SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER June 1, 2025
Prayer of the Day: O God, form the minds of your faithful people into your one will. Make us love what you command and desire what you promise, that, amid all the changes of this world, our hearts may be fixed where true joy is found, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Gospel: John 17:20-26[Jesus prayed:] 20 “I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24 Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 “Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”
Commentary: The flow of thought and the words of Jesus’ prayer seem repetitive and convoluted and far from linear! That appears to be the intention. Experiencing John’s Gospel reminds me of walking prayer labyrinths. The path repeatedly turns on itself so you’re experiencing foresight and hindsight at the same time—labyrinths aren’t designed to be sprinted through as if we’re lab rats running through mazes. The deliberate pace and revisiting and looking ahead all at the same time means the journey matters as much as the ‘destination’.
Historic and Linguistic background: It’s easy to forget the people to whom John’s Gospel was first presented—a people marginalized by both the empire and their own faith group. Disagreements over teaching and religious practices were only compounded by the divisions among people. This marginalized group inherited the disciples’ ‘job’ of being Jesus’ physical presence in the world. Remembering Jesus’ plea to the Father for unity might give such a faltering community some stability. The language used throughout John’s Gospel is intentionally multilayered. The reason is two-fold. Like slang that young people use, ‘coded language’ builds solidarity among those who use the words. At the same time, the ‘code’ is obscure enough to leave older folk scratching their heads—or in the case of the Gospel, code language (or argot) is employed to evade the Empire’s prying eyes and ears. What forms does this ‘code language’ take on?
Some words take on new meaning. For example, the word “glory” is used in association with Christ’s death. Considering the brutality involved, glory isn’t the first word many of us would use to describe the event. Besides the ‘subverting’ of the word, the entire trajectory of Jesus’ death and resurrection subverts a world order that uses death as its leverage to pry compliance and allegiance from the populace. Other words take on multiple meanings and all of them were meant to be pondered. You might recall last week’s commentary about the word “advocate” having a range of connotations. The hearer and reader is invited not to chose among the various meanings, but to accept the mystery of all of them together! John’s Gospel (and I would claim that much of scripture) is not designed to be easily understood. Unlike an instruction booklet from IKEA, the scripture invites us into a life containing mystery, paradox, ambiguity and by necessity that means a community ‘fusses’ with all of that as community. Hence….Jesus prays for us!
Immediate and canonical context: The appointed Gospel represents the last part of “The Long Goodbye” from John chapters 14-17. The previous chapter includes Jesus’ telling his followers they will most likely be expelled from their synagogue (in John 14 Jesus tells them they won’t be ‘orphaned’, however). Jesus devotes lengthy conversation and now prayer to prepare his followers for their life on earth without Jesus being physically present with them. The promised ‘comforter’ or Spirit of God coupled with Jesus’ pledge that there will always be a place for them in God’s realm; both in this life and beyond. Imagine being one displaced from your community and hearing that God has a place for us!
Scholars have divided the prayer into three parts: Jesus’ return to glory (verses 1-5), Jesus’ prayer for his disciples (verses 6-19) and Jesus’ prayer “for all who believe through the word of the disciples” (verses 20-26). [Preaching Through the Christian Year, eds. Fred B. Craddock, John H. Hayes,Carl R. Holladay, and Gene M. Tucker (1994) Trinity Press page 270-271].
For this week: The readings we’ll read and hear come from the prayer’s third segment in which Jesus intercedes for those who come to believe (trust) through the word of the disciples. Jesus prays that we all would be “one” in the same way that Jesus and God are one. If you think you’ve experienced delays in God answering your personal prayers, get a load of this!
