* Acts 16:9-15 * Psalm 67 * Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 * John 14:23-29

I’d like you to think for a moment of the one thing that would make the most positive difference in your life. Maybe it’s a particular item or object, possibly it’s a change in a particular situation, or maybe it’s the restoration of a relationship. All of these, we might individually consider to be a ‘good’ thing.

The opening line to the collect for this the sixth Sunday after Easter ascribes to God – and only God – the ability to give us all good things that surpass our understanding, that exceed all that we can desire.

O God, from whom all good things arise..

Exceeding all that we can desire? Just how is that possible?

Most of the time, we live lives that are a compromise between happiness and sorrow, joy and discouragement. This roller coaster kind of existence can be a challenge to our faith and a denial of good things that surpass our understanding, and God knows this.

The whole of the Easter season has been about equipping us with powerful tools of faith to defeat the forces that would drag us down.

There are post-resurrection stories of a group of defeated fishermen who end up going back to their lives of fishing, only to discover the risen Jesus meeting them for breakfast.

There are the travellers walking to Emmaus encountering a stranger who turns out to be Jesus, who breaks bread with them. They discover their hearts gladdened. These are experiences opened to us, too.

So, where do these good things come from?

You can’t find them on ebay or place an Amazon order for them but you can hear them, experience them, and find them in the community of faith, the Easter community.

The early Christians learned that they could face persecution, possible arrest, trial, and even execution because of the power of the resurrection that they had found in the Easter community.

They also learned that what happened to them was of little account, because they placed themselves under the gracious God who delivered them from the pall of darkness in their lives.

Today, we hear about Lydia, a woman of obvious wealth – purple cloth was used for high officials and nobility – and how she embraces Paul and invites him to come and stay in her house. She knows something is missing in her otherwise successful life, and when she hears about Jesus, she discovers an abundant God who fills the empty place in her heart, and she invites God in.

And we listen as Jesus teaches the disciples about what will happen after he leaves them. God will send an advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will do two things: teach and remind.

The Spirit will teach us how God wants for us and gives us the good things we need, even when we don’t know what they are or how to ask for them.

Many of us face challenging and hard times in our lives. Times when we can feel we personally have ‘failed’ because of what has happened. A change in employment circumstances, a breakdown in a relationship, these things and more can leave us feeling that we are a failure.

Sometimes it’s hard, but that’s exactly the time when we need to lean on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who will remind us, especially when things are not going well, what really matters and to whom we belong.

Our faith community, our Christian family must be the place where we are restored, not just in the sense of feeling good, but deep in the very depths of our hearts.

The sign of the cross, the breaking of the bread at communion, the hymns (read the words even if you don’t sing), and the Scriptures are all reminders of how much we are loved and cherished and redeemed.

As a wise bishop once said, “Human beings solve problems; God redeems messes.” All of us think we can fix things, but often the mess overwhelms us. We are reminded, as the disciples were after the death of Jesus, that God redeems messes – and that includes each of us.

Good things have been turned into a commodity. They are scarce, and you have to be able to pay for them. At least that is what we are told by ads on Television and even stories in the news. Go to this lawyer, join that exercise class, buy this or that appliance for your comfort – the list is endless – and expensive.

God has another way that is based on abundance. God gives us what we need, always providing for us those things which cannot be bought or bargained for.

They are things that endure – hope, faith, love, fellowship, and friends. They are qualities like peace and wisdom and courage.

God gives us these gifts through the Spirit, and God also gives us the ability to find them in others. The world is full of them, though often they are masked by our focus on the news of anger and darkness.

So, here are some ways you can, like Lydia, be faithful to the Lord and receive the abundance of good things God has for you:

First of all, expect those good things.

The Beloved, the one who created you, the one at whose birth the angels sang, loves you. So, begin to expect good things. They are not earned, they are freely given. And perhaps you have neglected to see them right there in front of you in the person you love, the people you work with, and the beauty that surrounds you daily. Trust me, the more you find yourself saying, “God will bless me today,” the more you will see it happen.

