A Dangerous Message: 10 May, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Filled with the Spirit, the apostles went out into the world to preach the good news. They were not welcomed, for the most part; they were hauled into court, questioned by the authorities, told to cease and desist, tried again before the Sanhedrin, and even put to death. Their paths were filled with obstacle after obstacle—yet more and more people came to believe in the Risen Christ: old and young, rich and poor, married and widowed, male and female, Jews who spoke different languages. . .

One of them—Stephen—almost immediately began to preach the gospel openly and compellingly, and was stoned to death for it.

Even though they saw the deaths of those who spoke God’s word, still the community of believers grew in number, spreading from town to town, even to gentiles in far-off lands.

But how to ensure that the message didn’t get warped in the telling?

Some of the apostles—even the former persecutor Paul, the latecomer— wrote letters to the communities. . . . The communities treasured those letters as guidance and inspiration, to the point where they became part of the Scriptures. Peter, the first of the Twelve, wrote to the communities in Asia Minor, reminding them of the message of Jesus and calling them to live as a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9). Those early letters by those who had known Jesus firsthand, who had witnessed his death and resurrection, speak to us across the centuries today and all over the inhabited world. . . They remind us how believers are to live, and what we are to avoid. They promise that our lives will be filled with suffering and injustice. They offer hope in dark times, encouragement in chaos, and—always—the firm promise of salvation for those who are faithful to the gospel. –– M.D. Ridge

John 14:1-14

These words of Christ, spoken during his last discourse to the disciples prior to his arrest and crucifixion, express the complexity of the relationship between Christ and the Christian, and elucidate the attributes of one chosen to be Christ’s follower. The Gospel of John is an apt carrier for the dynamic of the relationship between the chosen and the chooser. This relationship is not valued through conceptual understanding but through the “inner-standing” of experience as a believer. –– Mary Elizabeth Kenel

Acts 7:55-60

At the end, Stephen forgives the mob that is stoning him. We cannot fathom this presence of heart unless we have been able to look at the mob and see that they cannot stand to hear Stephen’s vision. When Stephen says he sees heaven open and the Son-of-Man standing beside God, the people grasping stones cover their ears. They cannot hear what Stephen sees. They cannot let the vision into their consciousness. If they did, they would have to be transformed and stop listening to their leader, Saul, who breathes fire against those who listened to Jesus of Nazareth.

This is an old story but it is also our story. Jesus even told his followers, “Let those who have ears, hear!” Our challenge is to find a way to help the mob drop their stones on the ground and listen to the voice of ultimate love and forgiveness. –– Melinda Quivik

1 Peter 2:2-10

When rocks are brought from a quarry and placed in a random pile, they have no significance, but once a cornerstone is erected, the previously insignificant rocks take on a new identity in relation to that cornerstone, and an entire building is erected. So too the Christian, who before becoming a member of the faith community was merely one of the mass of humanity who struggles on the earth, is transformed into a person set apart, after confessing faith in Jesus Christ. But the posture of being set apart has nothing to do with the establishment of an elite subculture; rather its purpose is to further the work of mercy for humanity through Christ (v 10).

–– M.D. Ridge

Mary Elizabeth Kenel is a writer and clinical psychologist with a practice in Washington, D.C.

Melinda A. Quivik, an ELCA pastor and former professor of liturgy and homiletics, is the Editor-in-Chief of Liturgy and a former president of the North American Academy of Liturgy. Her most recent book is Remembering God’s Promises: A Funeral Planning Handbook (Augsburg Fortress, 2018).

M.D. Ridge (1938-2017) was a composer of liturgical music, a pastoral musician, journalist, writer, and editor who served parishes in the dioceses of Arlington, San Diego, and Richmond, Virginia.

Homily Service 38, no. 5 (2005): 29-38