The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2015

The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2015 May 4, 2015

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 10, 2015

Bruce Epperly
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
I John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17

Love is at the heart of today’s readings. God is love and God’s love invites us to love in action. Those who love go beyond the ego and its needs and are willing to sacrifice to transform our world and create new communities of love.

In the brief passage from Acts, experience trumps orthodox theology. Peter has a dream in which he is invited to go beyond the dietary habits of his religion. God calls him to disobedience of old ways to be faithful to God’s new ways. Cornelius, a Roman solider, faithful to God, has a vision inviting him to send for Peter. The Spirit is at work in dreams and visions, providing us with guidance on our spiritual journeys and inviting us to expand our understandings of God.
Peter overcomes his reticence regarding unclean food and people to visit Cornelius in his home. And there in a Gentile household the Spirit descends. The Pentecost promise is embodied as God’s spirit goes beyond ethnic barriers, welcoming all people into the household of faith. Nothing is unclean. Nothing is off limits. The grace of God is unhindered by any human limits.

Today many people describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” This passage invites us to be both “spiritual and religious,” to have a spiritual home (the Jesus movement) that frees us for new and sometimes iconoclastic ways of living.

The joyous hymn of Psalm 98 proclaims that God is a doing a new thing that embraces all peoples and all creation. God’s faithfulness is reflected in God’s innovation and calls us to sing a new song as we embrace our own inspired creativity. What new song shall we sing? What new possibilities await us as we seek to be faithful to God’s way?

The words of John 1 speak of a lively faith, embodying what Diana Butler Bass, describes as the interplay of believing, belonging, and behaving. Faith in Christ is manifest in works of love and community building. Faith embraces the whole person, gives us a new ethical orientation, and makes love our primary motivation. Love wins, as Rob Bell asserts. God’s love embraces us and inspires us to embrace others.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims the transforming power of love and places love at heart of our relationship to God, himself, and one another. Love levels the playing field, joining Master and follower, Savior and saved, in one dynamic and intimate reality. Jesus invites us to abide in his love, to let his flow through us, just as the vine flows through the branches.

Today’s scriptures are a testimony to love. Love goes beyond boundaries and involves the willingness to sacrifice for others. Love is manifest in sharing in God’s creativity and living our lives with joy despite challenges and threats. Those who love receive a full portion of God’s Spirit and discover holiness in all creation and in the varieties of human experience and ethnicity.


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