St Charles’ Episcopal Church

April 20, 2008 ~ The 5^th Sunday of Easter ~ Year A

Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14

The Rev. Elizabeth G. Meade

 Words. Words stay with us for so long. I remember saying good-bye to our son Alec before he deployed to Iraq last month. I struggled with the words that would send him off knowing without question how much we love him, but also words that would help him be safe. Words to convey both love and instruction for his next fifteen months.

Mai Lam will always remember her mother’s last words to her. The day was April 28, 1975, two days before the fall of Saigon. Mai Lam’s parents had arranged passage on a US cargo plane bound for Guam to escape the incoming North Vietnamese army. As the shelling of the airport commenced, Mi Lam became separated from her family. Panicked, she remembered her mother’s last instructions:

            “Run. Follow that soldier……. Get over the wall.”

And so, Mai Lam ran, and made it to the plane and was safely airlifted to Guam with her sister as the North Vietnamese Army closed in. She never saw her parents again.

The words we remember longest are often words of instruction and love. We see a great example of both in today’s Gospel. To put the story in its proper perspective, it must be said that these were some of the last words our Lord spoke to His disciples – because they were spoken at the Last Supper. Jesus, knowing what was going to happen the very next day, offered them words of comfort and assurance; words to cling to in the coming days and weeks and years.

 “Do not let your hearts be troubled…Believe in God, believe also in me.

   I am the way, and the truth and the life…I will do whatever you ask in my name.”

The problem was, the disciples didn’t understand. They had no idea what Judas was about to do, and where that would lead. Hence, we see Thomas worrying about where Jesus is going, and Philip arguing semantics about the nature of God the Father. Fortunately, we have the perspective scripture affords us. We have the luxury of knowing that these are promises that Jesus will keep. Eternal Promises.

His words offer us comfort when we endure times of trial. They come to us when we are searching for goodness and mercy, and when we fear we have become separated form Him. Christ’s Words are our greatest resource. As we learn to walk in his ways, these words become so grafted inwardly in our hearts that they become a part of our spiritual DNA.

St. Stephen, whose story we heard today from the Book of Acts. knew the words of Christ to be beacons of hope and truth to a better way. If you remember, St Stephen, was one of the original seven deacons appointed to look after the daily distribution to the poor in the early church, (Acts 6:1-6), but because of his vociferous criticism of the Jews of the diaspora, he was savagely attacked and stoned. It was, by all accounts, a surprise attack. Stephen, though, in his time of trial, remembered Jesus’ teachings and promises.

                        “Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

                        I go to prepare a place for you. Do not let your heart be troubled.”

Stephen had so internalized these words – had so grafted them to himself – that he was able to forgive his attackers before he died, just as Jesus had done.

I hope my ancestors did the same. I may have told you about them. Three of my forbears were Presbyterian missionaries who came from Prince Edward Island, Canada. They were killed and then cannibalized on a small island in the Pacific called Erromango. I hope that, in the surprise attack that robbed them of their lives, they, too, remembered these last words of Jesus, and were able to forgive as they were dying. I do know that on the day that my Great Uncle James was killed, he was translating the very same passage that we read today. His blood is still smeared on that page of the story of St Stephen in our family Bible.

But the story doesn’t end there. Some 90 years after their deaths, I traveled to Erromango to see where three members of my family had lived and worked at the end of the 19^th century. It was the trip of a lifetime for me. The current tribal members, now Christians, still feel enormous guilt over what happened.

One day they took us to see the graves of my forebears. As we stood there, some what awkwardly, and I thought about the faith and love of Christ that brought my forbears to that place, the tribal chief looked at me sadly and said, “Missy – we so sorry we done this.”             And I didn’t know how to respond.

But Christ’s words, grafted inwardly in me, came up, and I said:

            “Mi papa, blong heven, hallowed be dy nem.”

(Which is the first line of the Lord’s Prayer in their language.)

And at that moment in time, 30 or so indigenous men, women, and children, most with tears in their eyes, joined Gary and me in that prayer our Lord Jesus Christ taught to each of us. In that moment, the kingdom of heaven was at hand.

These words, borne out of love, are destined to heal the world of its divisions. They are our legacy – our inheritance. They bind us to one another – whether it be to indigenous people in Vanuatu, or persecuted Christians in the Sudan, or to friends with Alzheimer’s who no longer know our names, the Words of Christ Jesus have the power to realize the kingdom of heaven right here, right now – today in 21^st century America.

The promises that Jesus made are the promises that can and do change the world. And bound by His words, we can and will change the world. These words can and will create global partnerships for development, they can and will eradicate extreme poverty, and they can and will end wars and bring peace to the earth.

As Christians, we are not promised a life without suffering. Jesus never said we would escape without bruises, but He did promise us he has gone to prepare a place for us. He did promise that whatever we ask in His name will be given to us. With these words so grafted in our hearts, nothing can rob us of the hope and safety we have in him. They remind us what to do if we become separated from Him. They remind us how to respond when life’s caves of life crash over us and knock us down.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled…I am the way, the truth, and the life.

I will come again and take you to myself... Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me…..Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. If in my name, you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

Promises for then, for now, and for eternity, in Jesus’ name. Amen.