Acts 17: 22-31
Psalm 66: 8-20
1 Peter 3: 13-22
John 14: 15-21

Don’t Worry, You’ll Get Your Quilt

It was a bright sunny Sunday morning. A young boy really wanted to go to church but his mother was sick. She warned him that he had to be very good and be quiet when the minister was talking. Just to be sure she told him that she would quiz him on the sermon when he got home.

So off he went and in due course he returned home. He ate his lunch in silence and then his mother asked him, “What was the sermon about?”

“You’re gonna be angry Mum,” said the boy.

“Were you noisy?” asked the Mum.

“No, I was very quiet”

“Were you listening?”

“Yes, I was!”

“Well then, tell me what the minister’s sermon was about.”

“It didn’t make any sense”.

“WHAT was the sermon about?”

“Well, it made no sense but, she told us, “Don’t worry, you’ll get your quilt. She told us that over and over. “

“What kind of sermon is that? Don’t worry, you’ll get your quilt. What’s the Bible have to do with quilts?”

“Well, like I told ya. It doesn’t make any sense”.

So after a while the woman went to the phone and called the minister. The minister assured the woman that the boy was good in church and that he had indeed been very quiet. When she told the minister that she had asked him what the sermon was about and what he had told her, the minister burst into laughter.

The real sermon title, “Fear not, your comforter will come.”

(Pause)

Joyce Rupp, Catholic sister and spiritual writer says, in her book, “pieces of Light”, “I am always assured by the stories from Scripture of all those women and men who had tough times, because God continually gives two messages over and over to those in darkness: ‘Do not fear’ and ‘I am with you’. I find great comfort in these assurances and clutch them to my empty heart when times are tough”.

The biblical story is certainly filled with tough times and empty hearts. We have Joseph sitting alone in a prison cell; the children of Israel wandering, wondering if they will ever arrive at the land of promise; Elijah fleeing for his life and feeling totally alone; and the disciples, hiding for fear that the same fate that came to their beloved teacher and leader will come to them. Our own lives have their share of empty hearts and tough times; times of fear and “not knowing”. Yet as we delve into those same stories from scripture, stories which resonate in some ways with our own experiences, we find more than someone who ‘knows’ what we are going through.

The phrase “Do not be afraid” appears 71 times in the New Revised Standard Version. It seems that fear was a common response to either an encounter with the holy or a new and understandably frightening situation. The word of God came to those folks and before the message was even proclaimed the people were told, “fear not’. “Fear not, I am with you”. The angel brought that message to the shepherds in the fields, “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy”, and we know the rest of that story, some of us from memory.

Now it is many years later and Jesus is preparing to finish his earthly ministry. As he is preparing to leave his disciples behind Jesus’ message is almost identical to that of the angel, “ Do not be afraid. “

The promise is not exactly, “I will always be with you; I will never leave you”, but it is: “I will send an advocate. I will send another who WILL be with you.”

The Greek word for advocate is ðáñáêëçôïò (parakletos) which means, literally, to “call beside”, or “to call alongside to help”. In this verse this word is variously translated in different versions of the Bible as, “advocate, or comforter, or counsellor, or helper”. However, as with many translations none of these can really capture what the word means. It is the same word used in a court of law to describe the role of a person who is called to stand beside a defendant and plead his or her cause. Interestingly, in French the word for lawyer is “avocat”. It can mean anyone who is called upon to give practical assistance to someone in time of need. And it was used in military circles to refer to an officer called in to boost the morale of a dispirited company of soldiers.

This Holy Spirit, is in the words of a colleague of mine, “Someone who comes to our side, helps us cope with things, encourages and energizes, strengthens and empowers for living”. The Rev. Hugh Farquhar, in an email after a lectionary discussion group.

Beethoven is a movie about a huge St. Bernard. The kids have adopted this huge, slobbering dog and they love him. The parents are less than enthusiastic. By the end of the movie, however, the children’s parents come to accept and even love this enormous canine.

