Patrick Comerford
Next Sunday, 12 May 2019, is the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Easter IV).
The Readings in the Revised Common Lectionary, as adapted for use in the Church of Ireland, are:
The Readings:
Acts 9: 36-43 or Numbers 27: 12-23; Psalm 23; Revelation 7: 9-17; John 10: 22-30.
There is a link to the readings HERE.
Introducing the readings:
We often associate the readings on this Sunday with the theme of the Good Shepherd, but the readings are serve as reminders of Christ as the Lamb on the Throne in the Celestial Liturgy, and challenge us to ask questions about the sheep of the Good Shepherd, how we worship God together and how we are in communion with one another.
There is a connection with God is our shepherd in Psalm 23 and Christ as the Good Shepherd in the Gospel reading (see John 10: 11 and 14); there is a connection between the sheep of the Good Shepherd in the Psalm and the Gospel reading, and the Lamb on the Throne in Revelation 7.
There is a connection too between the promise of eternal life in Psalm 23 and the raising of the dead disciple in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles and the triumph of the martyrs in the Book of Revelation.
We could compare the hope of the Psalmist to worship God into eternity (Psalm 23: 6) with the kings and priests who take part in the eternal worship of the Lamb on the Throne.
If we are using the alternative, Old Testament reading as the first reading, we could compare the anointing of Eleazar with the way God anoints the Psalmist (Psalm 23: 5), and we could compare the consecration of Joshua as the new leader by the priest Eleazar with the new worship or liturgy in the Book of Revelation, the Feast of the Dedication or Hanukkah, which is the setting for the Gospel reading, and its celebration of purified worship in the Temple.
Acts 9: 36-43:
The Apostle Peter is visiting people who have become Christians in Lydda and Joppa, near present-day Tel Aviv. There, in the name of Christ, he performs two miraculous healings that lead many more people to become believers.
In Lydda, he has healed Aeneas, a paralysed and bed-ridden man (verses 32-35).
In this reading, Saint Peter moves on to Joppa, where he visits a disciple whose name in Aramaic (Tabitha) and Greek (Dorcas) means ‘gazelle.’ It was typical for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. But sometimes, using two names for one person points new beginnings and relationships between God and the people God has called. Think of Jacob and Israel, Simon and Peter, Saul and Paul and, in this instance, Tabitha and Dorcas.
It is interesting too that this woman is called a disciple at this early stage. She is the only woman in the New Testament who is explicitly called a disciple. But later in the Acts of the Apostles, Lydia of Thyatira appears to host the church in her home, and is also involved in the production of woven clothes (see Acts 16: 14-15).
Tabitha has died, and Saint Peter’s response recalls similar, earlier stories, including Elijah reviving the widow’s son (see I Kings 17: 17-24), the raising of the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7: 11-17), the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8: 40-42, 49-56), the raising of Lazarus from the dead in Bethany (see John 11: 1-44), and – in this Easter season, of course – the Resurrection of Christ.
When Saint Peter arrives in Joppa from Lydda, the grieving widows who have gathered in the house to mourn demonstrably recall Tabitha’s good work. Peter prays and then calls on Tabitha to rise, using words similar to those in which Christ speaks to the daughter of Jairus. Tabitha opens her eyes, sees Peter and sits up. She is alive again. The grieving widows and other people are called back into the room to see what has happened.
Before leaving Joppa, Saint Peter stays with Simon. As a tanner, Simon is seen in Jewish law as defiled or ritually unclean because he works with animal carcasses, showing how Peter has already started to disregard the practices of the day.
Numbers 27: 12-23:
In the alternative reading from the Old Testament, Joshua is appointed as the successor to Moses. Moses brings Joshua to stand before Eleazar the priest, who lays hands on Joshua and consecrates him in front of the whole congregation.
Psalm 23:
Psalm 23 is well-known, particularly for its opening words: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’ (Psalm 23: 1).
In the ancient Near East, the king was seen as the shepherd, and this was David’s first occupation before he was chosen and anointed as king.
