EASTER • 4
To accompany your lectionary readings, listen to this songs while you meditate on the word:
reading for: 28 April
John 15:1-8
Abiding in Jesus who is Life
READ
We start first by acknowledging the strange words that Jesus is using here. Abiding and remaining aren't words and instructions we use in our 21st century. Our bosses and superiors at work or MPs don't tell us to abide in them! Perhaps the closest time is when they ask us to trust and vote for them. In that sense, to abide and trust in their leadership. But no one ever asks another person to abide in them and remain in them. No person is deserving of us to abide in.
That’s why we should be challenged by these words of Jesus “Abide in me”. For who can have such boldness and authority to make such a request? And who has such power to then say “and I will abide in you.”?! “For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you abide in me” (v. 4)
The authority and boldness of Jesus’ request and command comes from who He is and who we are. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches (v. 5). And since He is the vine, the source, where all nutrients and life flow; we as the branches must abide with him.
And Jesus explains why:
So that we as branches can produce much fruit (v. 5)
So that when we ask for anything, it will be done (v. 7)
So that we will bring great glory to the Father (v. 8)
But the opposite is also true, if we do not remain in Jesus,
We cannot do anything (v. 5)
We will be thrown away, wither and be burned (v. 6)
We will not glorify our Heavenly Father (v. 8)
As you can tell, it is a matter of life and death. If we do not abide in Jesus, not only are we incapable of doing anything, we will be thrown away. We will wither and burn as useless branches. But that is not the desire of our Vinedresser, our Father, His desire, like Jesus, is for us to be fruitful and bring glory to Him.
REFLECT
The call and invitation to abide in Jesus, should strike us first as a strange request. For no human is worthy of such a request. But if we step back to consider who this human is, namely Jesus, who is the True Vine, outside of whom we cannot do anything and will wither, his call and invitation then should be considered very carefully. For its a matter of life and death.
Have you been living outside of Jesus? Abiding in Jesus can be simplified to how often we turn to Him each day. Just as we brush our teeth 2 times a day, floss our teeth once, how often do we turn to Jesus to receive from him the strength and sustenance?
Many of us go about our day simply living our day in our own strength and capacity. We’re taught and called to be independent human beings. And that’s why the call to “Abide in Jesus” is so crucial for us, to turn to Him and seek Him.
reading for: 29 April
Acts 8:26-40
Abiding in the work of the Spirit
READ
Suppose the main actor of this story is Philip, who would you say is the supporting actor?
Most of us would answer quickly - the Ethiopian Eunuch loh!
But if we step back and consider, the Spirit is arguably the main supporting actor in this story.
For it was the angel of the Lord who spoke to Philip and asked him to go that road (v. 26). Then it was the Spirit who spoke to Philip to go to the Ethiopian’s chariot (v. 29). And when he had finished teaching and baptising, the Spirit of the Lord came and carried Philip away (v. 39).
On the other side of the picture, we can ask, who was stirring and leading this eunuch to go to Jerusalem to worship? (v. 27)
Who was leading him and stirring within him a desire to read Isaiah? (v. 28)
And who made him so crazy to invite a complete stranger into his chariot (v. 31)
Who stirred this desire within him to find out the man in Isaiah? (v. 34)
Finally, who brought this revelation to be baptised (v. 36)?
To these questions, we can also answer, the Spirit! So its the Spirit who is at the background, the main supporting actor working in the eunuch’s life! It was the Spirit who led Philip to meet and find him. And finally it was the Spirit who carried Philip to a series of towns to preach the gospel (v. 40).
And it is the Spirit’s work in us, His ministry in others and in the world that we are called to be attentive to. In other words, since the Spirit is at work, we are called to abide in the work of the Spirit. We are called to be attentive to the ministry of the Spirit in others and we are invited to participate in the Spirit’s work.
REFLECT
When we go for a meeting or meet a person, do we turn to the Holy Spirit to ask about what He is doing?