One day the young boy with the enormous glasses is facing down some bullies, but as he raises his fists as if to fight with them, the bullies take one look and flee. The boy is quite proud of his menacing new persona, but what he does not realize is that Beethoven had appeared behind him bearing his big teeth and slobbering jowls. In a sense, Beethoven was the boy’s advocate, standing beside him, supporting him to do what he cannot on his own, giving him confidence and strength.

In this passage Jesus goes on to say, “Because I live, you also will live” and, “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you”. Paul, in his speech as recorded in the book of Acts talks about the reality of God as the “one in whom we live and move and have our being”, which was apparently a phrase already known in the spiritual writings of the day.

It is as if the passage is saying that we are ‘in God’s womb’. We are in God and dependant upon the love and care of God in the same way an unborn child is in need of his or her own mother’s love and care. More and more emphasis is being put on prenatal care these days. Expectant mothers are reminded what to eat and drink and what not to eat and drink so that the child will be as healthy as possible.

I think of the TV commercial which begins with an expectant mother sitting in a chair contemplating what lies ahead and her husband comes in. She says to him, ‘Are we ready for this” and his answer is to show her the baby’s room which he got up early to finish. Of course, it’s trying to sell you a certain kind of paint, but it relies on the knowledge that enormous life changing events, such as raising children, are much easier when handled with the help of supportive family and friends.

A colleague of mine lost his wife in a car accident. About a year later he was speaking to the presbytery I was serving in at the time and he thanked those of us who had sent letters and cards of sympathy and support and he told us how helpful and important those notes had been to him and how much they had mattered.

So often we discount the support we give to one another as not very important. Too often we look for the ‘sign’ , or our own version of the ‘Damascus Road experience’ when all around us are signs that the Spirit is at work in us and in others, supporting us, easing our burden or our pain, seeking to support us or to walk with us on our sometimes fear filled or lonesome journey.

Our society values strength and independence and people make almost every attempt to hide dependancies and mask weakness. People sometimes turn to drugs as they attempt to do more and be more than they can be otherwise. If we can’t cope we certainly don’t want our co-workers or supervisors to know.

A different model is presented to us in the scriptures. We are presented with the model of caring communities, of people supporting one another with the guidance and strength offered to us all through the guidance and presence of the Holy Spirit. Within this community of faith we are free to admit our weaknesses to one another and to seek the strength we need to be able to face what comes our way. We cannot do everything on our own, and the good news is that we do not need to. We may be fearful about many things, but the good news is that God is with us through the Spirit, and through the love and caring of others within our family of faith. The companion and advocate promised to us is with us, enveloping us with warmth and strength and presence.

That little boy didn’t get it all wrong. The spirit envelops us like a warm home made quilt on a cold night. It surrounds us witht the love of the community of family and friends, both present and past and it gives us the strength to face our challenges without the fear that we do so alone, for in God we can never be alone, and for this we say, thanks be to the God who loves us and has called us his own.

Amen.

Acts 1: 6-14
Psalm 68: 1-10, 32-35
1 Peter 4: 12-14; 5: 6-11
John 17: 1-11

Once upon a time, a woman had three sons who grew and eventually left home, as most sons do, and they made their way in the world and prospered greatly. Christmas and Mother’s day became a bit of a competition as they tried to outdoo one anotehr with their gifts. One year, just before Mother’s Day they met and were discussing ther gifts they had given their elderly and almost blind mother that year.

The first said, "I built a big house for our mother. She can move in whenever she wants." The second said, "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver who will take her wherever she wants to go whenever she wants to go." The third smiled and said, "I've got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. I am told that it takes 20 monks 12 years to teach just one parrot. When I finish making my payments, I will have paid a million dollars for this bird but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it."

Soon thereafter, the Mom sent out her letters of thanks: "Milton," she wrote to the first son, "the house you built is so huge I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway."

"Marvin," she wrote to the second son, "I am too old to travel I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is really quite rude! Thanks anyway."

"Dearest Melvin," she wrote to the third son. "You were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken you sent me was simply delicious."

