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Te Ahurewa
17 May 2009
Date
Sunday 17 May 2009
Te Ratapu Tuaono o te Aranga / The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Kaupapa: The Theme
Te Wairua Tapu, te Kai-whakaako / The Holy Spirit, the Teacher.
Te Rarangi: The Sentence
Kia waiata te reo i a koutou e whakaatu ana; korerotia tenei,
whakapuakina i te pito o te whenua; ki atu, 'Kua oti i a Ihowa
tana pononga, tana iwi i te hoko'.
Ihaia 48.20
Declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it forth to
the end of the earth: say, 'The Lord has set the people free'.
Isaiah 48.20
Te Inoi mo te Rātapu: The Collect
E te Matua Kaha rawa, ko tau Tama nei ko Ihu Karaiti, te tohunga
tino nui, e inoi takawaenga nei mo matou i nga wa katoa. Homai
he oranga ngakau ki a matou ka whakatata nei ki a koe i roto i a
ia, kia whiwhi matou ki te aroha ki te kaha, hei awhina i a
matou i roto i o matou mate, kororia ki tona ingoa tapu.
Amine.
Lord, as you have chosen us, empower and equip us; make us
worthy of our calling that we may reveal your love and show
forth your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you
and the Holy Spirit abides for ever. Amen.
Nga Panui: The Readings
First Reading: Acts 10:44-48 The
Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
Psalm:
98 God the Ruler of the World
Epistle:
1 John 5:1-6 Our Victory over the World
Gospel:
John 15:9-17 A New Commandment
Gospel:
9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my
love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,
just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his
love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be
in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 "This is my
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for
one's friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command
you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the
servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have
called you friends, because I have made known to you everything
that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I
chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that
will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him
in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may
love one another.
Te Kauwhau: The Reflection
“Do wrong to none, love everyone always.”
In our reading this week, Jesus presents the
central defining characteristic of an ethic worthy of those who
seek to follow, and that is love.
Jesus calls on his followers to embody and practice a paradigm
shifting love for one another that will distinguish them and
impact the world by reaching others with the same love he
modelled.
In the bible there are many commandments, but none more powerful
then the one given this week. For us as followers of Christ we
must be unleashed to love freely and profoundly in a world that
desperately needs a glimpse of the reality of God’s Kingdom.
But how do we do this?
Well, love is primarily an action. Love can spur feelings, but
action must be privileged over mere words or feelings.
How? By letting your love for others be known by your deeds.
Do not waste time bothering about whether you ‘love’ your
neighbour; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one
of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved
someone, you will come to love him.
We need to, as followers focuses on adding value to others,
standing with the oppressed, and comforting the hurting. It is
about serving others more than we are served. It is about
treating others as friends rather than maintaining hierarchies
in relationships. Most profoundly, loving others means being
willing to sacrifice oneself for the sake of the wellbeing of
another.
“The Gospel comes to us on the way to someone
else.”
Most of us recognise the need for outreach and
mission, but it need not be that complicated; you pass by a
neighbour everyday. Too often we wring our hands and wrack our
minds seeking some new innovative way to reach out with the
Gospel.
There is a simpler way. Modelling of the selfless,
other-oriented, value adding, sacrificial love of this gospel to
those around you can change the world. Be the transforming power
of God’s love that your faith and your love makes itself known
in a memorable way to all those around you.
“Love would put a new face on this weary old
world in which we dwell as pagans and enemies too long… Love
will creep where it cannot go, will accomplish that by
imperceptible methods,–being its own lever, fulcrum, and
power,–which force could never achieve.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Nature, Addresses, and Lectures [Harvard University Pres, 1971],
159
Korero Mai Contact Us:
This week's chaplain is Andrew Tamihere.
To contact us with your comments, feedback, or prayers please
email
teahurewa@rangatahi.org.nz . |
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