In this short psalm, God faithfully provides for and constantly cares for the people as a shepherd cares for his sheep (verses 1-2).
God revives our souls, and he guides us in godly ways (‘right paths,’ verse 3).
Even when beset by evil (‘darkest valley’), we have nothing to fear. God’s rod– a defence against wolves and lions – protects us, and his staff – used to rescue sheep from thickets – guides us (verse 4).
He prepares a meal for us, but this feast is even more impressive, for it is in the presence of our foes (verse 5). Kings were anointed with oil, a symbol of power and dedication to a holy purpose (verse 5).
The psalmist trusts that God’s goodness and mercy, his steadfast love, will remain with him throughout his life. He will continue to worship in the Temple, or ‘the house of the Lord,’ as long as he lives (verse 6).
The saints coming before the Lamb on the Throne … from the Ghent AltarpieceRevelation 7: 9-17:
Our readings from the Book of Revelation continue next Sunday, and they continue through to the Sunday after the Ascension (2 June 2019).
In this reading, Saint John the Divine is in the midst of a vision on Patmos of God’s throne and the heavenly scene around it. He describes the scene using symbols. Gathered around the throne of God are ‘twenty-four elders’ (4: 4, the original Greek reads εἴκοσι τέσσαρας πρεσβυτέρους, 24 priests), and ‘four living creatures’ (4: 6-8), whose symbols have become symbols of the four evangelists (lion Saint Mark; ox, Saint Luke, man, Saint Matthew and eagle, Saint John).
They are gathered around the Lamb on the Throne – although this phrase in modern Greek also refers to the elements of the Communion or Eucharist on the altar or table.
The Lamb alone is worthy to open the scroll sealed with seven seals (5: 4-9), containing God’s plans for the end-time. As each seal is opened, we learn of the events of the end-time.
Six seals are opened before this reading, in 6: 1-17, the last one is opened after this reading, in 8:1-5. They reveal images of end-time happenings:
● a white horse symbolises conquest (6: 2)
● a red horse represents internecine violence (6: 4)
● a black horse is for famine and inflation (6: 6)
● a pale green horse prefigures fear and death (6: 8)
When the fifth seal is opened, Saint John has a vision of the souls of those who have been martyred for ‘the word of God’ and who cry out: ‘Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?’ (6: 9-10) Each soul receives a white robe, but they are told to rest and wait, for they are to joined by more martyrs (6: 11).
When the sixth seal is opened, there is a calamitous response throughout the created order, in the earth, sun, moon, stars and sky, and everyone fears ‘the great day of wrath has come’ (6: 12-17).
In Chapter 7, Saint John recalls two more visions, telling us that God’s people will be safe from these horrors. The first vision describes how the end-time will be delayed, and the earth, the sea and the trees will be safe while God’s people are marked with God’s seal, protecting them (7: 1-8).
Next Sunday’s reading (Revelation 7: 9-17) recalls the second vision in this chapter, describing how Christians will survive future troubles.
A great multitude, ‘drawn from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages,’ are brought before the Lamb on the Throne, they are robed in white, and they are carrying palm branches, signs of victory and thanksgiving that were strewn on the road during victory parades – as we recall in the story of Palm Sunday (7: 9; see also I Maccabees 13: 51; Matthew 21: 18; Mark 11: 8).
The whole court of heaven, including the angels, the four creature or evangelists, the 24 elders or priests, join this great multitude in praising God. These are the members of the Church who have been faithful in their suffering to the suffering and risen Christ. They are before the Lamb on the Throne, ceaselessly celebrating the celestial liturgy in God’s presence (7: 10-15).
There will be no more hunger or thirst, no more suffering because of natural disasters, and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (7: 16-17).
The acclamation of the Lamb’s eschatological blessing in verse 17 also recalls part of this morning’s Psalm (Psalm 23), and also draws on the prophetic language of Isaiah and Ezekiel (see Isaiah 49: 10, Ezekiel 34: 23).
