Tag: Easter 4B

We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.

Wind in the Chimes: About selfless love

1 John 3:16

On the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B, all the readings lead us to see Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The qualities of the Good Shepherd were learned, taught, and lived by his disciples to all who would listen and receive the love of God in Jesus Christ. This Sunday the quality of living and acting from a selfless love is highlighted in 1 John 3:16-24

Ronald Cole-Turner opens up the words of 1 John 3:16:

Love is known in action. How do we know God’s love? It is through God’s action in sending Jesus Christ into the world, and through Christ’s action of laying down his life for us. The actions of God show us what God is like.

The same test applies to our love. How do others know what is in our heart? It is by our actions. Just as God’s love is known to us through the visible action of Christ, so our love is known to others through concrete actions that mirror Christ’s own. Christ lays down his life, and we are to lay down our lives. […]

For Christians, self-sacrifice should be ordinary, not extraordinary. We ought to lay down our lives, John writes, not intending to give a grand challenge for heroic Christian but an everyday commandment for ordinary Christians. The Christian life is a life laid down for others, a life built on self-sacrifice.

Sometimes self-sacrifice can mean physical death. […] More often, the stakes are lower. But the principle is the same. Laying down our lives, at its core, can mean any number of ways in which we lay aside our claim to own our lives. We lay down our lives when we put others first. We lay down our lives when we live for the good of others. We lay down our lives when we make time for others. To love others is to lay down our life for them. When we lay down the completely normal human desire to live for ourselves, and when instead we allow the love of God to reorient us toward the needs of others, we are laying down our lives.

Ronald Cole-Turner is the H. Parker Sharp Chair of Theology and Ethics, at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. More.

More

  • A prayer used by Episcopalians: Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom, patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the suffering, the friendless, and the needy—for the love of him who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. [Book of Common Prayer p. 260 (A Collect for Social Service)]
  • A prayer suggested for caregivers from the Pocket Prayers Series: Give to my eyes light to see those in need. / Give to my heart compassion and understanding. / Give to my mind knowledge and wisdom. / Give to my hands skill and tenderness. / Give to my ears the ability to listen. / Give to me Lord strength for this selfless service and enable me to bring joy to the lives of those I serve. [Author unknown quoted in Trevor Lloyd, Pocket Prayers for Healing (Pocket Prayers Series). Church House Publishing. Kindle Edition.]
  • See also Philippians 2:5-11

About Wind in the Chimes

Wind in the Chimes (renaming and reintroduction of Wind Chimes, 7/21/20)

Wind Chimes: September 25 2012 (an introduction)

By what name did you do this?

Wind in the Chimes: About healing and our centuries-long trust in the Lord.

After healing a man lame from birth Peter begins to tell the story of Jesus and the healing power of Jesus. He is arrested and then questioned about the power or name that was used to heal the man. (Acts 3-4)

Peter makes a declaration to the authorities questioning him: “…if we are being questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are being asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you … that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth … There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:9-12

We continue to trust the words of Peter as recorded in Acts. We continue to trust the healing power of Jesus. This is how we believe (trust), this is how we pray:

The Almighty Lord, who is a strong tower to all who put their trust in him, to whom all things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth bow and obey: Be now and evermore your defense, and make you know and feel that the only Name under heaven given for health and salvation is the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer pp. 456-457 (Ministration to the Sick)

More

  • See also Philippians 2:5-11
  • A prayer for trust by one who is ill: O God, the source of all health: So fill my heart with faith in your love, that with calm expectancy I may make room for your power to possess me, and gracefully accept your healing; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [Book of Common Prayer p. 461 (Trust in God)]
  • Healing must never be seen as an end in itself. Scripture teaches us that Jesus’ healings were a sign of the reign of God come near, of God’s marvelous power and presence among us. Healing is not merely the alleviation of affliction, but testimony to the wholeness and salvation God intends for us. [Enriching Our Worship 2, p. 16 (This is a book of supplemental liturgical materials used in The Episcopal Church.)]

About Wind in the Chimes

Wind in the Chimes (renaming and reintroduction of Wind Chimes, 7/21/20)

Wind Chimes: September 25 2012 (an introduction)

I shall not want

“…I shall not want.” In what ways is this true for you?

Welcome!

On Wednesday, April 17, 2024, we explored Psalm 23 for the voice of the Spirit. Our handout included commentaries on the other appointed texts from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4:5-12), the First Letter of John (1 John 3:16-24), and the Gospel according to John (John 10:11-18).

Here is yet another brief look at Psalm 23. The first verse of the Psalm invites us to trust deeply.

From a commentary on Psalm 23

The psalm has been composed as the exposition of its opening line. The line makes a positive and a negative statement. The positive statement relates the LORD and the psalmist through the metaphor “shepherd.” That metaphorical statement, broadly enough understood, controls the imagery of the whole. The negative statement is a self-description of the psalmist. It uses the word “lack” (NRSV, “want”) in an absolute sense; the transitive verb is given no object. The psalmist lists what he does not lack in the rest of the psalm. […]

To say “The LORD is my shepherd” invokes all the richness of this theological and political background as well as the pastoral. The metaphor is not restricted to associations with what actual shepherds did; it is informed by what the LORD has done and what kings were supposed to do. One does not have to shift to images of guide and host to account for the whole poem. “Shepherd” understood against its usage in Israel accounts for the whole. The statement is a confession. It declares commitment and trust. It also has a polemical thrust against human rulers and divine powers. The psalm entrusts the support, guidance, and protection of life only and alone to the one whose name is the LORD.

The body of the psalm completes the sentence, “I do not lack.…” It does not leave those who say it to fill it out with what they want out of their own subjective wills. It has its own agenda of what the LORD does to fulfill one’s needs. The very personal syntax of the opening confession is maintained in the recitation of “what the LORD (he/you) does for me.” The items in the recitation can be read and understood in relation to three areas. First, what the LORD does draws on what is prayed for in the prayers for help. Second, it reflects the song of thanksgiving with its report of salvation and accompanying festivities, except here the account tells what the LORD does, not what the LORD has done in the past. Third, the recitation is at points connected with the language of Israel’s testimony to its salvation in the exodus.

Excerpted from, James Luther Mays, Psalms, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 117–118.

divider line

Most Wednesday mornings a group of us gather online to explore the readings that will be used in worship the following Sunday. Our handout features readings, commentaries, and notes for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 21, 2024) in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Please: View or download the handout we used to guide our discussion and tune our hearts to the Spirit.

View the Revised Common Lectionary readings appointed for Sunday, April 21, 2024, on the Revised Common Lectionary site curated by the Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

Please come back to this site throughout the week in order to keep learning.

divider line

Be well. Do good. Pay attention. Keep learning.

Image: ChurchArt Pro