This week, in our church calendar we mark Rogation Days, the days of planting and hallowing of creation. So, why not plant something – a tree or a plant or even a seed, and nurture it.

Doing this might reconnect you with the earth and the blessings of creation, and it will remind you that we are all dependent on the rain and the soil and the sun given by the Creator for us all.

Maybe think about how you are going to reduce your contribution to the world’s waste problem and ask God to guide you in your actions so that it becomes a partnership with God and others. It will also honour the creation as God’s gift.

And finally, expect more serenity in your life. Serenity is a quality often denied us, but much of the time we actually deny it to ourselves.

God wants our lives to be lived in serenity, but we have to claim it as a gift so freely given. Why not use the well know serenity prayer each day this week:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

The “good things” that surpass our understanding are waiting to be claimed and celebrated by all of us. Awaken to their presence, claim them as your spiritual inheritance, and live them in witness to the risen Lord.

* Acts 11:1-18 * Psalm 148 * Revelation 21:1-6 * John 13:31-35

I wonder if anyone here this morning has ever been driving along when the car following you seems to be in such a rush that they are almost in your boot? It seems that the driver following you wants you out of the way so they can get to where they are wanting to go more quickly!

Well a certain Mr Mackay found himself in such a position one morning when young Miss Fraser was behind him honking her horn, flashing her headlights and using rather unsavoury hand gestures.

They were approaching some traffic lights which had just turned red and, quite rightly Mr Mackay stopped at the junction. Miss Fraser, having had to stop behind, was obviously upset that she too had been forced to stop and wait. She continued honking her horn, flashing her headlights, waving her hands about in a very rude manner and hurling abuse from inside her car.

Suddenly a tap at the window startled her. There stood Police Constable Sanderson, notebook in hand. He signalled Miss Fraser to get out of her car and had her follow him to the police car.

She was directed into the back seat and PC Sanderson placed her under arrest. “What?” Miss Fraser exclaimed! “I wasn’t speeding, My car’s fully insured and taxed – I’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Your[1]  car? Miss I do apologise. I’ve been following you for a while and I saw your hand signals at the driver in front, how you were trying to run him off the road and heard your swearing just now. When I saw the chrome plated christian fish symbol on your boot, the What would Jesus do? Sign in the rear window and the ‘Follow me to Sunday school bumper sticker’ I naturally assumed you must have stolen the car!”

Signs and symbols – they represent all sorts of groups and ideas. The police officer in our little story thought he could recognise a Christian by the signs and symbols she had on her car.

Let’s start with an easy test this morning. Signs!

Sign or symbol for our church.

So what is the sign that the Church is to be known by?

According to the Bible, specifically our gospel reading this morning from John 13 the church is to be known by our love for one another.

Jesus is speaking to his disciples about signs in our gospel today.

This lesson on the 5th Sunday of Easter brings us back to the night of the Passover. Jesus and his disciples are in the upper room in Jerusalem.

Earlier in the 13th chapter we hear that Jesus gets up from supper and ties a towel around his waist. He pours water into a basin and begins washing their feet. This was the job of a servant, not the job of a rabbi. This washing of the feet was common in the time of Jesus.

A way to clean off the feet exposed to all manner of dirt and dust. But during dinner and done by Jesus? What a shocking thing for the disciples to experience.

Continuing on in the chapter, we find that Judas rises from the table to go and report Jesus to the authorities.

After he leaves, Jesus again repeats the idea that he and the Father are one. The glory of God resides in him. He also tells the disciples again that he will be leaving them. (Not that they seem to ever get this message).

Then Jesus goes on to give them a new commandment: They are to love one another, even as he has loved them. In this way, others will know that they are Jesus’s disciples.

Now the law of love was nothing new to the Jewish people of Jesus’ day. They would have known and studied the law of Moses. In Leviticus 19, verse 18, we hear that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves. So why then, does Jesus call this a new commandment?

Jesus had already taught them to love God and to love their neighbour. Now he is telling them to love each other.

