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Sermon May 7, 2023
Darlene Amsler Preaches
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Easter/AEaster5_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__May_7__2023
Video: https://youtu.be/agul_J_iKzw
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, o Lord, our strength and our redeemer.
Normally, I come to church to have my spiritual batteries recharged. I look forward to a sermon that helps me to become a better person and gives me strength to deal with the adversities of life. Something relevant, something upbeat. I'm sorry to say that this morning, I will not be able to do that for you. But I do hope that I can give you some food for thought.
Last week, our readings talked about how to live our lives: work together with others, praising God, be assured that if you suffer unjustly, you still have God's approval and listen for the voice of Jesus. This week our lessons are about dying. Not an easy subject to think about, but as I get older, it becomes more of a reality. When we are young, we think we are invincible. So teens take risks because they don't think anything can happen to them. While that is sometimes true, it is not a guarantee. But as we age, or as I once heard, "as we are circling the drain", we get closer to realizing that death is inevitable. We do everything to be readywrite wills, power of attorney, make sure someone knows where our passwords and bankbooks are, Some people even know what they want their funeral service to be, what songs will be sung, what readings will be read, what the obituary should say, etc. I have a book that was given to me after my husband died. Its purpose is to prepare your survivors with the information they would need. In the introduction, the author talks about her parents, who were both dying of cancer, and the information they wanted her to know. Her mother talked about their funerals and what they wanted, but her father insisted that he did not want the yard dug up looking for the septic tank, so he gave her a hand-drawn map with all the exact measurements. Both trying to prepare her in different ways.
In today's reading from Acts, we heard about the stoning of Stephen, and his subsequent death. Interestingly, it bears a resemblance to the death of Christ: -Both were punished unjustly and to death. Last week, we heard that if you are punished unjustly for sharing the message of God, you will meet with His approval. Do I speak up enough for God, that it might cause my death?
-Both prayed that their killers would be forgiven. Forgiveness is a tougher concept for me to understand, especially one resulting in death. I'm not sure how well I would handle that. But maybe there are other things for which I need to forgive. For what do I need to forgive?
-Both prayed for their spirit to be received. As Christians, I think we would want that as well. Do I take time to ask God to receive my spirit, to be worthy of that?
Our psalm today talks about God being our protector and strength. "Make haste to deliver me", and "Into your hands I commend my spirit." This should sound familiar to us because as he was dying on the cross, Jesus cried out, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Again, what am I doing to be worthy of God receiving my spirit?
This morning's epistle lesson is a good segue to the Gospel. It compares us to being a stone, perhaps rejected by others, but if we become a spiritual house, making ourselves worthy of God, we become a cornerstone. And a cornerstone, as any architect or structural engineer would tell you is essential to the integrity of a building, or in this case, the church of God's people.
And our Gospel lesson this morning is familiar as a reading in many funeral services. Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place in heaven for us. "No one comes to the Father except through me." As Christians, we believe in Jesus and can be assured of His support. "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also."
So this morning, remember that preparing for death is more than a will and funeral plans and a map of the septic system. Commit yourself to Jesus, follow His ways and do His will on earth while you can.
