Homily for Seventh Sunday of Easter, April 4

Image by JonBirch

Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter
Acts 1:12-14
1 Peter 4:13-16
John 17:1-11a

Do you know anyone who has no suffering in life?
Sometimes it may appear
that this individual, or that family has no suffering
but that simply means that their suffering is hidden,
behind the scenes, undisclosed.
No one passes this way
without meeting some suffering along the journey.

But now let me ask another question:
Do you know anyone who suffers on account of being Christian?
That’s the brand of suffering Peter refers to in the second lesson today.

We suffer for many reasons.
People suffer from illness and pain,
physical, emotional and spiritual.
People suffer from having too little;
and people suffer from having too much.
People suffer from loneliness
and people suffer from having no time alone.
People suffer from hunger
and people suffer from having too much to consume.
People suffer when deprived of freedom
and people suffer when freedom becomes license.

All very real suffering!
And Christ suffered some of these same human realities.
But Peter raises the question of suffering on account of our faith,
suffering for the name of Christ.
and that’s an experience many of us may not have.

Few of us, if any, will be called to suffer imprisonment or worse
for professing and living a Christian life.
Yet every day Christians around the world are persecuted,
imprisoned and even put to death for their faith.
But the gospel calls every Christian to take up the Cross
and follow in Christ’s footsteps.
The question is sometimes asked,
“If you were accused of being a Christian,
would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
That question needs to be answered both in our hearts and our deeds,
in the secrets of my soul and in the life that others can see me live.

My life’s work, my “business,” if you will, is the work of the gospel.
It’s fairly easy to observe: I wear the uniform!
But the Lord sees through the vestments and into my heart,
and he asks me,

• “Austin, you preach the gospel:
has your heart embraced its word?”

• “Austin, you lead a parish community:
do you follow where I lead you?”

• “You encourage generosity
in the hearts of those who have more than they need
You have more than you need, Austin –
are you generous to the poor in your heart?
in your bank account?"

For most of us,
sharing in the sufferings of Christ will not be dramatic
unless you consider the drama of asking,
“When, where, how – and if – I invite Christ
to make his mark (the Cross) on my heart and my deeds?”

And there are practical ways to get at this.

• When I schedule my day, my week,
my summer, the year ahead of me,
do I set apart time for Jesus, for prayer, for growth in faith –
or is that all scaled down to this one weekly hour in church?
And that one hour in church: is that hour a commitment?
Or one of many negotiables in my life in competition with others?

• When I think about how I’m living my marriage
do I wonder about how spirituality is part of my relationship?
And if my spouse is not a person of faith,
do I look for ways to share the peace my faith offers me?

• Have I found a way to make my decisions at work
congruent with my faith's values
or do other categories rule the business day?

• When I look at how I’m raising a family,
do I work as diligently at my children’s faith formation
as I do on their school work, sports, social lives,
college prospects and other interests?

• When I sit down to look at my finances,
do I look to see what level of generosity
guides my outreach to those in need?
Do I evaluate the balance (imbalance) between
all that I have and all that many others desperately need?

• As I shape my political thoughts, opinions
and voting options,
is my faith a contributing factor
or something I put on hold as I enter the voting booth?

When the Lord is truly a part of my life
I can expect his Word to make demands of me;
I can count on my faith to stretch me
beyond what I find comfortable;
I can be sure the faith of my heart to become the faith of my deeds.
Less than that may mean that my faith is somewhat shallow,
perhaps not worthy of the name Christian:
“not enough evidence to convict…”

Peter wrote in today’s second lesson:
Rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ,
so that when his glory is revealed
you may rejoice exultantly.

Sharing in Christ’s suffering is not an end in itself
but is, rather, the path to joy.
To the degree that I understand this, to that degree
do I understand what Jesus asks of me and what he promises.
At this table he invites us to share in the supper
which offers us the mercy and strength revealed on the Cross.
Here, in Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist,
we share have a share in his suffering and have, even now,
a taste, a sip of the joy that he promises.
Come to the table and be nourished and strengthened
for lives worthy of the name Christian.

-ConcordPastor