Jesus did not simply say to love one another. Jesus was very specific about the kind of love his disciples were to share. He said that they were to love one another even as he had loved them.

They were to love each other by serving each other.

The ancient Greeks had three words for love: eros (romantic love), phileo (family love, the love of friends) and agape (sacrificial love). The Greek word for love which is used in John 13 is agape, the kind of self- giving love. They were to love one another without thought for themselves. They were to concern themselves with the needs of the other disciples.

Since I came to join the church family here in East Sutherland and Tain over seven years ago now, I have been privileged to see the many ways you show love for one another.

As a member of the clergy team that serve you, I’m in a position to see and hear time and again about how you serve each other. What might seem small acts to some, are in fact part of the sacrificial love that Jesus is talking about – preparing and serving tea and coffee after services, spending time just listening to each other, giving people a lift to church or elsewhere, sharing problems and concerns and offering gentle words of encouragement – all of these in their own ways are signs that you love one another.

There are those among us who visit the sick or offer a listening ear over the phone. Those who help with shopping trips or lifts to the hospital.

As a family, you raise funds for charities, gather food for the food bank and provide a safe space for the vulnerable – all of these activities demonstrate your love for each other and those in our wider community.

And yet, we must also admit that sometimes we fall short in being loving towards one another. Sometimes it is just a single outburst, a moment of frustration, an isolated event. While at other times we may fall into a pattern of disrespect.

While preparing my sermon for today I came across this quotation: “Church can be like a group of porcupines huddling together to get warm…you might get warm, but on the other hand, you might get hurt also.”

So what are we to do when we find we find ourselves feeling rather like a porcupine towards another in the congregation? What about those times when we just can’t seem to let go of our anger towards another in our fellowship?

Here are some thoughts to consider.

I’d like to share with you a quotation from Al-Anon’s daily reader Courage to Change.

Al-Anon is a 12 step program for families and friends of alcoholics. The passage comes from the reading for April 13:

 “If I don’t know how to respond to a situation today, why not try responding with kindness? Whether I accept or turn down a request, agree or disagree with someone’s point of view, I can still treat the other person with respect and courtesy. I can say, ‘No,’ as gently and lovingly as I can say, ‘Yes.’”

The reading continues, “Relationships are complicated because people are complicated. We each have our own ideas, values, and hopes, and they can’t always coincide with the desires of those we love. Disagreements can be healthy and enlightening if we view them as a way to develop and deepen our relationships. Kindness and respect for everyone concerned will go a long way toward making this possible.”

I’d like to close with a true story from the life of Fred Craddock.

Fred was the preaching professor at A School of Theology.

Fred knew that his father had decided to stay away from his church because someone had hurt him. The church continued to reach out to Fred’s father year after year, but he would not return.

He told Fred that all they really wanted was another name on congregation list and another donation at the offertory.

As time went on Fred’s father got cancer. When Fred went to see his father in the hospital, he could see that his father was very ill.

He also observed that his dad’s hospital room was filled with cards and flowers. Fred learned that they were all from members of the church that his father had rejected.

As Fred was in conversation in those last days his father admitted that he had been wrong. Fred realised that this church gave God the room and time to change his dad’s heart. They kept on reaching out to him because they were committed to the concept of loving one another. They never gave up on his dad.

A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you.

This week, if there’s someone you’ve not seen for a while, maybe someone who’s not been in church for years – reach out, make contact – show them that they are not forgotten, that we are still here waiting for them – love them as He loves you!

Amen

* Acts 9:36-43 * Psalm 23 * Revelation 7:9-17 * John 10:22-30

Yesterday morning, I was listening to Radio 4’s Saturday Live programme.

The theme of the programme was all about communication and people at home had been invited to phone in to share stories about when communication had for some reason or other broken down.

One woman who called the show told of her younger days as a teenager when she used to earn a bit of money by baby-sitting. She was looking after a neighbour’s baby one evening when he began to cry and just would not stop.