That petition for one-ness could spin us into discussions about God’s nature or doctrines around the Trinity—and those discussions ironically begin to divide us. These deliberations have already divided the community of ‘those who believe in Jesus through the word of the disciples”. This year is the 1,700 year anniversary of the Church Council of Nicaea, where the creed that we have been reciting this Easter season was formulated. Historians tell us this gathering required about three months’ worth of collaboration and debate. Sadly, the ‘whole church’ was split in two. Today we speak of the “Eastern Church” (Orthodox, Coptic, and related churches) and the “Western Church (the Roman Church, which we know has split into a myriad of factions). At issue, and please pardon the gross oversimplification here, was one phrase relating to the Holy Spirit “proceeding from the Father and the Son”. Those who feared we were beginning to “rank order” the Trinity took exception to the words “and the Son” (the Filioque). Gross oversimplification aside, God’s response to the prayer that “all may be one” remains a work that is in progress—evidently very painfully slow progress.
Dr. Karoline Lewis’ remarkable work appears in her commentary on John’s Gospel. She takes up Jesus’ words about “the love with which you love me may be in them” (verse 26). Dr. Lewis leaves us with a question that is profound and profoundly haunting: “Exploring how God loved Jesus will prevent nondescript sermons about love in this verse. How might we answer this question when the next chapter (John 18) moves us into the events of the passion? How has God loved Jesus up to this point? Answering these questions truthfully with the whole of the Gospel in mind will perhaps be one’s own experience of ‘grace upon grace’” [Karoline M.Lewis(Fortress Press2014): Fortress Biblical Preaching Commentaries—John, page 214].
Any call for unity is not a call for uniformity or conformity. Imagine the difference between a potluck picnic where we enjoy a rich variety of foods and a shared meal where all the potluck foods are pureed and each of us is given a big glass of “potluck smoothie”.
The Religious News Service reports that the podcaster and former comedian-pro wrestling commentator Joe Rogan has joined a prominent church in Texas has some heralding “a spiritual re-awakening.” The sad truth is that the church Mr. Rogan joined is committed to building a “masculine church” that dismisses the Beatitudes as irrelevant and “woke”. No question the movement is popular and drawing crowds and it’s making headlines. I shudder to think that we’re being asked or called to be part of such an agenda in the interest of Christian unity.
Creation is astonishing in its diversity and marvellous in its interconnections. Likewise glimpses into our own churches in the ELCIC, Eastern synod, and ministry areas taken together creates a sense of belonging to ‘something bigger’.
Canadian Lutheran World Relief is embarking on the biggest project in its history—a mitigation and reversal effort of climate damage in Chad and Cameroon. At a cost of 50 dollars per acre, local farmers and experts will develop their resources to heal their land.
The synod’s outreach to LGBTQ people and a desire to listen to their stories imitates Jesus’ way of engaging people. Besides the visible presence at Pride Parades, the committee wants to visit congregations and individuals—especially those who have felt hurt and shunned by the church.
Luther Seminary has received a generous grant from the U.S. based Lilly Foundation to develop resources to empower church members to lead their congregations in ministry.
The Eastern synod office is working with both folk interested in pursuing ordination as pastors and deacons and with congregations seeking rostered leaders to work with them. The synod office is also engaging the help of an attorney specializing in immigration to respond to the regular inquiries from pastors (many of whom have doctoral degrees and experience teaching in seminaries and universities) in the U.S. who want to move to Canada.
One congregation in New Brunswick (the only Lutheran church in the province) has a membership of fewer than ten. The congregation redeveloped and their building was converted to supportive housing and offers a space for worship. This little congregation offers a food sharing program for those living in the building complex so people don’t have to eat alone. Congregations learning to work together and sometimes to amalgamate for the sake of being a presence in the community illustrates God’s own overture when “the Word became flesh and lived among us”(John1:14).
In ways direct and indirect, seen and unseen, our congregations are “part of all of that”. And the “all of that” is but a slice of what the whole church around the world (that one holy, catholic and apostolic church) is about. Amazingly, we all are somehow “one” with that as well. Yet….these are but the first traces of light before God’s promises fully dawn upon the world, upon humanity, and upon all creation that God so loves.
Prayer of the Day
Bountiful God, you gather your people into your realm, and you promise us food from your tree of life. Nourish us with your word, that empowered by your Spirit we may love one another and the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Gospel: John 14:23-29 23
Jesus answered [Judas (not Iscariot)], “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, and the word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me. 25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe.”
