The Day of Pentecost, Year A (2023)

Acts 2: 1 - 21
Psalm 104: 25 – 35, 37
I Corinthians 12: 3b – 13
John 20: 19 – 23

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, given on May 28, 2023 by Fr. Gene Tucker.

 

“RELATIONSHIP AND SERVICE”

(Homily text:  Acts 2: 1 – 21)

As we consider the events that took place on this day, the day of Pentecost, let’s focus our consideration on two aspects of what happened on that day, in the ways in which those involved were made aware of the Holy Spirit’s identity and power, and also in the ways in which the Spirit’s presence and power were given for the purpose of sharing the Good News (Gospel) of Christ with the world.

Let’s begin with a review of what happened that day, as the Spirit descended on those gathered (we’re not sure of the number, for Luke – the writer of the Book of Acts – isn’t helpful in his explanation: Could it have been the original group of twelve Apostles[1], or was it a larger number, 120, that was mentioned in the text a bit earlier?)[2]

Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit’s arrival was marked by something “like” a mighty wind, and with something that resembled tongues of fire which appeared above the heads of each one gathered that day. (Notice that Luke attempts to describe what happened, making analogies with the words “like” and “as of”. To a certain extent, because God is involved in what happened, some aspects of the event are difficult to capture entirely.)

What we can discern about the Pentecost event is that our human understanding of the Holy Spirit’s identity and power changed.

Prior to Pentecost, in Old Testament times, there are numerous references in those times to the Spirit of God descending on someone. Examples would include the following: Genesis 41:38; Exodus 31:3 and 35:31; Numbers 24:2; I Samuel 10:10, 11:6, 19:20 and 19:23; II Chronicles 15:1. In each of these cases, the Spirit’s descent enabled the person to do something they couldn’t have done absent the Spirit’s presence and power.

In truth, since God’s nature is unchanging, the events of Pentecost didn’t mark a change in God’s essential nature. Nor did the Pentecost event change the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as the Church would come to understand that relationship in future years. But what did change was that God chose to reveal something new about His essential nature to humankind. It is our understanding that changed, not God’s nature.

But now, on the day of Pentecost, as the Holy Spirit descends, each one present is given power to do something extraordinary: The ability to speak a foreign language, one they had not known before.

Those who had come to Jerusalem on pilgrimage for the feast of Pentecost from the various areas that Luke includes were able to understand what the disciples and the Apostles were saying.

Notice the far-ranging audience that was present that day, those who heard – in their own language – about God’s great works. We can glean from this part of the account of that day’s events that the scope of the spread of the Good News is to be world-wide.

Each one whose lives were changed by the rush of that mighty wind, and by the descent of the fire (signifying God’s presence and purifying power) went out, sharing their experience with others. The gift of the spirit was never intended to be hoarded as private treasure. On the contrary, the Spirit’s presence in their lives and in ours was intended to empower them to be witnesses to God’s mighty acts, so that the lives of others would also be changed for good.

This day is regarded as the “birthday of the Church”, the day on which the Church was – in a very real sense – founded to carry out the work God intends for the world. Therefore, the gifts given to the Church are not her sole possession, but are to be used to reach out in service, in love, and in testimony to God’s power and God’s intent for the world.

May the Holy Spirit descend on us in might and in power, as it did to those gathered on that day, that we might use the language of those we encounter for the sharing of God’s great and good news.

AMEN.

 

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[1]   By the day of Pentecost, Matthias had been chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. See Acts 1: 21 – 26.

[2]   Acts 1: 15 

Easter 7, Year A (2023) The Sunday after the Ascension

Acts 1: 6 - 14
Psalm 68: 1 – 10, 33 – 36
I Peter 4: 12 – 14, 5: 6 - 11
John 17: 1 - 11

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 21, 2023 by Fr. Gene Tucker.

 

“WHAT SORT OF ONE-NESS?”

(Homily text:  John 17: 1 – 11)

“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”[1] These words are part of what has come to be known as “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer”, a subtitle given to it by biblical scholars.

These words, and the remainder of chapter seventeen of John’s Gospel account, are the culmination of the events that took place during the Last Supper. John devotes five chapters to these events, chapters thirteen through seventeen of his account.

Jesus prays for His disciples, those who will continue in a world which was hostile to Him and to His message and work, and which will continue to be hostile to His followers as they make their way out into the world, carrying the Good News (Gospel) of what God had done in sending Jesus Christ into the world.

A prominent theme in this High Priestly Prayer is the appeal for unity among the Lord’s followers. We hear it in verse eleven, with which we began this homily this morning, and we will read it again three more times near the end of the prayer, in verses 21 through 23.

What about being one? What about unity within the body of Christ?

After all, a common witness to God’s power, made known in the person, work, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a requirement, if the power of God is to be effective in the world.

