Year A, Easter 6

Acts 17:22-31
Psalm 66:8-20
1 Peter 3:13-22
John 14:15-21

“Oh, ‘tis love, ‘tis love that makes the world go round!” That is a quotation, believe it or not, from “Alice in Wonderland”! When Alice falls down the rabbit hole, one of the many seriously odd-ball characters she meets is the Duchess, who in every second sentence says, “and the moral of that is…” The sentence about love is one such “moral.” In the context of “Alice”, of course, it is not to be taken seriously, for Lewis Carroll was a master of “nonsense” verse and satire, but in another context – the Bible, for instance – “Love” is to be taken very seriously indeed, for it is in very truth the great spiritual power which not only “makes the world go round”, but brings it into being in the first place, for it is the very essence of God Himself at work in creating and sustaining. As we approach the season of Pentecost, John refers us back to words of Jesus at the Last Supper, when He introduces possibly for the first time the concept of the Spirit as an entity in His own right, apart from and yet one with the Father (God the Creator and Sustainer), and the Son (Jesus the Saviour and Redeemer Who shares our life and death that we might share His Resurrection). And now, the Spirit, the “Other Helper”, Who brings into our life all the Love the Father and Son have made possible. But note, the Spirit is available in love to those who love God, manifested in keeping His commandments (vv.15,23), not in any sense of “reward for virtue” or “do this or else”, but in genuine expression of God’s love flowing through us, joining us in that eternal circle of renewed creation which is God’s eternal purpose.

Yes, this is heavy stuff, so we’ll leave it there for now, but we will be hearing more about it in the coming weeks. May we be open to the Spirit of truth as He comes.