A Triple  ”C”

Introduction

We are familiar with the concept of the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  God in three persons, the Holy Trinity.

I could say (tongue in cheek) that I am sure you will remember my reflection last year where I addressed the nature and composition of the Holy Trinity.  (In case you missed it, or have forgotten, you will find it on the church’s website under the title “Can 1 equal 3?” and date of 30 May 2021.)

Well, today, I want to take up the triple concept again as we explore a triple “C”:

1:        A Holy Call (Acts 16: 9 – 15)

2:        A Holy Coming (John 14: 23 – 29)

3:        A Holy City (Revelation 21: 9 – 11, 22 – 27; 22: 1 - 5)

My approach will be for Sue to read three readings, which will be separated by a brief reflection on each.

 

Reflection 1

Reading: A Holy Call: Acts 16: 9 – 15

Paul was an interesting fellow, for more ways than we sometimes think.  This reading reinforces the fact that Paul knew that he was called by God to preach the Gospel and he depended upon God to open and close doors of opportunity for him.

(Here at Carlingford, as I described last Sunday, your Church Council believes God is calling us to enter into an evangelistic ministry, under a Church Planter Minister of the Word, to the high and medium rise apartment blocks in the area surrounding this church – we believe a door of opportunity has been opened on our doorstep, and God is calling us to minister in them.)

(But I digress.)  Let’s return to Paul.  Immediately prior to our reading, Paul felt “forbidden” to go into Asia.  But following further prayer, and a vision of a man calling him to go to Macedonia, Paul concluded that God was opening a door for him to travel into Europe.

So he went to Macedonia and spent some time there looking for opportunities to preach the Gospel.  Following his normal practice, on the Sabbath, he joined the local congregation.  Where did he find the worshippers?  Down by the riverside!  Not in the synagogue, probably because there were insufficient male believers to enable a synagogue to be established – I have read that ten male members were needed to establish a synagogue.  (And, remember, Macedonia was in Greece and not part of the Jewish world at this time.)

And what did he find on the riverside?  Just a few women!  (He could almost have been here at Carlingford!)

One of those attending, the only one named, was Lydia.  We are told she was already a “worshipper of God” and just needed to hear the word proclaimed so that she could be saved.  The Scripture tells us that when Paul preached, God “opened her heart” to pay attention.  As a consequence, she responded, was baptised and her household as well.

Lydia was a businesswomen, a dealer in purple cloth.  The production process meant that purple cloth was very expensive and Lydia had become wealthy from her sales.  She felt a holy call to serve God in all aspects of her life, including her finances.  And partly because of that, God’s word spread in the region of Macedonia.  From this beginning, the church at Philippi grew into one of the strongest and most generous of all Paul’s churches.

Lydia responded to God’s call and was spiritually enlivened.  Her thriving leads to ministry, and like so many women since, her wealth generously provides for the outflow of love in action in the name of Christ.

Hopefully, you will see the parallels with the future here at Carlingford where we plan to open this church to the Church Planter Minister of the Word to start a new congregation and Christian community.

God called a man (Paul) and a woman (Lydia) in this reading and many were blessed because they both obeyed their holy call.

Are we sensitive enough to hear God’s holy “no” as well as his holy “go”?  The thing God is looking for is our action and obedience to what we perceive as His will.

Reflection 2

Reading: A Holy Coming: John 14: 23 – 29

This reading comes from the last evening Jesus spends with his disciples before his death.  In this time together, Jesus tries to show the disciples two elements of reality that are difficult to hold together: he is going away, yet he will not leave them alone or orphaned.

This discourse emanates from a question brought by Judas (not Iscariot) in the verse immediately prior to our reading: “How is it that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?”  Jesus’ response makes it clear that while the world will not see him any longer, it will see his followers.  So, as the disciples keep loving him, the world will see his disciples and other followers keeping his word.  And that principle has applied through the centuries, even to today.  We are part of that cohort of disciples, followers of Jesus.

In other words, they will keep his commandments including loving one another.  They will be living in a community characterised by mutual regard, love and service.  Love for Jesus is simply love in action.

To live in this manner, the disciples will need the constant presence of God in their midst.  Jesus offers that presence in a number of ways, but specifically through his announcement of the coming of the Spirit among the believers.  It is the Holy Spirit that is the manifestation of God in our world today and walks with us pending the second coming of Christ.

It is the Holy Spirit that accompanies the church today as it remembers.  It guides the disciples and the church as we think back over what we have experienced of Jesus, and as we seek to let our love for him be seen as we relate to others.  It helps us to understand Jesus and love him.  And Jesus gives his own peace to those he is about to leave.  Throughout the events of his arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus embodies the peace he offers here.  The peace that Jesus offers is not the absence of trouble, but a certainty that whatever happens, God is with us.

Yes, Jesus will die and be resurrected and then ascend into heaven but he will never be gone from his followers.  God is Spirit and when we have the Spirit, we have God with us.  That is God in the person of the Holy Spirit teaching us and being our moral compass, reminding us of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

Verse 28, “…I am going to the Father” provides a segway to our third reading, from Revelation, which we will come to shortly.

Reflection 3

Reading: A Holy City: Rev 21: 9 – 11, 22 – 27; 22: 1 – 5

When you drive down the Great Western Highway from Katoomba after dark on a fine night, you reach a point where the road dips away quickly and you are greeted by a wonderful view of Sydney at night, silent and brooding under a canopy of light.  This reading gives us a glimpse of what heaven, or the New Jerusalem, might be like.

Here we have an insight into what eternal life might be like.  Let me say immediately that I do not believe eternal life is something that is evaluated only starts at the time of our death – manifested in the stories of fronting Jesus for judgement.  No, I believe eternal life commences when we become a Christian.  So, we can be in the early stanzas of eternal life right here, right now.

(But, I digress.)

Our reading records John’s vision written on the island of Patmos (an island off the coast of Turkey where Sue and I have been privileged to inspect the cave believed to be where John resided during his exile).

In his vision, and I stress this is John’s vision, John describes the New Jerusalem as a place that:

• has no temple or church building which is strange because the temple was usually not only one of the first buildings erected but was central to the city architecture and cultural fabric.
• Has no tears or mourning, only endless joy.
• Has no sun or moon to shine on it because its light is Christ himself who emanates an inner glow.
• People of all nationalities walk in harmony and everyone trusts everyone.
• Has a river. Cast your mind back a few minutes and see the parallel of the place where Jesus met Lydia.  The riverside is the perfect place to feel refreshed and have your needs met by the water of life and the Tree of Life.
• Has no sin or evil meaning we can eat freely from the Tree of Life. Remember, Adam and Eve were driven from the garden after they sinned by eating from the Tree of Life.

I guess this is another version of the circle of life.  (Many of us will be familiar with the musical “The Lion King” and the song “Circle of Life”.)  Life began in a garden and here it reaches its conclusion in another garden.  Paradise lost is now Paradise regained.

Conclusion

How do I link these three vignettes?  Let me suggest that when they are joined together, they provide a timeline or a summary of the life of a Christian. 

I started with a holy call, then moved onto life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit promised to us after Jesus’ resurrection, a holy coming, and finished with the promise, upon our death, of entering the New Jerusalem, the holy city.

Central to this summary is the fact that we have peace because Christ’s sacrifice for the world’s sin fully satisfies the justice of God.  We stand before God fully pardoned.  The rebellion of Adam has been reversed and the original relationship of perfection, peace and fellowship has been restored through the righteousness of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Amen