Pastor’s Commentary
Over the last couple of weeks, I have offered commentary that relates to the sermon without being the actual sermon. I’d love to know whether you find the commentary useful. A video recording of the sermon is available on St. Matthew’s website Sundays, so you also can see the connections between the commentary and the proclamation.
Placement in the Gospel (known technically as canonical context) John chapters 13-17 are part of a ‘long goodbye’ that Bible commentators call the farewell discourse in which Jesus prepares his followers for his death and his return to the Father.
John 13:31-39 includes the New Commandment to love one another, and we note that Maundy Thursday is named for the commandment (mandatum) to love. When Simon Peter asks Jesus where he is going and asserts that he would lay down his life for Jesus, he hears Jesus say that Peter will deny Jesus three times….these words leave the disciples afraid and troubled
John 14:1-14- Jesus says to the followers to not let their hearts be torn up (troubled). The next words are ones read at many funerals and they speak of Jesus’ preparing a place for us and Jesus says he himself is “the way”.
John 14:15-31-Part of this section is read as the Gospel for the sixth Sunday of Easter. Jesus again calls on his followers to keep his commandments (the commandment being to love) and he promises the Spirit of God will be gifted to the followers. The promise of the Spirit is repeated in John 15:26 when Jesus speaks of the rejection his followers can expect and again in John 16:4-15. After Jesus has risen, he finds the disciples in the upper room, locked away hiding from the religious authorities. Jesus appears and speaks peace to them and breathes the Spirit upon them (John 20:19-31)
John 15-Jesus is the True vine and invites his followers to be part of the life that flows from him and again calls on the disciples to love one another (verses 12-17).
Chapter 16- offers a fuller description of the Spirit’s word among the disciples in the world including comfort, truth telling (judgement) about misdirected trust in earthly rulers and righteousness (things working as they are designed to work)
Chapter 17 is often called Jesus’ priestly prayer as he prays on behalf of his people (Jesus intercedes and advocates)
Connections to the Church Year In the Sundays of Easter we have heard again Jesus command to love one another and we have heard how Jesus passes through locked doors and speaks peace and breathes God’s Spirit onto his followers. As the Easter season ends and we come to Pentecost Sunday, we hear of God’s Spirit rushing like a powerful wind, bringing God’s declaration of affirmation and Good News to everyone; all understanding in their own language.
A Word Study: Jesus promises “another advocate” in John 14:16, read as part of the Gospel for May 25. The word advocate sounds like our word “vocation” vocare in Latin meaning “calling”. The Greek word literally means “one called alongside” (paraclete, from the word para+kale-ow). There are many connotations for paraclete including defender, comforter, helper, encourager, intercessor and in other writings from other sources outside the Bible the word was associated with a defense counsel (like a lawyer) or even a prosecutor. Some Bible commentators invite us to let all of these connotations blend as we hear Jesus’ promise of the Spirit to draw alongside us (and the Church).
Connection to our present time(sitz im leben, or life setting) How do we experience the Holy Spirit in our lives? Where do we yearn for the Spirit of God to come alongside us?
Personally, I grieve the war, violence and death in Gaza and Ukraine and the gun violence in many parts of the world. I feel sorry for those who have no place to sleep at night. We know how lack of sleep compromises our physical and mental health, Imagine almost never getting a good night’s sleep because you sleep outside and are vulnerable to being robbed or attacked by four legged and two legged intruders.
Today I feel angry, fearful and sad that the current political administration in the country of my birth voted early Thursday morning to legislate deep cuts of health care benefits for people like many of my own family and friends. These cruel and bankrupting cuts will finance a multi-trillion dollar tax windfall for billionaires. I pray the Holy Spirit draws alongside those who suffer and also confronts those causing the suffering. I’m getting ahead of myself in quoting the psalm we read on Pentecost praying that God would send Spirit to renew the face of the earth. May Spirit also draw alongside us and empower us to love in a world too in love with power.