If we do not have commonality of purpose and witness, then the Christian voice merely becomes one of many competing and conflicting voices calling out to the world’s peoples for attention and for influence. Alas, there are many such voices, many, many more than there were even a few years ago. The result can be cacophonous.

Where do we stand, in this, the year of Our Lord 2023, in the matter of Christian unity and common witness.

I think, if we are honest with ourselves, we’d have to say that there have been some gains, but also some losses.    

Looking back over recent decades, we can see more interaction between various Christian bodies. For example, in our own local Forum of Churches, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, United Church of Christ, Church of the Brethren and others are represented, in addition to our own Episcopal/Anglican presence. As good as that ecumenicity is, there are missing voices, those of the more traditional evangelical ones.

It wouldn’t have been too many years ago that Roman Catholics wouldn’t have had anything to do with a group like the Forum of Churches. Indeed, it’s only been since Vatican II in the 1960s that attitudes among Roman Catholics toward other Christian bodies has begun to change. But, in all candor, we also have to say that the reverse is true, that Protestants and Anglicans (like us) wouldn’t have had much, if anything, to do with Roman Catholics, either.

So there’s been good movement toward unity of purpose in recent times. A good development, to be sure.

However, even as various Christian churches have come together, even – in some cases – leading to actual unity, there’ve also been divisions. Consider, for example, the current struggles of the United Methodist Church, which is now dealing with some of the issues that have vexed other Christians, leading to departures from the denomination.

Our own Episcopal Church hasn’t been immune from these – and other – struggles. Over the past 50 or so years, we’ve dealt with issues of adopting a new Prayer Book, women’s ordination and sexuality issues. Our membership has declined from about 3.5 million in the 1960s to about 1.5 million today. It’s small comfort that other Christians are dealing with some of these same issues. The result for them, as it has been for us, has been a series of splits in denominations, departures for new Christian bodies, or – much more sadly – departures of those who now have no Christian affiliation at all.

Unity within denominations, then, has been a series of successes and failures. To be honest about the failures, it’s probably true that some of the issues that are before the Church today do not have a common ground of understanding, and little-or-no room for compromise. That said, however, St. Paul admonishes us to be at peace with everyone, as much as it depends on us to create conditions for peace.[2]

Unity between – and within – Christian bodies is critical to our witness to the wider world.

But so is unity within the local congregation.

If a local church is torn by competing factions for dominance and influence, or when members of the local community fail to put the overall congregation’s welfare over their own preferences, then the local congregation’s mission will be impeded. It’s even possible that a newcomer will be able to sense the tension within the congregation. Any steps the congregation might undertake to extend a warmer welcome to newcomers will be undercut, as a result. (One thinks of the divisions and the competition for power and influence that was present in the early church in Corinth as an example.)

How might we move toward greater one-ness in Christ, both within our own local congregations, and between other Christians? I think the answer is that we must submit our own wills, our own preferences, our own perspectives, to the power of the Holy Spirit. For it is the Spirit’s domain to be the changer of hearts and minds.

May we, then, surrender our wills to the Father’s will, to the Son’s example, and to the power of the Spirit.

AMEN.

       

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[1]   John 17:11

[2]   Romans 12:18

Easter 6, Year A (2023) - Rogation Sunday

Acts 17: 22 – 31
Psalm 66: 7 - 18
I Peter 3: 15 - 22
John 14: 15 – 21

This is the homily given at St. John, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania on Sunday, May 14, 2023 by Fr. Gene Tucker.

 

“LOVE RECEIVED, LOVE OFFERED”

(Homily text:  John 14: 15 – 21)

       

There are some things in life that defy definition. But, even though we might not be able to completely define what they are, we can recognize them when we encounter them.

For example, we can identify kindness when we encounter it. The same is true of cruelty or inhumane acts.

The same is also true of love. The dictionary offers us a lengthy definition of love, and the Greek language (unlike English) has four words[1] for the different types of love that human beings can experience and can know.

So, in today’s appointed Gospel reading, we hear Jesus’ words, “If you love[2] me, you will keep my commandments.” If we check a good concordance to see how many times the word “love” appears in John’s Gospel account and in his letters, we see that we encounter it eight times in the Gospel, and eighteen times in First and Second John.

John describes our Lord Jesus Christ’s relationship with God the Father and with us in terms of being a conduit, a way for the Father’s love to be given to us. We are in the receiving end of that immense, wonderful love, that sort of generous (to an extreme) sort of love that seeks our welfare, not God’s necessarily. That sort of love is agape love, the same Greek word used in the opening verse of today’s appointed text.

So, for example, in last week’s Gospel text, we hear Jesus say to Philip, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The Words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”[3] The implication here is that Jesus came to reveal the Father, the Father’s will, and the Father’s love, to us.

What are we to do with God’s love?

One possibility is that we could hoard it, treat it as if it was our possession to enjoy, to the exclusion of others.