Today is a busy day in the life of the church. It’s Mothers’ Day and some of you have had breakfast in bed, or cards from children both young and older, or wished your children were closer, or even that your offspring would just stop squabbling with one another long enough for you to peace and quiet at the dinner table!

Interestingly, Mothers’ Day had its origins in two different very different kinds of celebrations. One originated as a day set aside FOR mothers to work for peace. It was a day for mothers to pool their strength and voices to affect a common good for all of the world’s children. The other was a day to HONOUR mothers, which is the one that survived to today.

In the wider church this Sunday in May has been set aside to focus on the Christian Family of which we all are a part. Too often in life we focus on those to whom we are related by blood or marriage and forget those not related by blood and those who live in other countries, who come from different cultures and speak other languages. As we look deeper into the teachings of Jesus. We find that the call of the gospel is about removing the barriers we have erected between families, economic groups, races, genders and nationalities and Christian Family Sunday calls us to reflect on this call and then, to act on it.

It’s also a special V.E. day, when we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the end of 6 long years of war, mayhem, destruction, fear and starvation. Of particular interest to me, this year, is the coverage from the Netherlands, where the Allied Liberation just days before VE day signalled the end of years of a cruel Nazi occupation during which thousands died of starvation.

In the past few days we have seen news coverage of Canadian veterans as they travel the same routes of Dutch villages we can barely pronounce, the streets they travelled in victory so long ago and we see them placing flags at the graves of those who paid the supreme sacrifice, those young soldiers who were their comrades in arms, their friends, young soldiers who did not live to experience the adulation of liberating the Netherlands, and then to return home to resume their lives interrupted by the guns and bombs. Behind the moist eyes of these senior veterans we see the memories of young men who took an important role in making history. I heard interviews last night of Canadian, Dutch and German teens who remember and feel that it is their duty to learn so that it will never happen again. We pause, and we too remember.

In our churches here on the Rexton Pastoral Charge, it’s also ‘reaffirmation of baptismal faith’ as 4 young people; 2 in St. Andrew’s and 2 in St. Stephen’s. make a public profession of faith and, as we used to say, ‘join the church’ and one will make her reaffirmation of faith next week, in St John’s.

And it’s Ascension Sunday, which, according to the lectionary and Church tradition, happens on the 7th Sunday of Easter when we read the story of the resurrected Jesus leaving his disciples with advice about how to be faithful witnesses in the time to come. The so-called ‘Great 50 Days’ of Jesus’ post-resurrection presence is over and now the disciples must figure out how to cope and to be faithful without his physical or even resurrected presence. The Acts passage is from this time just after Easter, while the John passage contains the message of the human Jesus just before the crucifixion. The dilemma in each centres around coping with the massive changes that will soon come upon them.

The immediate advice to them is to retreat in prayer, but we must remember that this is not an end in itself, it is for the purpose of preparing for a life of witnessing to the God revealed in Jesus of Nazareth. What they are awaiting is the powerful and unmistakable coming of the Holy Spirit that we celebrate next Sunday, Pentecost.

In many ways we in the 20th Century have divided our lives into compartments, and we have relegated our Christian faith to just one or two of these. We are called to take a long and prayerful look at our faithfulness and at how we live out our faith, in all the aspects of our lives.

It seems to me that part of what each generation of Christians needs to is to determine how it will glorify the God os Jesus of Nazareth and yet be respectful of others. One of the reasons that many people feel Christianity is a private matter is that some seek to impose their views on everyone else. As Christians in a modern and pluralistic society we need to find a way to glorify God, to proclaim the risen Christ and to allow for the differences of opinion and practice to which we are all entitled in this country of ours and in the world.

I believe that the first step is to start with our own decision to be a follower of Jesus and to join with the faithful who have gathered in this community of faith and then guided by the Spirit we need to discern how we are to be faithful in our lives in family, career, school, community and the wider world. We are called to love God and the world that God loved and to pray for the guidance to know how to do that as we follow Jesus of Nazareth.

Amen.