John 10: 22-30:
The Gospel reading is a portion of the ‘Good Shepherd Discourse’ (John 10: 1-42), in which Jesus twice repeats the fourth or middle of the seven ‘I AM’ sayings in Saint John’s Gospel: ‘I am the Good Shepherd’ (John 10: 11, 14).
The setting for this portion of the ‘Good Shepherd Discourse’ (verses 22-30) is the Portico or Stoa of Solomon in the Temple on the Festival of the Dedication, or Hanukkah.
Jesus is walking in the Portico of Solomon or Solomon’s Porch or Colonnade (στοα του Σολομωντος, see also Acts 3: 11; 5: 12), a stoa or colonnade on the east side of the Temple’s Outer Court or Women’s Court, named after King Solomon.
The Feast of the Dedication, sometimes known as the Festival of Lights and known today as Hanukkah, falls between late November and the end of December (this year, it begins on 22 December and ends on 30 December 2019).
This holiday commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 164 BCE after its destruction by the Seleucid king Antiochus IV (see I Maccabees 4: 52-59). The festival is observed by lighting the candles of a menorah or candelabrum with nine branches (hanukkiah). One branch is typically placed above or below the others and its candle (shamash) is used to light the other eight candles. Each night, one additional candle is lit by the shamash until all eight candles are lit together on the final night of the festival.
The lights recall the miracle of the one-day supply of oil in the Temple miraculously lasting eight days, first described in the Talmud. According to the Babylonian Talmud (b Shabbat 21B), after the Greek forces of Antiochus IV had been driven from the Temple, the Maccabees discovered that almost all the ritual olive oil had been profaned. They found but a single container still sealed by the High Priest, with enough oil to keep the menorah in the Temple lit for just a single day. They used this, yet it burned for eight days – the time it took to have new oil pressed and made ready.
Josephus says John Hyrcanus was unique in Jewish history as the only man to unite the offices of priest, prophet and king. He reigned from 135 to 104 BCE, and by 124 BCE he had built a new Jerusalem.
Christ’s claims to oneness with God and pre-existence with him (8: 58) have aroused some listeners. Some think he is demented but others doubt it, for he heals (verses 20-21). If Jesus really is the Messiah, the people in this reading may have hoped that he too, like John Hyrcanus, would unite the offices of priest, prophet and king, and that he would rescue the people from foreign tyranny of the Romans, just as God rescued from the evil reign of Antiochus.
In the stoa or portico of Solomon, they now ask whether he is the Messiah (verse 24). How long will he keep them in suspense? (verse 24).
Jesus answers with a rebuke, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe’ (verse 25). Faith is needed to understand the answers he has given – and at this stage they are lacking in faith.
His godly actions or works show who he is. To those who do believe, who are his sheep (verse 27), he gives eternal life (verse 28) and assurance that they will not perish, that they will not be condemned to annihilation at the end-time. He will ensure that they remain his. And once again, he repeats that he an the Father are one.
The ten statues above the West Door of Westminster Abbey representing modern saints and martyrs (from left): Maximilian Kolbe, Manche Masemola, Archbishop Janani Luwum, Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, Martin Luther King, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Esther John, Lucian Tapiedi and Wang ZhimingA reflection on the readings:
In the reading from the Book of Revelation, and in the Gospel reading, we are reminded that we are part of the Communion of Saints: ‘I give them eternal life, and they will never perish’ (John 10: 28). We are not just one part of the Communion of Saints, but part of the whole Communion of Saints, heirs to the full apostolic legacy of the Church.
I am surprised that so many churches in the Church of Ireland are named after saints who the ancient saints of these islands, but that we are reluctant to give thanks in the intercessions to the witness and legacy of the saints over the generations and over the centuries.
This set of readings tell us in different ways how the Church and the Communion of Saints are one.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles may at first appear to be yet another miracle story. But it is also a story about the Communion of Saints. Tabitha, or Dorcas, whether she is male or female, whether she is a Jew or a Gentile (this ambiguity is suggested in her double name), whether she is dead or alive, is part of the praying, believing, living community of Christians, and the saints who are all called into her presence are called into new life (Acts 9: 41).
