Third Sunday of Easter
Sunday 18th April 2021
Although we have been able to resume public worship not everyone is able to attend so this service was streamed live on YouTube and is still available now. The service can be found here.
Easter 3
Acts 3.12-19
Luke 24. 36b-48
Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs
How have you kept the family fed over the past months?
Have you kept the freezer well stocked, concerned that you never know when you can go out? Or have you allowed your supplies to run down a bit as you have cooked your way through the recipe books and suggestions for yet another version of banana bread? Actually I haven’t made that at all – but I have tried a number of other new recipes!
With no social entertaining going on, how will you cope when an unexpected visitor turns up?
When Jesus arrives unexpectedly, his friends –still reeling from the events of Holy Week and Easter, are not sure if they are seeing a ghost. Surely, Jesus died didn’t he? They had all seen it with their own eyes – from a suitably safe distance of course. And they were not yet at home – still staying in borrowed accommodation in Jerusalem, hiding away most of the time, but gaining some comfort from the presence of each other and worshipping God together.
So when Jesus reassures them that he is no ghost, but what they are seeing is something quite original and new – a resurrected body and soul. And one that needs feeding!
I can just imagine the frantic scrabbling around, looking in cupboards and bags for something suitable to give him – and of course, being fishermen (most of them anyway) it isn’t surprising that they come up with some fish.
Then, when they have satisfied his hunger, he sets about satisfying theirs – teaching them yet again about the prophecies in scripture and how they relate to himself. And pointing out that they have been and are witnesses to the truth behind all of this. So now they are being commissioned for the next stage of the story – proclaiming this amazing truth to every nation, starting from where they are, in Jerusalem….
At this stage, they have yet to be filled with the Holy Spirit – so we may assume that they didn’t think much of this idea! But the thought has been planted in them and it will gradually grow and bear fruit such that, yes – even humble fishermen can tell God’s story to the world…
And with the benefit of hindsight, that is what they did.
If those men and women had remained huddled in their upper room, scared of being identified with their crucified friend, well, you and I would not be here today!
In a short while we will be holding our Annual Parochial Church Meeting. And at that you will elect those people who will hold the future of this church and help lead it through the months to come until a new incumbent is eventually appointed. And even then, they will have a key role to play as he or she settles into post and works out new ways of making the kingdom real in this corner of Staffordshire.
And were Jesus to appear among us (and he very well might – indeed I am confident that he is here already, even if we cannot see him in the flesh,) would we have something solid to give him? Something he could get his teeth into?
Well yes, I think we would. There is a depth of faith and good will in this parish that will take you far – long after I have become a distant memory and taken my place among the rogue’s gallery of former vicars…. (you really should find a place to re hang those pictures, by the way, before they get lost!)
Thinking about God and the world is something that the late Duke of Edinburgh, to whom we said farewell yesterday, did plenty of in his long life. It is said that his considerable library contained more books about theology, and also birds, than any other subjects. Those preaching before him could expect to be quizzed thoroughly and he had a mind that could encompass a huge breadth of knowledge and thought. His was a restless, questioning faith, but a very deep one. He was fascinated by the interplay of science and religion and environmental matters. He wanted “a faith which challenged his mind as well as his spirit”. Whatever was said by a preacher must have a foundation in practical reality – the absolute opposite of “pi in the sky”. But that is not what Jesus offers us in this morning’s gospel. He is rooted in soundly practical matters – hunger must be satisfied, whether physical or intellectual or indeed spiritual.
Prince Philip adopted the cause of environmentalism long before it became fashionable – and while he balked at being described as “Green” he nevertheless was deeply concerned for sustainability. I’d like to think he would be pleased to learn of our silver Eco Church award – but would, no doubt, be challenging us about moving on to the Gold award standard!
Jesus challenges us to carry on spreading the Good News – calling all people to repentance and forgiveness of sins. Turning around from our wasteful ways but then looking forward to receiving God’s grace and mercy.
So mindful of another of the Duke’s famous epithets – that “the mind cannot absorb what the backside cannot endure”, I will end my sermon for today there. Think of the challenges ahead, but be conscious of God’s presence with you now and always. Amen.