Fifth Sunday of Easter (B), May 2, 2021—Acts 8:26–40; John 15:1–8

Acts 8:26–40

 

Rembrandt: The Baptism of the Eunuch (1626)

Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht

 

Ethiopian Eunuch

 

The eunuch of the Candace*,

Although the Nubian queen's trustee,

Could not quite trust God's love extends

To one cut off; since life would end.

While wond'ring who Isaiah meant

About the one who underwent

Humiliation he, too, knew,

Then, Philip, through the words cut through

To tell how Jesus was good news

To anyone by life so bruised.

The eunuch found himself beguiled,

And baptized, smiled to be love's child.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(Compare the end of verse 33, "For his life is taken away from the earth," with the Hebrew version of Isaiah 53:8c, "For he was cut off from the land of the living.”)

 

*pronounced "KAN-de-si"

 

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

+ + + 

John 15:1–8

 

Jean François Millet, In the Vineyard (1852-53)

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

 

Bushels and Bushels

 

These days, I'm not so much a friend of vines;

I cut and pull them down from where they climb,

Unfruitful as they are, I pile and burn,

Such wild things that destroy, I spurn;

But other plants when pruned yield better fruit,

The grower who increases light, astute.

 

At Christmastime, my son-in-law went out

And snipped and snipped, with hardly any doubt,

The crowded branches on the nectarine;

While I stood by, he narrated the scene—

"More light in here; take out this crossing guy"—

For what will be is more than meets the eye. 

 

And so it is with grapes that Jesus knew

The reason in the first place you pursue

Their growing, is to get the biggest yield;

And thus it is, that we are in this field

Because the Grower has as sole pursuit

That all of us together bear much fruit. 

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(Thanks to the pruner, Lowell Miyagi.)

 

”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

 

 

 

Fourth Sunday of Easter (B), April 25, 2021—Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16–24

 

 

PIETER BRUEGHEL THE YOUNGER:

THE GOOD SHEPHERD (ca. 1600)

 

Psalm 23

 

The Shepherd King

 

The shepherd king provides for all my needs,

It is by grace (or think, "dumb luck!") I feed

Upon the love from people in my life,

My home, my meals, my mostly lack of strife;

 

The shepherd king protects me when I'm prone

To think I daily go through life alone;

In face of need, before me lies a spread—

Saved from devouring enemies, instead;

 

The shepherd king pursues me my life long,

And tracks me down to know I still belong

By grace to one who'll never let me go,

And surely—Wow!—such love I'll ne'er outgrow.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures; 

he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul. 

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

 

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 

I fear no evil; 

for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff— they comfort me.

 

You prepare a table before me 

in the presence of my enemies; 

you anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows.

 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord 

my whole life long.

 

+ + +

 

1 John 3:16–24

 

Plan B for Jesus-Followers

 

So, if we're followers of Jesus,

For others we should give our lives;

But if such giving is too grievous,

If that's too much for which to strive,

The evangelist gives a second choice,

An option we might call, "Plan B,"

Which means we followers can rejoice

Because from death are we set free!

We merely need to help our neighbor

If we have any means at all;

Whether they're worthy, not belabor—

Just not refuse. Just Christ recall. 

 

Scott L. Barton

 

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?

Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

 

Third Sunday of Easter, April 18, 2021—Acts 3:12–19; Luke 24:36b–48

Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255-1319)

Jesus' Appearance While the Apostles Are at Table

 

These poems and all the poems for Year B are available in my book, Lectionary Poems, Year B: More Surprising Grace for Pulpit and Pew, with a helpful index of all 128 biblical references (includes all texts referred to, even if they're not in the lectionary texts for that particular day), as well as an index of titles. Only $12 now from me, including mailing and tax, signed and inscribed to you or a giftee. Just email me your address to scott.l.barton[at sign]gmail.com. I accept check or Venmo. -SLB

 

Acts 3:12–19

 

Resurrection Intersection

 

It seems to me that Peter uses this occasion

To show the Jewish crowd there was a correlation

Between the death of Jesus by a crucifixion

And wounds of guilt which Peter speaks in malediction. 

 

But though the crowd's denial must have felt familiar,

He also realized that life is now transfigured

When woundedness and healing form the intersection

Of what is still the power of Jesus' resurrection.

 

Scott. L. Barton

 

When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, “You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. “And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out….

 

+  +  + 

 

Luke 24:36b–48

 

Easter Meals

 

He asks for food, they give him fish,

Then they remember every dish

They ate with him along the way.

It is as if they hear him say,

"The loaves and fishes that you passed,

To feed a multitude, surpassed

What anybody would have guessed;

But that was just a beta test

Which you, my friends, can now repeat.

You're witnesses none can defeat

The love for which I lived and died

(Although in killing me, they tried).

Go out to all the world to show

Forgiveness that will overflow,

As through you, everyone rethinks

How love is now your food, your drink."

 

Scott L. Barton

 

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

 

Second Sunday of Easter (B), April 11, 2021—Acts 4:32–35; John 20:19–31

 Acts 4:32–35

                  Vie de Jesus MAFA: Jesus Appears to Thomas  

Practicing Resurrection

 

Perhaps they thought they didn’t have much time,

Which made the way they acted so sublime;

The property they owned, they did not keep,

But, giving all, they made the have-nots weep

To see the real conviction they proclaimed:

“Now Christ the Lord is risen! Love’s untamed!”

Thus, having no more need for self-protection,

They still show how to practice resurrection.

 

Scott L. Barton

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

+ + +

John 20:19–31

 

Caravaggio: The Incredulity of St. Thomas (c. 1602)

It’s Not God If You Think You Understand 

Perhaps you think there’s something wrong with doubt,

And wonder if you might be less devout

Than others who on faith sound much more pure,

Reflecting by their words a love more sure.

 

But doubt in faith’s no enemy of mine,

And Thomas has no less of love divine

Than anyone who thinks, and yet risks, still

Believing that God’s love our lives fulfill.

 

The Kenyan Muslims who protected friends

Are blessed; while those whose certainty descends

Unto the hell of al-Shabab, depraved,

Reveal a faith by which they are enslaved.

 

Likewise, it’s clear religious freedom laws

When twisted to what seems a righteous cause

Devolve unto the wrong which just divides,

Confusing fervent love for God with pride.

 

Who knows why love forgives in Jesus’ form,

Or bids the Risen One now be our norm;

It’s not God if you think you understand,

The best of faith with doubt goes hand in hand.

 

Scott L. Barton

 

(“Why wonder that you do not understand? For if you understand, it is not God.” Augustine: Sermo 117, 5: PL 38, 673. In December, 2015, Muslims refused to separate from Christians when armed members of al-Shabab boarded their bus and demanded to know who the Christians were so they could be killed.)

 

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” 

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.