Easter 6A
Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:7-18
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21
We live in the meantime. You know, the time between. Christ is risen…Christ will come again. That meantime; after the resurrection but before the coming again.
Jesus was preparing his disciples for life in the meantime. Just as the Gospel of John is written for a church finding out how to live in the meantime. Even before the death of Jesus, he was letting his followers know that he would be going, but they would not be left alone. “I will not leave you orphaned.”
I wonder what the disciples were thinking at this point. They had been with Jesus for three years already, giving up jobs and leaving families behind. Now, after three years of following Jesus throughout the countryside, he says, get ready for my departure.
Wait a minute! We just got started! We are starting to understand you and know you through this at us?
We have listened to you, watched you speak to others. We have seen you heal diseases, cast out evil spirits, and even return the dead to life! And know you say you are leaving? What are we supposed to do?
The anxiety level is pretty high at this point. For we have come to depend on Jesus presence. He listens to us and answers our questions. (Although we don’t always understand the answers either!) He challenges our assumptions and makes us see the world in a new way. He has shown us courage in the face of danger. He even questions authority!!
You can’t go now, Jesus. What will we do without you? We don’t have your courage or your faith…
If we can’t see you, how can we go on?
Anxiety, fear, despair? Confusion? What is this, Jesus?
But again, Jesus speaks directly to the heart. He addresses the deepest concerns. Listen…he is talking to us!
“Do not let your hearts be troubled…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. Besides, I am sending another Advocate to you. A helper to be on your side and to be with you forever.”
You won’t be left alone. I will not abandon you. In the meantime, I will still be with you, my spirit, the Spirit of God will abide with you and in you. You will not be orphaned.
Amanda knows what it means to be orphaned. When she was 5, her father left the family. She has vague memories of a tall man who gave her hugs and liked to tickle her. But she also remembers hiding under the bed to escape the anger.
One day he was gone and he never returned. She would check the mailbox everyday, waiting for a letter. IN elementary school she would lie about him. He’s working overseas, she’d say. He’ll be back soon. Later, Amanda would lie awake at night and imagine her father showing up to take her to a better world.
But he never came back.
And then, when Amanda was in high school, her mother was diagnosed with cancer, after a year’s struggle, she died. Amanda was angry. Angry at the doctors, angry at her father, angry at her mother, angry at the world, angry at God.
She was also alone.
Her older brother was already away, in the army. Her little sister had gone to live with her
grandparents in
Amanda was an orphan. No father or mother. The only people she knew who didn’t have any parents were older, much older. And Amanda was still so young. For a while she lived with a neighbor while the state found a foster home for her.
Amanda had to leave her school and her house. She had to leave her room and her bed and her desk. She did take all the pictures she could find. Yellowed wedding photos of a nervous looking young couple. Pictures of them looking more relaxed, holding the babies. A picture of her and her mother taken just last year, her mother looking so thin and pale…
Amanda was a very angry young woman. She managed to get through school and make some new friends. But inside she was lonely and hurting. It seemed like no one cared. Her brother phoned once a month. Her little sister seemed to be doing well with the grandparents.
Amanda graduated and moved into a cheap apartment. Her foster family had been okay. They even had a party for her graduation. But then she aged out of the system and had to move. Amanda got a day job at Target, and started community college.
To ward off loneliness, Amanda married the first guy who asked. But in a few years, he grew restless and left, just like her dad, Amanda thought.
Now Amanda was alone again. And cold and tired and angry still. For life had not been fair to her. And she was tired of being on her own.
It is an uncomfortable feeling. The feeling of abandonment. It is bad enough to be orphaned. Many of you are orphans, your parents having died. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it hurts. It is lonely. It is hard knowing you can no longer call on Mom or Dad when you need help or sympathy or advice. No matter you age.
One day at work, Amanda had her break with an older woman who ran the register. Ethel was retired, working part time to get out of the house and have a little extra money. Ethel also lived alone, her husband had passed away three years ago.
Ethel had always been friendly to Amanda. She never pried but always said “Hello” and “How are you doing.”
On this particular day, Amanda was not so good. It was the anniversary of her mother’s death. And when Ethel came and sat beside her and asked “How are you today?” Amanda started to cry. And before she could stop herself, she told Ethel her story. About her father leaving, about her mother’s death, about her own divorce.
That night, at Ethel’s house, after the best meal Amanda had eaten in ages, Amanda admitted to being angry, and lonely, and scared.
Ethel just listened. Ever now and then she would lean over and hold Amanda’s hand.
And when Amanda was done, Ethel talked about her own loss, her own struggles with anger and loneliness.
After that, every Sunday night Ethel and Amanda would eat together. Sometimes they would play scrabble , or watch TV or just talk.
Ethel sometimes talked about her church. And the faith that saw her through each day.
Ethel talked about the God that was always with her, even in her darkest hours.
Amanda would think about such a God during the week. In her own life, her Father had left her. But here is Ethel talking about a Father who would never leave.
Amanda wanted this kind of a parent. She wanted to know more about a God that would never leave her orphaned or abandoned. She wanted to know more about a God that was always close.
So one Sunday Ethel brought her to church. And a few months later, Ethel was Amanda’s baptismal sponsor.
Amanda doesn’t feel lonely anymore. Not really lonely. Amanda now knows that God is always there. A loving parent that will never leave. Just knowing this, the nights are not so long and even the hard times are not so hard.
Ethel has given this gift to Amanda. The gift of caring and listening, the gift of love and faith. The gift of a whole church community that has taken Amanda in and loved her back to wholeness.
Next week, on Mother’s day, Amanda is giving Ethel a card and flowers. For now she knows love. Ethel’s, yes. The love of a church, yes. The love of God, Certainly.
Amanda knows now that God has really been with her all along. She has never been alone, even when it felt that way. God had always been there. And that helps. Amanda feels stronger and more secure. She can go home to an empty apartment without dread, for the Lord is with her.
We have this faith. For we know the Lord is with us, the Spirit, the Advocate is at our side. In God we live and move and have our being.
There are many Amanda’s in the world. Each on with a different story to tell. Maybe not orphaned in a family sense, but disconnected. The sense of community we used to have is changing. Neighbors no longer know their neighbors. People come and go. Grandparents and grandchildren live hundreds of miles apart. People are becoming more and more disconnected from the world around them. Partly due to fear, anxiety and the stresses of work and home.
There is good news for the world. There is a God who stands in our midst and says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. I have not left you orphaned.” I give you my spirit. I give you the church, I give you my love.
The disciples went out into a crazy, anxious world after Easter. The Spirit of God went with them. They lived and moved and had their very being in God.
We are called to go out into a crazy, anxious world. And the Spirit of God goes with us. For in God we live and move and have our being.
In this meantime, we are not alone; we have not been orphaned or abandoned. We can live courageous justice filled love sharing lives; befriending the lonely and the lost, mothering the orphans, listening to the anger burn itself out in the presence of love.
We are letting people know that even if we cannot see Jesus’ face we can still feel his presence.
“I will not leave you orphaned.” Jesus says to his disciples. “I will not leave you orphaned.” Jesus says to Amanda and to Ethel. “I will not leave you orphaned.” Jesus says to you and me.
I will not leave you…
This is our Easter message.
For Christ is here in our midst, even as Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia.