Sixth Sunday of Easter – A
Revised Common Lectionary
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
Book of Common Prayer Lectionary
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 148
1 Peter 3:8-18
John 15:1-8
Reflection and Response
Prayer Starter
Today’s readings encourage us to remain steadfast in our witness to the good news. Paul tells the Athenian philosophers about the resurrection. 1 Peter urges us to present our faith and hope in Christ, no matter the circumstances. In John 14 (RCL), Jesus assures his followers that he will always be with them, loving and empowering them. In John 15 (BCP), Jesus stresses that only if his disciples abide in him will they experience a rich and fruitful Christian life.
First Reading: Acts 17:22-31
Rather than drawing upon the fulfillment of Old Testament texts about the Messiah, Paul presents to learned Greeks the one God as Creator. The Creator of the world is not dependent upon human shrines or offerings. Humans “search for God” (v. 27), who is indeed “not far from each one of us” (v. 27). Paul supports this point by alluding to Greek literature. Paul then advances an argument against popular polytheism. In the last two verses, his listeners are called to repent before judgment by “a man” (v. 31) whose authority was validated by resurrection.
Acts 17:22-31
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said,
“Athenians, I see how extremely religious
you are in every way.
For as I went through the city
and looked carefully at the objects of your worship,
I found among them
an altar with the inscription,
‘To an unknown god.’
What therefore you worship as unknown,
this I proclaim to you.
The God who made the world
and everything in it,
he who is Lord of heaven and earth,
does not live in shrines made by human hands,
nor is he served by human hands,
as though he needed anything,
since he himself gives to all mortals
life and breath and all things.
From one ancestor he made all nations
to inhabit the whole earth,
and he allotted the times of their existence
and the boundaries of the places where they would live,
so that they would search for God
and perhaps grope for him and find him—
though indeed he is not far from each one of us.
For ‘In him we live
and move
and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
For we too are his offspring.’
Since we are God’s offspring,
we ought not to think
that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone,
an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.
While God has overlooked
the times of human ignorance,
now he commands all people everywhere
to repent,
because he has fixed a day
on which he will have the world
judged in righteousness
by a man whom he has appointed,
and of this he has given assurance to all
by raising him from the dead.”
Psalm: Psalm 66:7-18 (RCL)
This psalm of praise and thanksgiving is divided into several parts. Verses 5-12 give thanks for the deliverance of people through God’s saving power. In verses 13-20, one who has experienced rescue helps others understand what God has done.
Psalm 66:7-18
Bless our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows,
those that my lips uttered
and my mouth promised
when I was in trouble.
I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me.
Psalm: Psalm 148 (BCP)
Psalm 148 summons all creation to praise God. First from the heavens—by angels, sun, moon, stars and celestial waters—and then from the earth—by sea monsters, seas, weather, rocks, trees, animals and people—the praises of God resound.
Psalm 148
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the LORD!
Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:8-22
Today’s reading explains how Christians should relate to those outside the community. Peter recognizes that those who follow Christ often encounter painful trials, just as Christ did. The Christian’s call in Christ is both the reason and the source of strength to answer evil with good.
Christians are to give an explanation, possibly before formal tribunals but more likely in day-to-day interactions with hostile neighbors, for the hope that characterizes their attitude both in the present and toward the future. The Christian attitude is grounded in Christ’s example.
1 Peter 3:8-22
Finally, all of you,
have unity of spirit, sympathy,
love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse;
but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.
It is for this that you were called—
that you might inherit a blessing.
For Those who desire life
and desire to see good days,
let them keep their tongues from evil
and their lips from speaking deceit;
let them turn away from evil and do good;
let them seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Now who will harm you
if you are eager to do what is good?
But even if you do suffer for doing what is right,
you are blessed.
Do not fear what they fear,
and do not be intimidated,
but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.
Always be ready to make your defense
to anyone who demands from you
an accounting for the hope that is in you;
yet do it with gentleness and reverence.
Keep your conscience clear,
so that, when you are maligned,
those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ
may be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good,
if suffering should be God’s will,
than to suffer for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
in order to bring you to God.
He was put to death in the flesh,
but made alive in the spirit,
in which also he went
and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,
who in former times did not obey,
when God waited patiently in the days of Noah,
during the building of the ark,
in which a few,
that is, eight persons,
were saved through water.
And baptism,
which this prefigured, now saves you—
not as a removal of dirt from the body,
but as an appeal to God for a good conscience,
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
who has gone into heaven
and is at the right hand of God,
with angels, authorities, and powers
made subject to him.
Gospel: John 14:15-21 (RCL)
Today’s reading contains Jesus’ repeated assurances that his death will not leave his disciples “orphaned.” Jesus promises an indwelling presence to those who keep his commandments.
That presence is described in three ways. First, the Father will send “another Advocate” (v. 15), who will remain with believers. The word “Advocate” (Greek, paracletos) may also be translated Counselor or Helper. Second, Jesus himself will come, visibly after the resurrection, invisibly in the Christian community and finally at the second coming. Third, Jesus and the Father are in union and they will dwell with those who love Jesus and obey him (v. 23).
John does not particularly distinguish among these three kinds of presence. As these verses show, the presence of Jesus after his return to the Father is accomplished in and through the Advocate.
John 14:15-21
Jesus said to the disciples:
“If you love me,
you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate,
to be with you forever.
This is the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him,
because he abides with you,
and he will be in you.
“I will not leave you orphaned;
I am coming to you.
In a little while
the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me;
because I live,
you also will live.
On that day you will know
that I am in my Father,
and you in me,
and I in you.
They who have my commandments
and keep them are those who love me;
and those who love me
will be loved by my Father,
and I will love them
and reveal myself to them.”
Gospel: John 15:1-8 (BCP)
This is the last of the great “I am” discourses. In the Old Testament, the absolute statement “I am” is used as a formula of God’s self-revelation (see, for example, Exodus 3:14, Deuteronomy 32:39 and Isaiah 43:10-11). In John, Jesus uses it of himself in a similar way (4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 58; 13:19; 18:5-6). From this usage John develops the discourses using a predicate “I am” statement to set forth Jesus in his relationship to humankind.
Jesus is “the true vine” (v. 1) who fulfills the call that Israel failed. The Father is the vinedresser who “prunes” (v. 2) the branches. For John, Christian life is an active and committed life. Those who are unproductive are “thrown away” (v. 6). Those who do abide through prayer bear fruit and show themselves as Jesus’ disciples.
John 15:1-8
Jesus said to the disciples:
“I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinegrower.
He removes every branch in me
that bears no fruit.
Every branch that bears fruit
he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
You have already been cleansed
by the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me
as I abide in you.
Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Those who abide in me
and I in them bear much fruit,
because apart from me you can do nothing.
Whoever does not abide in me
is thrown away like a branch
and withers;
such branches are gathered,
thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me,
and my words abide in you,
ask for whatever you wish,
and it will be done for you.
My Father is glorified by this,
that you bear much fruit
and become my disciples.
Reflection and Response
“Since we are God’s offspring,” says St. Paul, “we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone...” (Acts 17:29a). He speaks to people who worship an unknown god in a marble shrine. When Paul questions their religious assumptions, they might logically ask, “Then what is the deity like?”
Sometimes we seem as ignorant of the nature of God as the Athenians. We may think of God as wearing a stony face, dispensing rigid justice. To us, God may be the stern parent who takes a perverse joy in punishing us. Pleasing such a God makes virtue a grim duty and faith a joyless drudgery. Today’s gospel corrects those punitive images of God.
Jesus’ parable of the vine in John 15 reveals a God who is pliant, supple and fruitful. God does not stand poised to pounce on every misstep, but responds generously to our needs, encouraging us to risk and create. Jesus’ promise of “another Advocate” in John 14 reveals a God intimately involved in daily hopes and challenges, one who understands our struggles and wants to comfort, strengthen and guide us. Can we believe that God does not delight in our loneliness or paralysis, but wants us to be joyous, creative and free?
Perhaps that is what Paul was trying to tell the Athenians. Our God is found not in lifeless silver and gold; God is beyond the “art and imagination of mortals” (v. 29). In God we “have our being” (v. 28). How do we respond? Abraham Heschel answers in the tone of the psalmist: “The way to prayer leads through acts of wonder and radical amazement. Aflame with inability to say what God’s presence means, we can only sing, we can only utter words of adoration.”
Quietly consider:
Advocate, Vine, Helper, Source...you are in me and with me...
Prayer Starter
Lord Jesus, I commit myself to knowing and abiding in you more completely each day...
