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Set 7 - John and Acts

John 13:1-15, 14:25-27:

On the the day when the Church traditionally re-enacts the final meal Jesus ate with his disciples before his betrayal in the Garden, his trial, scourging and death on the next day.  That final meal, now established as the central liturgical act of every Christian church tradition, is titled in different ways – “eucharist”, “holy communion”, “the last supper”, “the mass” – and each name captures a different nuance of that commemorative meal. 

The name used by a given tradition emphasizes how that tradition essentially views that meal.  “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”, seeing that meal as the supreme act of thankfulness that Christians can give to God for their salvation wrought in broken body and shed blood.  “Holy communion” stresses the communal nature of that meal, and is embraced by churches that place a primary emphasis upon this act that made of the people who partake of it one body of faith throughout the world.  “The last supper” concentrates on the commemorative nature of the meal, seeing it as an historical act that is recollected by the gathered community that remembers and pays homage to the One who died for them.  “Mass” means “to dismiss” or “to send forth”, and is used by those traditions (primarily Roman Catholic and Anglo Catholic) that view the celebration of that meal as the ingesting of the actual body and blood of Christ, so that one can go forth into life as one who literally has Christ within him and enthusing him to become a portion of Christ to the world. 

Our reading for this day is John 13:1-15 and 14:25-27.  These passages relate John’s understanding of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples.  Intriguingly, whereas the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke center on the institution of the sacrament of the eucharist as the primary act of that evening’s meal, John centers on the foot-washing.  That is so because the eucharist was instituted in John’s Gospel much earlier in Jesus’ ministry (John 6:53-56).  John here wants to concentrate upon the foot-washing as the primary liturgical act of that final meal because it conforms most closely to his theological intention in his gospel, whereas the other three gospels want to concentrate upon the redemptive nature of Jesus’ death and therefore of his final meal.  Thus, each Synoptic Gospel sets that meal on the first night of Passover (e.g., Mark 14:12, 14, 16) because Passover commemorates the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb with that lamb’s blood protecting the people as the angel of death “passes over” their homes.  John, on the other hand, sets the feast on the night before Passover (Jn. 13:1) because he wants to stress the servanthood of Jesus and the consequent servanthood toward which all of us as disciples of Jesus are called. 

Whether the foot-washing is the central liturgical act (as it is in John), or whether it is ignored (as it is in the Synoptic Gospels), the fact of the matter is that no such meal could have begun without foot-washing!  It was too important a meal to have begun without observing that ceremony. 

Normally, either the guests would wash their own feet (and hands and as showing the highest respect, even their heads – note Jn. 13:9), or the servant of the meal’s host would do so.  Not to do so would be a supreme insult or “putting-down” of the guests (see Luke 7:44-47).  Knowing these traditions, John tells us the story of the foot-washing before their sacred final meal, and his telling of that story summarizes the whole nature of the mission of Jesus.  Without his telling of this story, it would have been lost to all Christendom.

Jesus . . . got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself.  They he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples feet.                         (13:4-5) 

By this act, Jesus takes two decisive actions.  First, he establishes himself as the host of this final meal.  Even though he is about to be separated from his disciples through his death, by this act he is welcoming them as his honored guests into his “home”, his dwelling with the Father (John 1:1; 14:2) where death will have no power to separate them and where they can be one family together forever. 

But secondly, by this act, Jesus is also establishing himself as their servant even though he is their “lord and master” (13:12-20).  That is why Peter reacts explosively and with such shock (13:6-8).  By this act, Jesus is placing himself below his disciples.  But, also in doing so, he is modeling the type of leadership that must be exercised by his followers if they are, indeed, to become that community that, by its very life together as well as by its words and its actions in public life, that is to be God’s alternative community.  The community that Jesus is creating is a servant community, a community that is primarily committed to each other’s and to the world’s justice for all, equitable distribution of wealth, elimination of poverty and the centering of all of life in relationship with God and each other.  Only being servants to one another, rather than “lords and masters”, will enable that kind of world to be born. 

Thus, Jesus concludes this meal with the words, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. . . . Rise, let us be on our way!” (14:27, 31) 

As we embrace the role of servant – the role of one who is centered not on the generation of his own power, prestige and possessions but on the liberation, transformation and empowerment of the other – only then does one “commence to start to become” the “shalom community”.  For the shalom community – Jesus’ alternative community to the competition and warfare and struggle of the world – is, by its very nature, one committed to the transformation of society into God’s just, equitable and relational kingdom.  So it is that only when we give ourselves to such a vision, only when we take the towel and begin to wash the feet of others that we can receive the shalom – the peace – that Jesus would give to us.  Only then will our hearts not be troubled or afraid.  And only then, can we arise and go forth to seek the transformation of the world!  

John 16:16-33:

The scripture for today is John 16:16-33.  In this passage, Jesus is seeking to communicate to his disciples the reality of his coming death and resurrection as God’s working out of God’s redemptive will.  The disciples will experience very real pain and sorrow at his death – but that sorrow will only be temporary, transformed into joy at his resurrection (16:20-22) and that new joy will be permanent.  Jesus came from God (16:25-28; 1:1-18) to reveal God to the entire created order (the world or cosmos – 3:16), and his resurrection and ascension to God will complete that redemptive work.  The disciples “will be scattered, each one to his own home” (vs. 32) as a result of Jesus’ betrayal, trial and crucifixion.  But it will not end there.  “In me you may have shalom (i.e., eirene or “peace”).  In the world you face persecution.  But take courage; I have conquered the world” (vs. 53). 

Jesus’ death and resurrection will bring to Jesus’ followers the gift of shalom. And that shalom will empower them, both as individuals and as a community, to stand up to any persecution thrown at them.  Jesus is already victorious over the powers of the Roman and Jewish systems, and over the economics, politics and spirituality of the “world” – and his death and subsequent resurrection will only substantiate that really (cf. 12:31, 14:30-31). 

John 19:31-42:

On Holy Saturday, what is called in the liturgical calendar “The Great Vigil,” the church awaits Jesus’ day of resurrection.

But we know what will happen!  They did not.  The disciples gathered together in a secret place (John 20:19-23) to await they knew not what!  Their leader had been executed.  They were in despair, wracked with grief and with profound disappointment.  But also, they did not know their own status with the authorities.  Were they also outlaws?  Were the Jewish and Roman systems seeking them to arrest them?  What should they do?  Where should they go?  So they gathered together, seeking the apparent safety and comfort of each other’s presence as they waited for that which they did not know they waited for! 

The scripture for this day is John 19:31-42 – the story of Jesus’ death and burial.  John tells us that his death “occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, none of his bones shall be broken.  And again another passage of scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced” (19:36-37).  The first reference comes from two Hebrew Bible passages –- Exodus 12:46 and Psalm 34:20.  The first passage is about the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for the sins of the people, stating, “You shall not take any of the animal outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones”.  Psalm 34:20 is about the Righteous One who receives the afflictions of the people; it concludes “He keeps all his bones; not one of them will be broken.”  Thus, John is likening Jesus to the Pascal Lamb who is sacrificed for the affliction of his people, and whose flesh is eaten as a sacrament or holy ordinance that brings healing to the people. 

The second scripture is quoted from Zechariah 12:10.  This passage is within the context of the victory of God’s people over the “shepherds” of Israel’s systems who are only concerned about “devouring the flesh of the (people)” in their lust for power and greed.  There will be one who will stand against these leaders of Judah, Zechariah declares, and these leaders will dispose of him.  When they do so, however, “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” will look upon the one “they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”  (Zech. 12:10b) 

What John does here, therefore, is to both interpret Jesus’ death as a sacrifice and liberation of humanity, an act of atonement (the pascal lamb).  And he places the motivators of the death as clearly the leaders of Israel’s systems and the Romans (who did the “piercing” – Jer. 19:34) who conspired together to rid the nation of the man whose death would become redemptive and liberating to the people oppressed by those systems. 

