The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 17, 2016

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Fourth Sunday of Easter – April 17, 2016

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

What gives us the power to confront the inevitable and necessary losses and challenges of life? What enables us to go through the valley of the shadow of death, when there is no way around it and to live with our fear and terror – or panic and anxiety – knowing that God has the final word and that the good shepherd will guide our path home?
The reading from Acts 9 is reminiscent of the gospel account of Jairus’ daughter. (Matthew 9:18-25; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:41-56) Like Jairus’ daughter, Tabitha (Dorcas) is presumed to be dead and then awakened with a word from the healer. In this story, Peter is following in the footsteps of Jesus, performing marvelous acts through the power of God. This is a wonderful story, but what shall we do with it? The dead simply don’t come back to life, especially those who have been dead for significant lengths of time and are defined as “brain dead.” We don’t expect such miraculous events in our churches, even at healing services. As pastors, we have stood at enough bedsides and gravesides to recognize the finality of death. It is not that we lack faith. We simply are unable by our prayers or faith to defy the predictable laws of nature. Nor are we sure that we want zombies in our midst even if they might come back to life in answer to our prayers.

Miracles, defined as acts of power that transform cells and souls, do occur. Our prayers can be a tipping point between health and illness and life and death. Yet, our prayers and their impact appear to occur within an orderly causal matrix. Still, we can pray boldly, trusting God, while recognizing that some diseases reach a point in which death is the only expectation. Then we must pray for a healing, a sense of peace and wholeness in relationship with God, when a cure is no longer possible. Eventually Tabitha died as did all the New Testament characters. We may pray for a cure but healing is that for which we yearn. We need to trust that nothing – not even death and disability – can separate us from the love of God. [For more on Jesus’ healing ministry, see Bruce Epperly, Healing Marks: Healing and Spirituality in Mark’s Gospel (Energion), Transforming Acts: Acts of the Apostles as a 21st Century Gospel (Energion), and God’s Touch: Faith, Wholeness, and the Healing Miracles of Jesus (Westminster/John Knox)]

Psalm 23 reminds us that our trust is in God, not necessarily in a worry-free life. The Psalmist affirms that he will fear no evil, despite the reality of threat. He knows that he must go through the valley, and live with his fears, getting through the journey only because of his confidence in God’s companionship. God makes a way where there is no way, and provides us comfort with what cannot be changed but must simply be endured.

The author of Revelation gives us a peek into heaven. He describes the angelic host, the Divine Parent, and the Lamb of God, the victorious Christ, and like those who have had “near death experiences,” he discovers that all tragedy, terror, and trauma will be healed through the power of God. The martyrs may be lost to us but they are not lost to God. God will wipe away ever tear, heal what is broken, and bring wholeness to our wounds. Heavenly hope does not turn us away from the world, but enables us to live courageously when all external hope seems to be gone. We will all experience “necessary losses,” (Judith Viorst) but no loss is final in light of God’s everlasting love.

John’s Gospel reveals Jesus’ unity with God as the source of our confidence. Jesus reveals God’s nature to us, and calls us to be his own, aligned with God’s vision. Jesus’ sheep are ultimately safe, and their safety lies in their alignment with God’s vision for them and the world. This passage is not exclusionary. No one is excluded from God’s love, and yet we experience this love only when we accept the path of Jesus and its attunement with God’s character and aim for us.

Eternal life is happening right now. When we experience ourselves in relationship with Christ, we live on earth as it is in heaven! We may still make mistakes, feel anxious, and lose our way, but when we hear God’s voice, we know that the journey is home (Nelle Morton) and that Jesus is our companion each step of the way.