Abundant Life

We’ve had 2 wonderful readings today and both of them have so much guidance and help to offer us and I just want to think of 3 things, 2 from the reading from Acts (2:42-47) and then one from the gospel according to John (10:1-10). 

The reading from Acts gives us a description of the early church. We’re told how the followers of Jesus devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers. We were told how they lived together sharing everything. We are also told that they had the ‘goodwill of all the people’ and that, ‘day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.’  

When I was thinking about what to say today, two things came up from this reading for me. The first is the fellowship that the followers of Jesus enjoyed together. Now I’m pretty sure they would have had a few quarrels too because that’s often what happens when people are together a lot, but they were bound together as a family, doing things together, supporting one another, sharing things with one another, caring for each other and praying together. 

It is a wonderful model of fellowship and at the moment we’re doing things a little differently ! We can’t gather together in the same way but we try and keep in touch with people. We try and care for each other, support one another and importantly, pray for one another. 

And one of the things that this current situation has taught us is how precious people are – how important it is to see friends and loved ones, not just over computer screens, amazing and helpful though that is, but face to face, and I hope that when this is over, as it will be, this will be something we’ve learnt and won’t forget and we will want to spend time together, in worship, in praise and prayer, in studying the bible, in social events… 

The second thought I had from this was from the last verse of that reading from Acts where we’re told they had the ‘goodwill of all the people’ and that, ‘day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.’  

To have enjoyed the goodwill of people meant they were doing good things. They were known for being good, kind, caring, thoughtful, supportive, loving and because they were known for those things, the Lord added to their number – people just kept coming because they wanted to know more about this Saviour, Jesus, who had changed their lives so much.

This is what the church should be known for… But sadly, I’m not sure that’s always the case. The church does an awful lot of amazing work and lots of it is unseen and perhaps even unappreciated, but it does. 

However I think if we ask too many people outside the church today what they think about when they hear of churches, it will be of arguments about the right way to do things, about sexuality, about whether the Eucharist service can be celebrated online or not (that’s a current one !), about the role of men and women in the church and about who we allowed to be baptised and who we didn’t and what conditions we put on the wedding couple excitedly preparing for their marriage who were told they had to come to church for 6 months before…  

I’m not trying to underplay some of these debates, but they are very much secondary things to the importance of showing God’s love, of welcoming everyone as he does, of having an open-door policy to anyone who approaches as he does, of opening up our arms and running out to meet the person lost on the streets as he does…. 

Praising God, doing good, helping to reveal Jesus to people – these are things we must be known for as a church… And if we are, then I really believe that God will add to our numbers as well.

But the lesson has to be that it’s not just about looking after ourselves, it’s not just about preserving the worship in the way we like it done or keeping our building because it’s our building – our faith has to be bigger than that. Our faith needs to be reaching out whilst supporting one another, loving one another… 

And that brings me to the gospel reading from the gospel according to John (10:1-10). It’s an incredible gospel, as they all are in different ways. In this gospel we’re drawn into reflecting about who Jesus is and how we respond to him, and we’re clearly shown that he is the way to a relationship with God… 

There’s the imagery in this reading of Jesus as the great shepherd – the shepherd would often sleep across the doorway of the sheep pen to protect them and Jesus will do anything to protect his people because he loves them. And I want to think of just the last verse of the reading we heard where Jesus says, ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’

I’m not sure what we associate with abundant life – perhaps before this current situation it might have been having enough money to be comfortable, going out for a meal or to watch football or rugby when we feel like it, but when these things are gone, and none of those things last for eternity, what have we got left… 

Well we’ve got people certainly and importantly – friends, loved ones who we want to spend time with, people who we care about and people who care about us, but we’re also invited to ask Jesus to play a part in our lives or a bigger part in our lives. 

Many people have asked questions about faith through this situation, but rather than abandoning it or being led by the lack of answers to abandon it, many people are I think finding that it is a relationship with Jesus that is truly lasting… 

It is when we know Jesus that we can know, not an easy life or a life free of problems, but the security of having someone who loves us on our side and that someone was willing to die for us, but also to reveal his power and strength by rising to life again to offer new life to everyone – an abundant life isn’t measured in material possessions but in knowing that, whatever we may be doing, good or bad, whatever situation we may find ourselves in, good or bad, whoever we are surrounded by, Jesus is there and he has been through everything bad the world could offer and come out the other side… 

As the great shepherd of the sheep we can know he will always be there for us, always protecting us, always guiding us and always loving us. AMEN