She is going to die, eventually, just like the daughter of Jairus or Lazarus of Bethany. But this story reminds us that in death or in life, the Communion of Saints is bound together in faith, love and hope, and this bond is never broken.
In the reading from the Book of Revelation, we are reminded that the Communion of Saints is drawn from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. All are gathered together, across time and space, breaking down all the barriers of history and discrimination, to give blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, and honour and power and might to the Lamb of God (Revelation 7: 9, 12).
In the Gospel reading, we are told that the saints, those who have eternal life, are those who hear Christ’s voice, answer his call, follow him and do his will. He knows them, they know him, and they have the promise of eternal life (John 10: 22-30).
Recent Popes have been criticised for choosing as saints for canonisation those who often appear to set an impossible ideal for the saints alive. Not that I want to deny the holiness or sanctity of anyone who has been canonised in recent years.
But it took 38 years before we had the canonisation of a pastorally caring and self-sacrificing bishop like Oscar Romero, who was martyred 39 years ago last month. How long before popes become ecumenically adventurous and recognise as saints great martyrs of the Christian faith such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Martin Luther King?
The recognition of relevant exemplars as saints is still a living tradition in other parts of the Anglican Communion.
In 1958, the Lambeth Conference, speaking about the commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion, said saints should be scriptural, or those whose historical character and devotion are beyond doubt. In other words, they have been exemplars of how to answer Christ’s call and to do his will.
The West Front of Westminster Abbey now contains the statues of ten 20th century martyrs, including the Polish Franciscan martyr Maximillian Kolbe; Martin Luther King, who was assassinated in 1968; Oscar Romero; Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and Archbishop Janani Luwum, who was assassinated in Uganda during Idi Amin’s reign of terror.
Those niches had been left empty from the late Middle Ages until the statues were unveiled in 1998. The other saints and martyrs that now fill those niches are: Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia, Manche Masmeola, a 16-year-old South Africa catechist killed by her mother; Esther John, an evangelist murdered in Pakistan by her brother; Wang Zhiming, murdered during the Cultural Revolution in China; and Lucian Tapiedi, one of the oft-forgotten 12 Anglican martyrs from New Guinea.
Many of these modern saints and martyrs were commemorated already in the chapel in Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop Robert Runcie and Pope John Paul II knelt together in prayer in 1982.
The calendar of the Church of England commemorates not only English saints, but Irish saints who have yet to make an appearance in any calendar of the Church of Ireland, including: Jeremy Taylor (13 August), Bishop of Connor, Down and Dromore; and Mother Harriet O’Brien Monsell (1811-1883, 26 March), from Dromoland, Co Clare, sister of the Irish patriot William Smith O’Brien and founder of the Clewer Sisters after she was widowed. In the US, the Calendar of the Episcopal Church includes CS Lewis (22 November), who, of course, was born in Belfast.
I have preached once and taken part in a number of memorial services in the Unitarian Church in Saint Stephen’s Green, Dublin. I find it difficult to grasp what Unitarians may mean by the Communion of Saints. But in the main stained-glass windows there, they have images of Christopher Columbus, Martin Luther, Florence Nightingale and William Caxton, portrayed as if they were the patron saints of discovery, truth, love and work.
Why do we have a problem in the Church of Ireland in remembering saints other that the Apostles and the founding figures of our dioceses and great monasteries?
In one of my favourite churches in the Diocese of Lichfield, I was once invited to preach on the day Jeremy Taylor is remembered in the calendar of the Church of England. But I have been impressed too by the way that this particular church, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church of England, also remembers graciously and with dignity Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, giving thanks for his role in helping to shape Anglicanism as we know, love and cherish it today, and for his contributions to the beauty of literary English through his Collects and the Book of Common Prayer.
Why do we have difficulty in the Church of Ireland, even to this day, in remembering the saints of Ireland, never mind the saints of the wider Church?
We have no place, yet, for Irish Anglican saints such as William Bedell, Jeremy Taylor, Harriet Monsell or CS Lewis, never mind other Anglicans like Thomas Cranmer and Janani Luwum, Roman Catholics like Maximillian Kolbe and Oscar Romero, Lutherans like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or Baptists like Martin Luther King.