In other words, John is saying that the political, economic and religious systems of Judah and Rome, in ridding themselves of the man who was such a threat to them, set into motion a movement that would remain a “thorn in their side” until both structures had been overthrown and removed from the world.  They had set into motion the events that would ultimately destroy them when they sought to destroy Jesus! 

Finally, the text tells us that two prominent and wealthy figures – Joseph of Arimathea (who is introduced for the first time) and Nicodemus, the member of the Sanhedrin (who has appeared twice before in John) assume responsibility for Jesus’ burial.  The text tells us that Joseph is “a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Judeans (19:38) (and of course we already know this is true in the case of Nicodemus) assume this task hastily and quietly in order not to draw attention to what they are doing.  They bury Jesus quietly and then disappear from the pages of history, never to be heard of again.   

Joseph and Nicodemus are given credit for burying Jesus.  But they do not witness the resurrection!  And why not?  Because they are people who, although attracted to Jesus and his teachings, are primarily committed to conforming to the system’s expectations of them – submitting to the Judean’s power and influence, and unwillingly to publicly commit themselves to Christ.  Their status in society, their wealth and their power are of greater importance to them then their commitment to Christ and his kingdom.  They have chosen Caesar rather than God.  And so they are rejected from being a part of the power of Christ’s resurrection, and therefore, of Christ’s community. 

John 20:11-23:

Today our scripture is John 20:11-23.  But we can’t deal with this scripture without first examining the first ten verses of John 20.  So here goes. 

The initial resurrection story in John is one of unfolding awareness of what God has done in the resurrection of Jesus.  The stage is set with the opening line of the narrative:  “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark . . .” (20:1a).  That to which we will be exposed in the opening story of the resurrection (20:1-18) will be the movement from darkness through dawn to light, from resignation to awareness of what God is doing, from closed-minded doubt to firm belief as the Christian community becomes aware that Jesus is indeed risen from the dead. 

The story begins with Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb and discovering that it is empty.  She runs to the disciples with the message, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (20:2b).  The first step in the transformation of Jesus’ disciples is Mary’s assumption that Jesus’ body had been stolen.  That is the most logical conclusion for an empty tomb.  But who are the “they” who took the body?  The Jewish clerical aristocracy?  The Romans?  Grave robbers? 

Peter and “the other disciple” (likely the unidentified “disciple whom Jesus loved” of John) race to the tomb.  The other disciple wins the race, peers into the tomb but doesn’t enter.  He notes “the linen wrappings lying there” (20:5).  This is the second step from darkness to light.  If it had been grave robbers who had invaded the tomb, the linen wrappings wouldn’t be lying there.  Those wrappings, together with the myrrh and aloes in which the body had been wrapped, would be far more valuable than the body.  Grave robbers would have left the body and taken the spice-impregnated linen wrappings!  So, second, this disciple would have concluded that robbers had not invaded the tomb. 

The text then tells us that Peter arrives, rushes into the tomb itself, and notices not only “the linen wrappings lying there, (but also) the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself” (20:6b-7).  This, to both disciples, is extraordinary.  The linen cloths are lying there almost like a cocoon, while the face cloth is lying off by itself, neatly folded!  The face cloth was placed over the face of the deceased before he or she was wrapped, so that as the body was wrapped, the face cloth would be held in place by the surrounding wrappings of the body and around the head (like a turban).  If the Jewish rulers or Roman guards had removed the body, they would likely have taken it in the wrappings.  If they hadn’t, they would have torn the body out of its wrappings and torn off the face cloth, tossing it into the pile of linen wrappings (as the final article to come off the corpse).  They wouldn’t have taken the time to remove it, neatly fold it, and place it aside from the other cloths.  The text tells us that the two disciples “saw and believed” (20:8).  But it is careful to make clear that what they believed was not that Jesus had risen, because “as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (20:9).  What, then, did they believe?  What they believed was that Jesus’ body could not have been taken by the chief priests or leaders of Israel, nor by the Romans. 

