Where have you recently seen the Spirit of Christ at
work in your community?
Have you ever felt the Spirit of Christ that is in you
longing to come to the forefront of your life, when?
Sunday May 28th 2006
Readings:
Acts1: 15-17, 21-26 Psalm 1 VU pg 724,
1 John 5: 9-13, John 17: 6-19
According
to the Christian Gospels, God clearly declares that Jesus is the chosen one,
the anointed, God’s beloved Son. Jesus
comes out of the waters of baptism, only to be set afire as the spirit comes
upon him and God declares “This is my Son whom I love, with him I am well
pleased” Matthew 3: 16-17. Then again at
his transfiguration Matthew 17:5 in a voice from the heavens God declares once
again listen to his Son, take His words to heart and follow Him. You see as the scripture passage from 1 John tell
us it is God who declares Jesus and gives him authority over all things. It is God who gives Jesus the power to save
humanity from itself through the act of salvation. Jesus entire existence and ministry is only
confirming what God has done for us though him, as God declares Him to be the
Son of mankind. According to the
scripture passage this morning anyone who believes in God has his testimony in
his or her heart. Let us consider this
statement then: As Christians not to believe
in God’s Son makes the God of our scriptures out to be a liar. God also is the one who promises us life
eternal, and this life according to the promise can only be found in the Jesus,
The Christ. Some preachers and teachers
of the scriptures might point to eternal life as a life to come at another time
and in another place. Well I believe
them to be mistaken. I believe that God is
talking about a life that begins right here and right now with Jesus. You don’t have to wait until your dead to
enjoy the first fruits of the eternal spirit which lay within. The first step is the acceptance of the one
given the authority to save souls and take you into the future and it begins right
here right now. Jesus is not just a mystical
figure, a figment of some writer’s imagination, Jesus is a real person human
yet eternal and Jesus is just as alive today as he was before his crucifixion
and resurrection. He is alive in Spirit,
and comes to us in the spirit of the Christ.
When you take Christ into your heart the Spirit comforts you, consoles
you and heals you. The Sprit listens to
you and is speaking to God on your behalf right at this very moment. Do you have trials and tribulations in your
life, are you sick, depressed, unemployed, are you in need of someone to love
you unconditionally, Jesus does.
Believe, pray and ask for whatever you need, ask it in his name, and Jesus
will act on your behalf. Now, that just might mean that you don’t
get what you want. Remember that wants
and needs are not the same folks.
Sometimes we want that bigger piece of pie or we want our cake so we can
eat it too. Now the person that is
praying for the pie or cake isn’t going to be too happy especially if God
fulfills your prayer with a diet plan.
Where
can you find the risen Christ actively at work today? Well you can find the spirit of Jesus, The
Christ, with the rich, the proud, the religious and the powerful people of our
world but it is often very difficult to see the Christ in them because humility
and there need for God is minimal. More
obvious is the spirit of Jesus can be seen nearby revealing their folly as they
try to detach or distance themselves from the poor, the marginalized or the
oppressed peoples of their world? If
however we were to take the risen Christ into hearts, making us aware that we are
spiritually poor and in need of our Creator who has provided and is providing
for us, the spirit of Christ will become visible in our acts of generosity, compassion
and social justice issues in our world. It
is the Christ within that becomes the crusader for inequality, the poor, the
marginalized, and the oppressed. The
Christ within becomes a healer for the sick, at path for the lost, and a
comfort to the dying. We become aware
that it is not me but the spirit of Christ in me that is the advocate.
Where
poverty, injustice and oppression prevail Christianity has the opportunity for
revival because this is where you will find the Christ centered spiritually
poor at work. There, among the inequality,
the physically poor and oppressed, this is where you will find the spirit of
Christ working at its best. Christ is
much harder to find among the rich and powerful and affluent neighbor hoods of any
country. Could this be the main reason
why the pews of the Christian Church in Canada, the United States and Europe are
emptier than you once were? Could it
possibility be that much of the social justice and poverty work being done by
some Christian groups does not include the power of the risen Christ? It is possible that we think this work can be
accomplished without the activation of the spirit that lay within. That we can do this work on our own?
Where
are you in your search for Jesus? Have
you found and claimed him for yourself.
From the Gospel of John this morning we find Jesus affirming in prayer
to God the work of those who have found and accepted him, those who have
accepted the message and have carried it, in his name, to others. Let us take a moment today as we give thanks
for the many people who have given of themselves, ignited the spirit or carried
the message to us in any way. Those who have taught in our Sunday school, bible
study, or have acted as lay leaders, those who have carried the message in acts
of kindness to neighbors. All those who
have served with compassion for others in any way. Those who have helped in the feeding of the
poor and the oppressed, those who have fought for justice. All have been carries of the way of Christ,
let us give thanks this day for them. Let
us pray.
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