Another possibility is to become proud of the fact that we’ve received God’s love and God’s approval, Oftentimes, when Christians fall into this trap, they begin to act in very unloving ways.

Still another possibility – and really, the best one and the one that the Father would want us to follow – is to receive God’s love, to be thankful for it, and then to turn around and share that love with others.

Notice the dual focus in that last statement. It requires us to keep our focus on the Father and on the Father’s will and the Father’s love, but also on the love that we pass along to others.

It’s a difficult task to maintain a healthy focus on the Father and also – at the same time – on those whom the Father also loves.

Perhaps because it is a challenge to look to the Father and to others, Christians might tend to look one way and not the other.

For example, oftentimes those who uphold the received truths of the faith, and who value the Church’s traditions and the authority of Holy Scripture might tend to cast their eyes (mostly or even exclusively) toward the Father. One word to describe such an outlook is to say that such persons are “traditionalists”.

Other Christians who harbor a deep concern for the care and the welfare of individuals, might look in the direction of individual persons, again mostly or exclusively. We might characterize such an outlook as being “progressive”.

(I hope I’m not engaging in generalities which fail to adequately consider the various positions that Christians might hold.)

Now, what is – given the possibility that Christians might look one way or the other – our Lord’s example?

I think it’s clear that our Lord looked to the Father, but also to the welfare and care of individuals. He looked both ways. So, using the categories described above, our Lord is both a “traditionalist” and a “progressive”, all at the same time.

Such a balance and such a dual focus is our calling, I believe. With the assistance of the Holy Spirit (that Comforter that Jesus talks about sending to His followers) and the example our Lord set for us, we are to receive the Father’s love, to follow the Father’s will and commandments, and to harbor a deep and abiding love for the Father and for those whom the Father loves.

It won’t be an easy task to put into action and into our expectations such a perfect model as our Lord has given us. But with the Father’s help, the example set for us by the Son, and the assistance and guidance of the Comforter (the Holy Spirit), we can succeed.

AMEN.

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[1]   The Bible uses three of those four words for love.

[2]   The Greek word for “love” in this verse is agape, that self-giving sort of love.

[3]   John 14:10 

Easter 5, Year A (2023)

Acts 7: 55 – 60
Psalm 31: 1 – 5, 15 – 16
I Peter 2: 2 - 10
John 14: 1 – 14

This is the homily given at St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, May 7, 2023 by Fr. Gene Tucker.

 

“BRIDGE BUILDING”

(Homily text:  John 14: 1 - 14)

Bridges allow us to go from where we are to a place we need or want to go. Think, for example, about highway bridges: They allow us to cross a waterway, another road, or a valley or other obstacle.

Bridges are a useful tool in teaching. Students can grasp a new idea or a new way of thinking, or a new reality, if they begin that journey by starting from what they already know. Jesus uses this method of teaching quite frequently in His parables. Many of the Lord’s parables are centered around some sort of an agricultural theme. After all, the society He lived and moved in was an agricultural one. Think, for example, of the Parable of the Four Soils.[1]

Our appointed Gospel text for this morning, taken from John’s account, chapter fourteen, is an example of the Lord’s bridge-building.

We begin with Jesus’ instruction to His disciples, as He says, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also, and you know the way to where I am going.”

In response, Thomas says to Him, “Lord, we do not know the way where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus’ response is, perhaps, one of the more well-known answers in all of the New Testament. He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus’ comment, that He is the way, the truth and the life, is an exclusive claim. To many, it is a difficult concept to accept. But, I don’t think, it needs to be.

Allow an explanation.

Jesus is telling His followers that He is going on ahead of them, to do things that will be of enormous benefit to them in the fulness of time. In essence, what He is saying is that He is building a bridge, so that those He loves can follow Him into a new, better and more wonderful place, a place with God the Father.

No wonder that Thomas can’t grasp the idea. Thomas (and the other disciples) aren’t there yet, and, furthermore, they haven’t really had a glimpse of what the destination looks like.

In His compassion for all who love and follow Him, the Lord provides the assurance that He has built the bridge, and that the bridge He has constructed will enable all who follow Him to cross over into that more glorious place with the Father.

The bridge is the Lord’s resurrection on Easter Sunday morning.

By rising from the dead, the Lord assures us that He holds the key and the power over all that would harm us, including the power of death. The Lord crossed over the bridge the Father constructed for Him, creating a new reality in our relationship with our last and final enemy: Death.

Our own journey across that bridge begins in faith. In time, Thomas came to faith as the Lord showed him His hands and His side, inviting Thomas to put his fingers into the print of the nails and to place his hands in the Lord’s sides.

The Lord then says to Thomas, as Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God!”, “Do you believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen, and who have come to believe.”

May the Lord grant us the gift of faith, that with the eyes of faith, we may come to believe and to know that the bridge the Lord has given us in the way to the Father.

AMEN.

 

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[1]   See Mathew 13: 1 – 9.