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER May 18, 2025
Prayer of the Day O Lord God, you teach us that without love, our actions gain nothing. Pour into our hearts your most excellent gift of love, that, made alive by your Spirit, we may know goodness and peace, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Gospel: John 13:31-35 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and as I said to the Jews (religious leaders) so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Pastor’s Reflection’s on the Gospel Reading These Sundays of Easter feel a bit like channel surfing —-or in more modern parlance—scrolling bits of John’s Gospel. Dr. Karoline Lewis being a ‘go-to’ authority on the Gospel John invites us to put pieces back together.
Maundy Thursday’s Gospel reading takes us to the upper room—-where Jesus having loved his people to the very end washes their feet before they eat a Passover meal and he is betrayed to the religious and civic authorities. Jesus’ words about loving one another might resonate in a way that’s minor key; foreboding knowing some real evil is about to be unleashed.
How do the same words sound during the Easter season? Minor key? Major key? something else? John’s Gospel contains a very lengthy passage in which Jesus prepares his followers for what is to come—the scholars call this the “farewell discourse” and it begins in John chapter 13 and continues through the 17th chapter. Along the way Jesus speaks about being the way, truth and life and likens himself to the life giving vine that sustains the branches (us). The vital force from vine to branches is love; and Jesus invites, beckons and even commands that we remain connected (or if you like one of John’s favourite words, we ‘abide’).
Extolling the virtue of love is one thing. Loving is quite another. Love is doing what needs to be done so that the one we love can thrive. Sometimes we can do that. Sometimes we fail. Imagine Jesus stepping out of a customary role to serve his followers…they’re embarrassed and awkward. The foot washing is necessary for the moment and Jesus’ action teaches his followers what love sometimes looks like; not glamourous. Not many Hallmark greeting cards sold on mother’s day contain verse about colicky babies, choosing between paying rent and buying diapers, or about 3 am phone calls from a kid who is at a party yet has the common sense to call home for a ride. That might be what love looks like.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians pre-dates John’s Gospel. Remember the famous words he writes about love? We often read them at weddings and the words do speak to how difficult love can be sometimes. At weddings we don’t often peel back the layer to reveal the context of words about love being patient and kind, not keeping score of sleights and infractions. The context is that a faith community is deeply divided over a great many things. The mission and purpose of the church have been almost completely obscured by multiple deeply divisive controversies. Paul’s intervention is to remind people that the only way through is by loving in the same ways God loved us first and in the same self-giving way Jesus embodied during his life on earth.
It may have been the writer and preacher Dianna Butler Bass who says that ‘proof’ of the resurrection can be found in the ways Jesus’ followers continue to live as he lived. The resurrection might be real for the world in moments when Christians (and their churches) live and love in ways that make them distinct from the rest of society. Here’s a snapshot of what that love in action looks like….
Tomorrow the ELCIC and other churches join in an international event where people will pray and speak to advocate for the queer community and against the transphobia that makes life unsafe for many.
Our own denomination has written to the Canadian Prime Minister Government humanitarian aid for people in the Holy Land.
One of our neighbours in Ridgeway participated in a bicycle trek as part of the synod’s climate justice action.
This past week, the U.S. State Department unsuccessfully attempted to abuse an agreement with the Episcopal Church in which asylum seekers receive assistance from the church. In this instance the U.S. government aimed to grant asylum to white South Africans who supported and benefited from the previous system of apartheid. The church responded they could not in good conscience go along with the scheme.
These expressions are not popular, not easy and far from quick fixes. They are about long-haul commitment to love. So as many of us are tired and discouraged we might remember the final lines from Paul’s words about love—-in the end, three things remain: faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER May 11, 2025
Prayer of the Day
O God of peace, you brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep. By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete in everything good that we may do your will, and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight, through Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Gospel: John 10:22-30 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 My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
Pastor’s Commentary: You might find it useful to read a bit more about the Gospel reading before you hear sermons preached; whether from First and St. Matthew’s or other churches. I’d love to hear from you via text or email about which parts of today’s commentary gave you something to ponder and informed your worship and hearing of the scriptures for this Sunday.