Or do we presume that we already know or that we have no time for “such things”?
Its no wonder that we Singaporeans find ourselves so stressed all the time! We think that we are to generate and make things happen all the time! At work, at home and in church!
Today we’re reminded that the Spirit is at work in the world, in our own lives and in the lives of others. The next time you are stressed about an upcoming meeting, why dont take time to turn to the Spirit and allow Him to calibrate your heart and mind? For He has been at work for 2000 years, establishing the kingdom of God in our world. And we are called to abide in His ongoing work.
reading for: 30 April
1 John 4:7-21
Abiding in love (God, Jesus and Spirit)
READ
God is love (v. 8 and 16) and whoever loves is a child of God and knows God (v. 7).
How did God express His love?
He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him (v. 9).
He loved us first even though we didn’t love Him (v. 10)
And its His love first that now enables us to love (v. 19)
That’s why we are called to abide in God who is love (v. 12)
How do we do this?
We do this by loving one another (v.12)
We do this by declaring that Jesus is the Son of God (v. 15)
And our confidence is that God’s love is being perfected in us (v. 12)
so that we are prepared for the day of judgement (v. 17).
Where we will have no fear, for fear has been cast out by perfect love (v. 18)
And if you were to drill it down even more simply, thats why its so important that we love our brother and sisters (v. 21).
REFLECT
1 John on the one hand is quite difficult to understand, yet on the other, its quite simple. The reason for its difficulty is that John doesn’t write in a linear manner. He writes in a circular manner, touching on many topics and coming back again and again to deepen our understanding of it.
And as he ends chapter 4, his point is simply, are you abiding in love by loving your brother? If you do not love your brother (here he means a fellow believer in church), someone you can see, then you surely cannot love God whom we can’t see (v. 20)
Is there someone in church which you might be harbouring something towards? He/she might have said something to you which caused you to be hurt. Or perhaps that person did something that you felt was totally wrong of him/her. And now you’re filled with so much anger/frustration/irritation towards him/her that you can’t talk with him/her?
To love is to first forgive. At Good Friday, we remembered how Jesus went to the cross to pay for all of our sins. ALL. He paid the price for all of our offences and darkness within and towards others. And on that basis, we are called to forgive others when they wrong and hurt us. Will you choose to abide in God’s love today and forgive that person?
reading for: 1 May
Psalm 22:25-31
Abiding in the LORD at All Times
READ
There are broadly 3 movements in Psalm 22, David is feeling abandoned and depressed by the dreadful situation he is in (v. 1-8), his enemies are closing in on him and he is about to die (v. 12-18) but in between, there are cries for help (v. 9-11 and v. 19-21) before he finally experiences God’s salvation (v. 22-31).
We can tell this has happened because David begins to speak in the past tense:
For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help. (v. 24)
And its because of David experiencing God’s salvation, he can begin to speak about the future:
That he will praise Him in the great assembly. He will fulfil his vows in the presence of those who worship God (v. 25)
The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the LORD will praise Him. (v. 26)
The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to Him (v. 27)
Children will serve him (v. 30).
You might be wondering, how does this happen for David? How did he experience God’s salvation and presence? Simply put, he abided in the LORD at all times:
In his despair and depression, David abided in the LORD (v. 1.8)
Even when his enemies drew close and surrounded him, David abided in the LORD (v. 12-18)
He abided in his past experiences with the LORD (v. 9-11)
And he abided in the LORD and cried to him for help (v.19-21)
Somewhere in between, he experienced the salvation of God, which brought him to this place of confidence towards the future.
REFLECT
What does it mean to “pray without ceasing”? One way of understanding this is to abide in the LORD at all times, with every single emotion we’re feeling and at every single juncture. How? By simply, speaking to the LORD, as David did:
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help?”
“Everyday I call to you, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.”
What juncture are you in your life now and how are you feeling? Instead of feeling that anguish on your own, direct it to the LORD and abide in him.