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Sentence

‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.’ John 14:27

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Collect  

Great and loving God,

your will for us in your Son Jesus 

is the peace which the world cannot give,

your abiding gift, the Advocate he promised.

Calm all troubled hearts,

dispel every fear,

and keep us steadfast in love and faithful to your 

word. Grant this through Jesus Christ, the firstborn

from the dead, who lives with you now and always

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

God for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings

• Acts 16:9-15
• Psalm 67
• Revelation 21:10-14, 22-22.5
• John 14:23-29

next week

• Acts 16:16-34
• Psalm 97
• Revelation 22:12-22
• John 17:20-26

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A Thought to Ponder

Easter 6 – John 14:23-29

“ … the Father will give another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him.”

In his Last Supper discourse, Jesus leaves his fledgling Church his gift of peace and the promise of the Spirit. Christ’s gift of peace is not the absence of trouble and hostility (“as the world gives peace”); Christ’s peace is the Scriptural concept of shalom,meaning the pursuit of everything which makes for the highest good. The peace of Christ finds its core in the Gospel principles of humble servanthood and holy justice.
    
The “Advocate” (or “Paraclete,” as found in some translations of John’s Gospel), who intercedes and intervenes on behalf of good, is the exact opposite of the “adversary,” Satan. The Advocate/Paraclete is the presence of God within us that opens our hearts and minds to the promptings of God’s Word as proclaimed by Jesus.

The peace the Risen Jesus leaves us is not passive acquiescence or the absence of hostility and conflict; the peace of Jesus is a mindset: a constant seeking out of God’s love, justice and mercy, an understanding of our “connectedness” to God and to one another as children of the same God.  

In sacrament, in Scripture, in community, in our living of the Gospel in our everyday lives, the Risen Christ is in our midst. In even our smallest act of selfless kindness – prompted by the Paraclete instructing our open hearts and spirit – we reveal the presence of the Easter Christ in our little piece of the world.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises that he and his Father will “make our dwelling” with us when we “keep [Jesus’] word” of love, forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace.  Whenever we act out of compassion, the Advocate is at work in our midst; whenever we put aside our own fears of inadequacy to reach out to someone in need, the Holy Spirit is moving among us. The Spirit, the Advocate, is present in our care often without our realising it, enabling us to make the justice and mercy of the Gospel a reality in our own time and place.   

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Sermon

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You can read the Pew Sheet here

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