Today we give thanks for the guiding influences in our lives and those who have been mothers and mother figures for us. We also pray for our synod’s newest rostered pastor, Rev. Adam McComb, ordained yesterday at Mount Zion Lutheran Church. Pastor McComb has been called to Specialized Ministry at Thornhill Lutheran and St. Paul’s Lutheran, Richmond Hills, ON.
The fourth Sunday of Easter is traditionally “Good Shepherd Sunday” and we read Psalm 23, paired with sections of John’s Gospel (chapter 10) where Jesus speaks of being the Good Shepherd. Here are a few connections to think about as you read the scriptures for this Sunday. Location,
Location, Location (and occasion, occasion, occasion)- Solomon’s portico was a prominent feature in the new temple, dedicated about 165 years before Jesus’ birth. The Feast of Dedication of the New Temple was part of a great homecoming for Jewish people, who had been dispersed for generations. The former temple (of Solomon’s building) had been desecrated and then destroyed before the children of Israel were expelled from their homeland. The portico was often associated with God’s presence and as a place of teaching. More than that, the Portico was a place where everyone was welcome—even at a time when there were places on the temple grounds off limits for women or for people of other faiths (at the time called “Gentiles”). What does shepherding look like?
Jesus remarks about being a Good Shepherd are far from random. In John chapter 9, Jesus gives sight to someone born blind. Such a person likely begged for a living and was marginalized in many ways. Even the disciples think the man or his parents must have offended God that he would not have eyesight. The act of healing does more than give this man vision for the first time—it allows him to reconnect meaningfully with his family. Jesus heals this man near the temple and the event generates such controversy over who Jesus is and by what authority he can heal people. Jesus’ words interpret his actions; particularly giving sight to someone who has never seen before. His words also foreshadow what happens in John chapter 11….. Jesus isn’t present in Bethany when his friend Lazarus dies. When he arrives he weeps for his friend, consoles those who grieve, and proclaims the promise of resurrection. Jesus’ “I AM” statements have included “I AM Bread of Life” and “I AM the gate” “I AM the good shepherd”. To Martha, Jesus declares, “I AM the resurrection and the life.” At the tomb, Jesus calls Lazarus by name and back to the land of the living (perhaps we’re meant to remember that Jesus says his sheep hear his voice and that his voice carries to everywhere in life and even beyond).
Connections to Psalm 23: We know that this psalm is read at almost every funeral. For good reason. The beginning of the psalm speaks about God’s care. Words about God become words toward God in an affirmation of trust when the psalmist says, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me.” The psalm concludes in a way that surprises us because the translation into English dilutes its ‘zing’. The sense of the words sounds more like: “Ultimately, goodness and mercy shall pursue —yea hound me—-all the days of my life.”. The Good Shepherd is certainly as persistent as God’s steadfast love (“chesed”, in Hebrew).
The final words spoken before a funeral service processes to the cemetery are words of commendation for the person who has died. “Into your hands, O merciful Saviour, we commend your servant. . . Acknowledge we humbly beseech you a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive them into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light” (Funeral service, commendation—ELW page 283
Connections to our time and place: People in King David’s time liked the analogy drawn between a shepherd and a ruler who truly cares for people. Some of us wonder if our elected (and unelected) political leaders or the CEO’s of companies whose work affects our lives even care about us beyond what they can ‘get’ from us (the modern phrase is ‘transactional’). Few in power seem to regard us as people possessing inborn, inherent, made-in-the-image-of-God dignity. The Gospels draw stunning and vivid contrasts between the overlords of the empire and Jesus as a Good Shepherd willing to give his life for those he cares for.
As the Roman Catholic Church has selected a new pope, a shepherd for catholics throughout the world, many among us pray that Pope Leo XIV will continue to speak on behalf of the poor and will inspire the church to imitate Jesus as a Good Shepherd. Though there are many churches and denominations now, may we be drawn together in hope and in the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus, Good Shepherd and risen Christ in the world.
St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Welland, Ontario, Canada 
A thank you letter from Community Christmas Toys, for the Gift cards given to them by St.Matthew’s Lutheran Women