to go fishing had on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The first notable aspect of this is John’s telling us that Jesus had prepared a charcoal fire on the seashore. If we think back into chapter eighteen, we remember that Peter stood around a charcoal fire as he was asked, three times, if he knew the Lord. (I can’t resist saying that a person who reads the Scriptures from a strictly literal point-of-view might miss the connection to the Lord’s asking Peter, three times, over a charcoal fire, if he loved the Lord. Here, context is extremely important, it seems to me.) What we have, then, is three denials and three affirmations of love, all made by Peter, and all made over a charcoal fire. The two events are linked. The Lord’s questions reverse and do away with Peter’s denials.

The second notable aspect is the Greek word for love which flows back and forth during Peter’s conversation with the Lord. The Lord uses the word agape in the first two times He asks Peter if he loves Him. Agape love is often seen as a purer, higher form of love, a self-giving sort of affection. Peter responds using a different Greek word for love, phileo. Phileo love is seen as a more brotherly/sisterly sort of love (as in Philadelphia, which is the city of Brotherly Love). But the Lord switches, in asking the third question, to using phileo. Does the change mean anything? Scholars aren’t sure. Some seem to think that Jesus changes His use of the word to match Peter’s, as if He is meeting Peter where he was at the time. That could be. On the other hand, it is often noted that agape and phileo are both used in John’s writing, seemingly interchangeably. It will continue to be a mystery to us until the time when all is revealed, I have the feeling.

The Lord is willing to take Peter where he was at the time. There was no need for Peter to go back to the very beginning in his training, to be “recycled”. But, Peter did need some redirecting, some refining, some refitting, in order to be an effective agent for the Lord. Peter then became an eloquent, powerful leader for the infant Church.

Considering our own situation, we would have to admit, I have the feeling, that we, each of us, is in need of some sort of refitting, retraining, or refining of those things that hinder or limit our witness to Christ. In that predicament, we are in company with Peter. Thinking of Peter’s career in the Lord’s service after his encounter with the Lord by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, we can see that it turned out well for the Good News of God in Christ, and it will for us, as well, if we’re willing to undergo the sort of spiritual basic training that is required to weed out those unproductive parts of ourselves, in order that we may become effective soldiers for Christ.

AMEN.

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[1]   If it seems as though there’s an Epilogue to John’s account, there is also a Prologue. It is found at the beginning of the Gospel, John 1:1 – 18.