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5th SUNDAY OF EASTER
Proclamation, teaching, and parable provide us with a variety of homiletic
possibilities. In the first lesson, we continue the post-resurrection narratives in
Luke-Acts with Philip’s one-on-one instruction to a person of influence that stands
outside of Palestine. Our second lesson focuses on love as the criteria for knowing and
being in God, while the gospel illustrates the life and relationship between believers and
their resurrected Lord.
Acts 8:26-40-Funny thing happened to me on the way home
Philip, an evangelist, has participated in a community-wide Samaritan mission when he
is told to "Go south down" to a less-traveled road connecting Jerusalem to Gaza.
There he engages a questioning Ethiopian official returning from a religious pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. Together, the official and Philip listen to the Scripture from Isaiah 53 and
Philip instructs his listener in the Christian interpretation. Convinced of the truth of
Philip’s words, the Eunuch insists on baptism then and there. The two part company in
quite different fashions: Philip is whisked away Elijah-style to a new place of ministry
while the Ethiopian joyfully continues faith-filled and homeward bound.
1 John 4:7-21-No Fear
In the typical dichotomy and circular style of the Johannine writer, we continue with
love categories: those who love one another come from God, those who do not love do not
even know God (4:7-8). We have an expansion of John 3:16 in what follows as the writer
juxtaposes the familiar Johannine ideas of only Son, sent, world, eternal life, through
him, God loved us (4:9-10). Further allusions to the "Spirit" section of the
gospel of John are here mentioned "the Spirit" who corroborates the mystical
union of the believer and God through Christ. We return to the love discourse but with a
new piece of information-"such love has no fear because perfect love expels all
fear" (4:17-18). The passage closes as it began, with a litmus test for
"true" believers-love vis-à-vis hate-as the way to know one has truly seen,
experienced, and loved God.
John 15:1-8-An Illustration from Spring Planting
"I am the true vine . . . my Father is the gardener . . . and you are the
branches," recalls one of the most familiar sections of the gospel of John. What
makes this portion so memorable is the beautiful image of a vine with its robust branches.
Jesus uses the vine / branch image as a metaphor for the relationship between his
followers and himself. This parable more than most lends itself to instruction-the
connections or illustrations from the vine/branch/husbandman/fruit is endless. Thus, holy
imagination may need its own pruning. We see the dichotomy of fruitful / unfruitful
branches and those who remain in Jesus vis-à-vis those who do not. In the end, what
brings honor to God are those who are fruitful, whether that means being faithful or has
more to do with fulfilling one’s God-inspired destiny or perhaps bearing witness
before the world or yet being fruitful in the face of persecution.
