Anita Wallinger
Easter 5A
May 7, 2023
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer,
The readings for the 5th Sunday in Easter have a common thread for me. That thread is Trust.
We hear in Psalm 31 the cry, into your hands I commend my spirit, Jesus said that on the cross. That trust of God’s protection, redemption, and love flows through the Psalm.
The Epistle of 1 Peter is a passage about identity. Their new identity is as God’s people. They just must trust.
The Gospel lesson, Jesus speaks of the disciples trusting he is preparing a place for them. Trust me, he says.
St Stephen cries out in certainty and trust as he dies paraphrasing Psalm 31 by asking Jesus to receive his spirit.
You note that I said “Trust and not believe. Trust has a different connotation. I recently read an article by Diane Butler Bass Christianity after Religion that many of the “believe “statements can be translated as “trust.” Why trust instead of belief? Trust means the assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone/something: one in which confidence is placed: dependence on something future or contingent; hope. Belief means an acceptance that a statement is true, or something exists. I think that trust in this case has a stronger meaning and is more active than passive belief. If you say “I believe, someone will argue with you, but they are less likely to feel the need to argue if you say I trust.
Hearing a biblical translation from another language or culture can bring new light and understanding of a passage. You hear it new and fresh. We used the First Nations Version of the New Testament as our advent Study. Part of today’s gospel is translated as” Do not let your hearts fall to the ground, he encouraged them. Trust in the Great Spirit, and trust in me. My Father’s lodge has room for everyone. If this were not so, then why would I tell you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When I am finished, I will come back to you so that you will always be with me.” It continues with “Trust in me, for I am in the Father and he is in me. Or at least trust in the works my Father does through me. So, the passage is using trust instead of believe.
Let’s look closer at the first lesson today in Acts. It is only six short verses. In these six short verses we see St Stephen filled with the Holy Spirit, gazing at the Glory of God and Jesus, forgiving those who stone him and then he dies. How powerful is that? What a great trust he shows in the promise of the Resurrection as he sends his spirit to Jesus. Trusting in Jesus even as he dies gives witness to others to do the same. He saw through that veil that separates us from God’s glory in resurrection. For unlike those we have heard of in recent reading being raised from the dead, St Stephen is looking at the Resurrected Jesus. Jairus’s daughter, the Widow of Nain son, and Lazarus are raised but not resurrected. St Stephen is looking through that veil to the Resurrected Jesus. His trust is so powerful and gives such a witness to the promise of the Resurrection.
Where do you see this trust in your life?
As many of you know I have been visiting Donna Ellway for many years. She had a stroke when she was thirty-five. Strokes often hinder communication at times. We will be praying or talking and usually I can figure out what she wants to say. Many times, there is no interruption in communication. But sometimes it is difficult. We just wait and often the words come back. Sometimes they don’t. This is when we both just shrug our shoulders and we trust that God understands the prayers, for he doesn’t need words. (Donna gave me permission to share this.)
Do You Trust in the Resurrection?
How do I see the Resurrection in my life?
My Dad died 50 years ago, but I still remember what got me through the grief. It was my trust in the Resurrection and that my dad trusted in God. Grief for me was very deep and vast but not without hope. So, the resurrection was that which was longed for and promised. If I hadn’t had that trust, then as an 18-year-old daddy’s girl I don’t think I could have withstood the all-encompassing grief I felt. How do we experience the trust in the Resurrection? It’s this trust that you all have when you meet the grief of losing your loved ones. We all have lost someone near and dear, parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, and children. But by putting our trust in the resurrection we survive the grief and turn it to hope and assurance.
So here we are, people of the Resurrection in Easter season. We celebrate the life of those who died like we did last week celebrating Bob Andrews-Bryant. We remember them in the community of saints (little s). Most importantly we don’t live our lives in fear of Hell but in the promise of Resurrection. We trust in the Resurrection, we trust in Jesus, we trust in God.
For we are the people of the Resurrection. Amen Alleluia.