She tried all sorts of things to calm the baby – singing to him and rocking him gently, but he continued to scream out. The woman decided to phone the baby’s parents at the local pub that they had gone to.

She called the number of the pub and the landlady picked up and beckoned the child’s mother to the phone. There was a bit of static on the line, but the young woman was able to share the problem. “I’ve tried everything” the young woman explained, “but he just won’t stop crying”.

“Rub some honey on his tummy, that always works’ the mother advised. The babysitter put down the telephone and went to get honey from the kitchen.

An hour or so later, the parents returned to find the baby laid across the sitter’s lap, still crying out loud, and the young woman rubbing honey on his tummy. “It’s just not working” she cried! The mother looked the babysitter in the eye. “His dummy, rub some honey on his dummy!”

I’m sure we’ve all had conversations over the telephone when interference or static has got in the way – and in this age of mobile phones, dipping in and out of signal can cause real problems in our communications.

In the gospels it sometimes seems like there is interference on the line when Jesus is speaking to the people. No matter how loud or long Jesus proclaims the message, it seems like some just don’t have “ears to hear.” There is a failure in communication.

It’s troubling that the religious people are especially hard of hearing when it comes to Jesus. After all, they are ‘God’s chosen ones’, so why can’t they hear Him?

In our reading from the gospel of John this morning we learn that they can’t hear Jesus because they are not willing to listen. They don’t recognise the voice of God in the man from Nazareth because the man and his message are so different from what they expect to hear.

I wonder about Christians gathered in churches across the world today? Can we hear Jesus? Do we recognise the voice of God in Him? Do we hear and obey what he says?

Over the years many have used the particular passage we’ve heard this morning as a way of saying “we’re right and you’re wrong”. They say with pride, “We listen to Jesus because we are Christians. We are a part of the church and so, obviously, this passage applies to those other people whose beliefs differ from mine.”

But, how do we know that the voice we hear is the voice of Jesus or some other voice? This is a difficult but critical question to answer.

We do know that down through the years many terrible things have been done in the name of Jesus. Wars have been fought and terrible destruction has been wrought all in His name.

Did the voice of Jesus really tell people to do what they did? From our vantage point we often confidently say, “No, of course not. Isn’t it terrible? Those poor souls must have misunderstood and misused the name of Jesus. I’m glad we’re not like that.”

But, can we be so sure that we too won’t be misled by our pride or our earthly desires for power and control?

If people of every age have misrepresented Jesus, if people of every age have failed to hear and heed his voice, we have to at least consider the possibility that we sometimes do the same thing.

If there is one group in the Bible with which we should always identify, it is those who fail to hear and understand.

If we are not careful it becomes all too easy to wander around in life like a person with a bad mobile phone connection. We think we’ve heard something, but we’re not sure. There’s too much interference, too much static on the line.

Communication with God and with each other is disrupted by the static of our personal problems, the static of our political views and even the static of a traditional religious teaching that may be (at least in some ways) at odds with what God in Christ is really trying to tell us.

Sometimes we assume that because a person is familiar to us that we know them and that we always listen to what they have to say. This is especially true when it comes to those we are close to – a family member or dear friend,

And sometimes we hurt the ones we love, because we often ignore the ones we love. We don’t really listen to them. Instead of listening, we make assumptions.

We assume that we already know what that other person is thinking and feeling. And this can cause all sorts of problems.

“You never listen to me” the lonely loved one cries. And it’s often true.

I think that every important relationship in our lives needs an element of mystery. We need to always ask ourselves, “I wonder what she thinks about this, or I wonder what his opinion might be about that.”

Assumptions can be deadly. Do away with your assumptions if you want to strengthen your important relationships. People instinctively know when you are really listening to them. And when you really listen, some amazing breakthroughs can be made.

In the same way, our relationship with Jesus breaks down because sometimes we do not listen to him. We assume that we already know what he has to say and so we do not spend that quiet time simply being still and and trying to know God better.

We are too busy speaking. We are too busy telling Jesus who he is and what he needs to do for us in order to make our lives happy and healthy. There is no mystery in our relationship with him.

And if there is no mystery in that relationship, we will not listen. Our love for Jesus will not grow. We may even stray to the point that we  no longer hear his voice at all and so risk falling away from his flock.

Sometimes I think the problem is not that we don’t hear or even understand the voice of Jesus. The problem is that we have selective hearing, filtering out all those things that we don’t want to hear. We are afraid of a word of challenge or change or we’re afraid to take a risk in our own lives in order to respond to what he is calling us to do.

Though we do walk through the “valley of the shadow of death,” though we do have difficult days as we seek to follow Jesus, there is a promise in this morning’s gospel that gives us hope.

If you’re in the hands of Jesus you’re in God’s hands. And God is going to care for you today and for all eternity.

It is this promise that allows us to put our daily struggle into perspective. As the Apostle Paul put it, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

If we are in God’s hands who is going to harm us? Who is going to snatch us out of God’s hands? The answer is no one. The promises of God are sure and the hope that is ours in Christ is forever.

The number one reason people don’t listen to Jesus or to each other is that they are afraid. And their fears prevent them from being all that they could be. Their fears prevent them from really listening.

Jesus invites people everywhere to put away their fears. Jesus invites people everywhere to trust and obey.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, Listen for the voice of Jesus, listen and respond to His calling on your lives. Be faithful to Him because He is the Good Shepherd and we are his sheep. Follow Him and live!

Amen.

John 21.1-19

Many psychologists will tell you that there are two things all human beings need in order to live happy, productive lives: we need a sense of belonging, and we need a sense of purpose. By “belonging” I don’t mean “fitting in.” In fact, fitting in might be the exact opposite of belonging. When you try to fit in, you adapt yourself to a group’s expectations. When you belong, you don’t have to change a thing. You are accepted the way you are. Being accepted as we are by a larger group gives us a stable view of ourselves, and helps us shape our individual identity, according to the psychologists.

And a sense of purpose gives us a reason to get up in the morning. We need to believe that what we do matters, that we make a difference in the world. Our sense of purpose drives our decisions about the way we spend our time and energy and financial resources. Believing that your life has meaning and value can motivate you to face challenging circumstances with courage and perseverance, even joy.

We need to feel like we belong, and we need to feel like we have a purpose in life. In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus offers us both.

There are really two stories intertwined in today’s reading. One has to do with fish, and the other with sheep. Let’s just think about the fish story first.

New Testament experts often point out that one way we can know that the resurrection stories are true is that they don’t always show the disciples in the best light. If the disciples of Jesus had made up the story, they would surely have given themselves a more faithful response to the news that Jesus had risen from the dead. Their own part in the story would have been more heroic and flattering. Instead, we read about their disbelief, their failure to accept the women’s eyewitness account as anything more than desperate chatter. And here, we see them spending an entire night fishing … for nothing.

And some of these disciples were expert fishermen. They were pros! Even so, after a long night of casting their net, they had not caught a thing. And now it was morning. The sun had not come up yet, but in the grey light of early dawn, they could see a charcoal fire on the shore. And even though they had caught no fish, they could tell that someone was cooking fish up there on the rocks. They aren’t far from shore, and the person cooking calls out, “Children, you haven’t caught anything, have you?” “No,” they answer. “Well, try throwing your net off the other side of the boat.” And suddenly, the net is full of fish. Large fish. 153 different larger fish.

Now, this sounds a lot like the story in Luke chapter 5, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, where Jesus climbs into Simon’s boat to put some space between himself and the crowd that is pressing in. “Put out into deep water and let down your nets,” Jesus tells Simon. “Okay, if you say so,” Simon answers, “but we’ve been fishing all night and haven’t caught anything.” According to Luke, when the nets come up full to bursting, Simon falls on his knees and confesses his own sinfulness and Jesus as his Lord. Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will catch people instead of fish.” (Luke 5:1-11)

But this time, on this post-resurrection fishing trip, John tells us “the disciple whom Jesus loved” is the one who first recognises the figure on the beach. As the boat gets closer to the rocky shoreline, John tells Peter, “Hey, it’s the Lord!” And the first thing Peter does is throw on some clothes and jump into the water. He swims up to the rocks that line the lake and climbs over them to get to Jesus. The others bring in the boat, with the net full of fish.