If you were to pick your own modern saints, the saints who had influenced you in your faith journey, the saints who are modern exemplars of Christian faith and discipleship, who would you name?
The late Bishop John Yates (1925-2008), who, as a canon of Lichfield Cathedral, first prompted me to think about ordination when I was only a 19-year-old …
Two former rectors of Wexford, Canon Eddie Grant and Canon Norrie Ruddock, who did the same …
Dietrich Bonhoeffer …
Martin Luther King …
Colin O’Brien Winter, the exiled Bishop of Namibia, who combined his pacifism with a firm resistance to apartheid, racism and militarism …
Gonville ffrench-Beytagh, the priest who first showed me what engaged discipleship really demands, and the cost of it …
I truly enjoy the way Greeks and other Orthodox Christians put a greater emphasis on celebrating their name days rather than their birthdays. For when we join the saints in glory before the Lamb on the Throne, the only birthday that will matter will be the day in which we join that wonderful company of saints.
John 10: 22-30 (NRSVA):
22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ 25 Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; 26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.’
Liturgical Resources:
Liturgical Colour: White
The Greeting (from Easter Day until Pentecost):
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Penitential Kyries:
Lord God,
you raised your Son from the dead.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus,
through you we are more than conquerors.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Holy Spirit,
you help us in our weakness.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life:
Raise us, who trust in him,
from the death of sin to the life of righteousness,
that we may seek those things which are above,
where he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Introduction to the Peace:
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples and said, Peace be with you. Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20: 19, 20).
Preface:
Above all we praise you
for the glorious resurrection of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord,
the true paschal lamb who was sacrificed for us;
by dying he destroyed our death;
by rising he restored our life:
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Merciful Father,
you gave your Son Jesus Christ to be the good shepherd,
and in his love for us to lay down his life and rise again.
Keep us always under his protection,
and give us grace to follow in his steps;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Blessing:
The God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the eternal covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight:
or:
God the Father,
by whose glory Christ was raised from the dead,
raise you up to walk with him in the newness of his risen life:
Dismissal: (from Easter Day to Pentecost):
Go in the peace of the Risen Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Suggested Hymns:
The hymns suggested for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C) in Sing to the Word (2000), edited by Bishop Edward Darling, include:
Acts 9: 36-43:
211, Immortal love for ever full
373, To God be the glory! Great things he has done!
Numbers 27: 12-23:
639, O thou who camest from above
Psalm 23:
644, Faithful Shepherd, feed me
645, Father, hear the prayer we offer
466, Here from all nations, all tongues, and all peoples
467, How bright those glorious spirits shine
655, Loving Shepherd of your sheep
433, My God, your table here is spread
235, O sacred head, sore wounded
365, Praise to the Lord, the almighty, the King of creation
20, The King of love my shepherd is
21, The Lord’s my shepherd; I’ll not want
448, The trumpets sound, the angels sing
Revelation 7: 9-17:
250, All hail the power of Jesu’s name
398, Alleluia! sing to Jesus!
346, Angel voices ever singing
325, Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here
562, Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine
332, Come, let us join our cheerful songs
459, For all the saints, who from their labours rest
463, Give us the wings of faith to rise
646, Glorious things of thee are spoken
694, Glory, honour, endless praises
269, Hark then thousand voices sounding
466, Here from all nations, all tongues, and all peoples
321, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty
467, How bright those glorious spirits shine
468, How shall I sing that majesty
670, Jerusalem the golden
275, Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious
474, Such a host as none can number
678, Ten thousand times ten thousand
142, Wake, O wake! With tidings thrilling
475, Who are these like stars appearing
376, Ye holy angels bright
492, Ye servants of God, your master proclaim
476, Ye watchers and ye holy ones
John 10: 22-30:
432, Love is his word, love is his way
655, Loving Shepherd of the sheep
392, Now is eternal life
660, Thine for ever! God of love
Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.
No comments:
Post a Comment