So the first step from darkness to light is the conclusion that Jesus’ body was stolen.  The second step is the determination that it was not grave-robbers who took the body.  The third step is the realization that neither Israel’s religious leaders nor the Romans had taken the body.

But if none of the “usual suspects” could have taken Jesus’ body, where did his body go?  What happened at the tomb?  Mary, who obviously had returned to the tomb with the two disciples, remained behind as they “returned to their homes” (20:10).  Still curious and hoping for any clue that would unravel this mystery, she peeks into the tomb again – and is stunned by what she sees.  Inside the tomb are “two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying” (20:12).  They ask her why she is weeping.  Her reply is similar but not identical to her initial report to the disciples.  She says “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him” (20:13; cf. 20:2).  The difference is in one word.  In her first statement to the disciples, she called Jesus “the Lord”.  In this statement to the angels, she calls Jesus “my Lord.”  She is moving from the objective to the subjective, from a distant relationship to personal commitment, from doubt to faith.

She then turns and sees a man behind her.  Perhaps he took the body!  He asks her a question somewhat different from the angels: “Woman, why are you weeping?  Whom are you seeking?” (20:15)  This is the essential question throughout the Gospel of John – “Whom are you seeking?” 

She supposes this man to be the gardener, and says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away” (20:15).  Mary still cannot believe the unbelievable.  If neither the Judaean leadership nor the Romans nor grave robbers had taken Jesus’ body, perhaps the gardener had.  This is the fourth step. 

Now comes the fifth step.  “Jesus said to her, “Mary!”  She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni”!”  (20:16)   Jesus is alive!  Jesus has risen from the dead!  And Mary is overwhelmed with joy and exaltation (she even hugs him in verse 17).  The light has dawned! 

But the process is not yet complete.  There is a sixth step.  “Go to my brothers and tell them,” Jesus instructs her.  So Mary runs to the disciples to announce, “I have seen the Lord” (20:18)!  The spread of the good news that “He is risen!  He is risen indeed!” to the disciples is given to a woman, just as the spread of the gospel to the Samaritans is entrusted to a woman (John 4:29).  And resurrection life now pours into the Church! 

In John 20:19-23, the disciples finally embrace a risen Christ just as earlier has Mary Magdalene (20:11-18), before bringing to them the good news of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. 

John 20:19-23 tells of Jesus’ intentional encounter with the disciple band.  He suddenly appears in their midst with the words, “Shalom be with you”.  He then commands them to do two things.  First, “as the Father has sent me, so I send you” (vs. 21).  They are to go out into the world with the good news, for God has sent them.  Second, “if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (20:23).  The second responsibility of the Christian community is to forgive each other.  It is, more than anything else, the highest mark of the Christian community – far more than anything else.  We are to forgive each other’s sins and shortfalls.          

Acts 10:17-48:

Today’s scripture is Acts 10:17-48.  This is the conversion of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, the baptism of him and his family and their receiving of the Holy Spirit as sign and symbol of their ingrafting into Christ (vs. 47).  It is a landmark moment in the church, for it is the first truly Gentile people who are received by Christ (such reception being indicated by the granting of the gift of the Holy Spirit and by baptism).  So it is a classic moment.

One of the unique elements of the story is Peter’s use of the word “eirene” (“peace”).  He says, “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all. . . .  All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (10:36, 43). 

What is significant in this passage is that Peter makes this statement to a representative of the Roman Empire who is responsible for the extension of the Pax Romana to the known world!  Yet what Peter is saying is that God intends the harmony, shalom and well-being of the world to be a Pax Christi, not a Pax Romana!  True peace will come through embracing Christ and his kingdom, not Caesar and his kingdom.  And he is declaring this to a representative of Caesar’s kingdom responsible for extending the Pax Romana.  It is an intriguing twist!