Jesus says, “bring some of the fish you have caught,” and Peter jumps back into the water to haul in the catch. Then they all sit down to breakfast. Grilled fish and broken bread. It’s the closest John’s gospel ever gets to describing the Lord’s Supper. Instead of the last meal before his crucifixion, Jesus offers a post-resurrection breakfast to his disciples.

There are two little details we need to be sure we notice here. Firstly, Jesus doesn’t need their fish. He is already cooking while their nets are still empty. But when they follow his commands, he invites them to add their fish to the food he has already prepared. Jesus uses our God-given talents and adds them to the work he is already doing in our lives. He invites us to share in a feast that he has prepared, using whatever gifts we bring him.

Secondly, when the expert fishermen have come up empty using their own methods, Jesus gives them a simple command to change the way they do things, and they are suddenly blessed with abundance.

Whole books have been written about the significance of the 153 fish that fill their net. The most commonly accepted interpretation of this number comes from the 4^th century theologian Jerome, who writes that there were 153 different species of fish known in first century Galilee. The net wasn’t just filled with 153 fish, but 153 different kinds of fish, symbolizing the extent to which fishing for people would go – to the whole world.

Maybe Jerome got it right, maybe not. But one thing is certain. The net was empty all night long as the fishermen used their tried-and-trusted fishing techniques. When they followed Jesus’ direction to do things differently, the net was full of large fish, and it didn’t break. Their capacity to catch fish grew with their obedience. We might learn something from that.

After breakfast, Jesus and Peter go for a walk along the beach. They have a short, but repetitive conversation. Three times, Jesus asks, “Simon, do you love me?” and three times, Peter answers, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Each time, Jesus responds with a command to care for his sheep. “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep,” Jesus says.

It is easy to see the connection between Peter’s earlier three denials and these three professions of loyalty and devotion. It is also easy to see why Peter is hurt when Jesus asks him a third time, “Do you love me?” “You know everything, Lord. You know that I love you,” Peter insists.

What might not be so easy to see is the way Jesus draws Peter into a new relationship through this short conversation. Keep in mind that when Peter was in the high priest’s courtyard, he didn’t deny the divinity of Jesus or Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah. What Peter denied was his own relationship to Jesus. When he is asked twice, “You are one of his disciples, aren’t you?” Peter says, “I am not.” When he is challenged a third time, he denies knowing Jesus. (John 18:17, 25, 27)

Now, as they walk together beside the lake, Jesus not only restores that relationship, but creates a new one between himself and Peter. By the third time he questions “Simon, son of John” he is asking for more than general compassion or affection. Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me like a brother? You claim me as your friend; can I claim you as my friend?”

Peter’s distress is almost as important as his words. “You know everything, Lord. You know I love you. You know all my failings and my weaknesses, and you know my sin. If you still want me as your friend, I want to be that friend to you.”

“Feed my sheep,” Jesus tells him. Up to this point, Jesus has portrayed himself as the Good Shepherd. Now he entrusts the care of his flock to Peter. It isn’t that sheep have replaced fish in importance, but shepherding has been added to fishing. Jesus ends the conversation the same way he began his relationship with Simon and the other fishermen back at the start of his ministry. “Follow me,” he says.

“Follow me,” Jesus calls to us now. “Follow me,” whether we are fishing or herding his sheep. “Follow me,” when he calls us to change the way we’ve always done things, so that he can bless us with abundance. “Follow me,” as he prepares a feast for us that combines what he provides with what we offer of ourselves. “Follow me” into such a close friendship, such a deep love, that all can be forgiven, and all can be made whole.

Jesus calls. Will you follow?