Sermon: April 16, 2023
Readings: John 20:19-31 / Acts 2: 2:14a,22-32
Not too long ago, Peter was afraid even to answer a servant girl about knowing Jesus and being his disciple. As we heard in the gospel reading, all the disciples were cowering in fear behind a locked door. But their encounter with the risen Christ, having the Holy Spirit breathed into them and being commissioned by Jesus to continue his mission, has transformed and empowered them to act. In our passage from Acts, we can see a very different group of disciples who are filled with the Holy Spirit and the confidence as coworkers with God in implementing God’s love.
When we give voice to those who are oppressed or marginalized, we are co-workers with God. We are enacting the covenant we made with God of striving for justice and peace by proclaiming with word and example the Good News of Jesus Christ. We demonstrate the good news of God’s love by seeking and serving Christ in all people and, respecting the dignity of every human being, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Since we have had the Holy Spirit breathed into us and are commissioned by Jesus to continue his mission in the world, we are part of the Jesus movement. Bishop Curry is known for saying, “If it’s not about love, then it’s not about Jesus.” As children of God, we are to place Jesus at the center of our lives, allowing God’s love to be at the core of what motivates us to act in the world as co-workers with God.
It is a love that transformed the disciples from hiding behind locked doors to boldly proclaiming God’s Messiah and his love for the world. It is a love that can transform our lives, but we must begin as the disciples did and ask ourselves the same question. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and was resurrected out of God’s love for us, what are we to do now?
May we, like the disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit breathed into us and commissioned by Jesus to be sent into the world, boldly proclaim for all to hear of God’s wondrous love; that there is a different way to live, a way of being that looks like Jesus of Nazareth. A way of living and being that is grounded and based on God’s all-inclusive love.
