St Albans and Welwyn Methodist Circuit 14th April 2024
A Call to worship:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Jesus Proclaims:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
The same spirit that created our world was with Jesus, Jesus echoes what was in the beginning and heard through the prophets. It is the gift of the spirit that brings life to our world and in turn to us the created beings of God. Our awesome and powerful God
STF 82- Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Prayer of Adoration
Light of light,
Lord of Lords
God of this world
and the next,
We give you thanks
for the promise of this day,
We give you thanks
for the challenge of this day,
We give you thanks
for the blessings of this day.
Light of light,
Lord of Lords,
God of this world
and the next,
We give you thanks and praise
Amen
Prayer of Confession
Father God,
you are the one who leads us from darkness into light, from captivity into freedom,
from anxiety into peace, from despair into joy.
Yet we long to break free, choosing independence, convinced of our own wisdom,
forgetting your love and grace.
Yet we so often fail to show that love and grace within our lives,
or recognise its source.
Forgive us Lord for our short-sightedness, for the times we’ve failed to see your love in the generosity of friend or stranger, the shoulder to cry on, willing ear to listen, a word of encouragement, holding our hand that extra mile. Forgive us for failing to notice how much you care for us.
In this moment we bring all our confessions
Lord we do indeed praise your holy name as we are assured of your forgiveness as we say together the prayer Jesus taught us to pray.
Lord’s Prayer
STF 78 – Give thanks with a grateful heart
Please Read Readings: Luke 24:36-49
Reflection
Disbelief and Enlightenment
I don’t always give my talks a tittle but this just struck me this week, so here it is!
Our passage comes just after that famous walk to Emmaus.
So now Jesus has ramped up a gear, he is the risen Christ, and now the enlightenment begins as he explains what is going on. There is almost an urgency in this, Jesus’s time is running out and he is getting the disciples ready for what is to come. We must remember when we read these well-known accounts that the disciples were still very much in the dark, living with disbelief. Jesus has to explain again what is going on. He had to eat, to show them he was real. Then it tells us he “opened their minds” And so the account continues and he begins to explain.
Luke says this at the end of the Gospel, other accounts talk of the gift earlier in their accounts. Of course, it is Luke who carries on the narrative in the book of Acts.
Not only is Jesus explaining, he is preparing for what is to come. It is this that I want to think about this morning. In a few weeks’ time we will celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit, the birthday of the church. Jesus was sending, but at the same time leaving them a gift.
I don’t know about you, but I have some life insurance. It’s really about what I leave behind for my loved ones. I also have a will, again, it’s about what I leave behind.
There an awful lot of people, I am sure, who would love to help you make those decisions. What you leave behind, and who you leave it to. Solicitors and other companies are always trying to get their hands on your cash!
When my dad used to own a Lancia sports car I always hoped that he would leave it to me in his will. Sadly he sold it before he died and I ended up with a smart car!!
But seriously, it is always important to think about these things. In our Gospel reading today we are hearing this exact type of thing. Jesus is preparing to leave them and in a few days we celebrate and remember the day of ascension, the day that Jesus would rise and go to heaven. The disciples would never again see Jesus through their eyes. Of course we know that Jesus never actually left us but remains with us in spirit. However, Jesus is getting ready by telling the disciples that he is going to leave gifts with them and explains what the gifts are. He is almost telling them about his will. Now Jesus doesn’t have a house, he didn’t have a bank account with a load of cash in it, he didn’t have designer clothes. To be honest, it was the kind of will that today would make people think there is no point in going to the solicitors to hear being read.
BUT, even though there isn’t any actually stuff to inherit, Jesus is still leaving a great legacy behind.
Jesus explained: The advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have said to you. After Jesus leaves the disciples they will receive a gift, a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Now this gift will come in a pretty impressive way. Rushing winds fire, it will see thousands come to faith in Christ. We might think that the Coronation celebrations were amazing, but they were not a patch on what they saw on the day of Pentecost. That is what I call a gift. That gift will move the disciples to travel all over the world proclaiming the love of Christ, even at the risk of their own lives. It was a gift that led them to heal in the name of Jesus. It would even lead some of them writing down the very words that we have heard today. The gift Jesus was leaving them was the greatest inheritance ever.
It was the gift that warmed the heart of John Wesley, and is also the gift that is given to us today. Now today, it is unlikely that the Holy Spirit will dance like fire on your heads, you may not start speaking in another language, and you may not be used to write down the very word of God in a new Gospel. But, the word of God does come to us every time we open this book and read what those disciples wrote. Every time we open the bible, the Holy Spirit can open our eyes to see a new way of understanding the love and work of God in our lives. You know when you see a film many times, you sometimes say, Ive never seen that before! …That is exactly how the gift of the spirit can work. The inheritance of the Holy Spirt is ours, just as it was for the first disciples, and continues to work in our lives as followers of Christ. The greatest gift ever!
Now, when Jesus describes this gift to the disciples, he calls it the councillor, in some translations it says Advocate. Both these words are really interesting: Advocate can be:
champion · upholder · supporter · backer · promoter · proponent ·
Councillor: Someone who guides you, listens to you
So many people have suffered and suffer many different ways. So many people need guidance and help. There are many who need to find peace within themselves.
When Jesus talks of this gift he is hinting that this gift has more to offer. In John’s Gospel, Chapter 14, we hear Jesus say,
“Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you, I do not give to you as the world gives to you. The peace of the Holy Spirt is the gift that no earthly councillor or advocate can give.
In this life, so many people do so many different things to find peace. Some people go fishing, or go out for a walk in the country, some people sit and read a book. When things get bad some people find an earthly councillor to help them find that peace in their lives. All these things are really good and help to get some peace. The trouble is, these things, though good, mean we have to return from them. At some point we have to go home from the fishing trip, we need to get home from the walk, or put the book down and get the tea on.
The peace that comes from God is permanent, the promise of the Holy Spirit remains with us through the most difficult of times. It points to the never ending love that God has for us.
This gift will not remove the problems, but it will remind you that God remains with you and points toward the knowledge that his peace is eternal.
With this knowledge, this realization of what the Holy Spirit can do it is no wonder that John Wesley’s heart was strangely warmed!
How often do we look to each other in a communion service and say, “the peace of the Lord be with you”?
It this peace, that Jesus speaks of, not just a fluffy nice peace, but a deep and spiritual peace that comes from the Holy Spirit. Remember the M&S advert, it’s not just food… “It’s not just peace, its God’s peace!
We can keep this in mind as we read these verses, as the disciples were being made ready for what was to come, the first thing they received was a promise of peace. “Peace be with you”
The last thing my dear mum said to her minister was, “I am at peace, The Lord is with me”
As we begin a new week, my message is quite simple
The peace of the Lord is left with you, his peace has been given to you, and he has not given as the world gives. Peace be with you.
Amen.
Prayer
Loving God
We thank you for the words that remind us that peace comes through the Holy Spirit. As we walk this life of hardship and joy we do so with thankful hearts.
Lord Jesus we thank you for the gift that keeps on giving. Help us to keep you at the centre of all we are and all we do
Amen
SONG STF 447: Jesus be the centre
Blessing
May the Lord bless you through his spirit
may he bring you peace and comfort through his spirit
Now & Always
In the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
