We Are All Witnesses

Easter + 3

Year C

4 May 2025

Isaiah 61:1-3

Psalm 90:13-17

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

Risen Christ,

you filled your disciples with boldness and fresh hope:

strengthen us to proclaim your risen life

and fill us with your peace,

to the glory of God, who raises the dead to life. Amen.

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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” (Isa 61:1a)

As I prepared for today, when I read this statement from Isaiah, I was reminded of last Sunday’s gospel when Jesus appeared in the locked room, proved the resurrection, and breathed the Holy Spirit onto those gathered together.

Last week we were told: “21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (Jn 20:21-22)

At the same time, we recall that the disciples weren’t the only ones in the locked room.

All of us who are witnesses of the resurrection are also to be found in that room when Jesus appears.

We’re also present when he shows the marks of the resurrection, and invites us to reach out and touch him, and we’re there when he breathes the Holy Spirit onto all of us who love him.

We are, each one of us, gifted by the Holy Spirit for the work ahead of us, to bring the kingdom of God to reality, to fruition in not only our own lives but in the lives of all those whose lives touch our own.

Now, last week, when Jesus gifted the Holy Spirit to those whom he loves, there wasn’t a lot of direction given. To put it in modern terms, the owner’s manual was sparce on specifications, except to encourage us in pathways of forgiveness and reconciliation.

John’s gospel told us: “He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (Jn 20:22b-23)

This week, however, we are able to look at the passage from Isaiah and we’re able to get a better idea of what God has in mind.

At the same time, we’re able to look at other ways and places we that see the Holy Spirit at work, as well as in Isaiah’s prophesy.

Isaiah tells us, today, “The Lord has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,    to proclaim freedom for the captives    and release from darkness for the prisoners,” (Isa 61:1b)

At baptism we pray for the Holy Spirit to become a part of the lives of the newly baptized and at the same time for the Spirit to be stirred up in each of our lives, once more, as well.

We pray: “We give you thanks for your Holy Spirit who

teaches us and leads us into all truth, filling us with

his gifts so that we might proclaim the gospel to all

nations and serve you as a royal priesthood.

We give you thanks for you have called [us] to new life through the waters of baptism.” (BAS pg 157)

Again, at confirmation, we pray that the Holy Spirit be stirred up within us as we confirm the fulfillment of the promises made in our baptisms.

“Almighty God, we thank you that by the death and

resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ you have overcome sin and brought us to yourself, and that by the sealing of your Holy Spirit, you have bound us to your service. Renew in these your servants the covenant you made with them at their baptism. Send them forth in the power of that Spirit to perform the service you set before them; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.” (BAS pg 161)

But the Holy Spirit is more, so much more than the voice of our consciences for our spiritual lives.

When Jesus was baptized by John in the River Jordan, the Spirit descended like a dove on Jesus before encouraging him into the wilderness for forty days of discernment and temptation.

“16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”” (Mt 3:16-17)

And when Jesus preaches in his home congregation, this is the passage that he chooses to read from Isaiah’s scroll.

Luke’s gospel tells us: “The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,    because he has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners    and recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free,19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

But we hear it, once more, today, in Isaiah’s prophesy.

We hear it as witnesses of the resurrection.

We hear it as the body of Christ in the world, and we are able to hear it as we see Simon Peter be recommissioned for the work ahead because we are, each one of us, uniquely talented and gifted to fulfill Isaiah’s prophesy, today.

Each one of us is called through Isaiah’s words to bring the love of God more visibly into the world. At the same time, we’re reminded that such a task will have its pitfalls.

Today’s gospel reminds us: “15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” (Jn 21:15-17)

Simon Peter has had a particularly rough time since Maundy Thursday. He’s been confused. He’s been afraid for his own life and safety.

He’s fulfilled what Jesus said he would do, even when he denied the deed, around the comfort of the supper table.

Simon Peter has carried the shame of that fear, that denial from the courts of the high priest’s house until now, and now Jesus not only forgives him the action, but encourages him to take up the mantle of leadership as he moves into the future.

Like Simon Peter, each one of us has encounters times in our lives when we are not at our best, and those times are able to haunt us afterwards.

But in such situations, we’re able to look back at today’s gospel to find Jesus’ forgiveness

Because of that shame, he was one of the first to the empty tomb, following the news of the women, on Easter Sunday. Since then, he has struggled to come to terms with the expectations of our Lord and Saviour.

He’s struggled with the concept that he will be the rock upon which the church will be built, and the results of what happened the very first time he was put to the test by the world at large.

Today we return to Isaiah’s words of prophesy. Words that speak to each one of us and encourages us to step out into that world, bearing the Holy Spirit to bring light and life to those who dwell in darkness.

“1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,    because the Lord has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.… to bind up the brokenhearted,    to proclaim freedom for the captives    and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor    and the day of vengeance of our God,to comfort all who mourn, … provide for those who grieve in Zion” (Isa 61:1-3a)

No matter how we slice it, the Holy Spirit is a part of our lives. No matter how we look at it “the Spirit of the Lord is upon us” and we are uniquely commissioned to act in the world on behalf of our lives of faith, on behalf of the resurrected Lord and Saviour, for the benefit of those who are poor, broken-hearted, captive or a prisoner in any way that the world defines those particular states of being.

Today is a great day.

Today’s gospel shows us that Jesus understands what’s taking place in Simon Peter’s heart, and in each of our hearts, as well.

Not only does Jesus continue to provide for us, but he absolves us of our past errors and points us in the direction of sharing God’s love with the world all around.

We like to think of time as linear. I’m older, today, than I was yesterday, but at the same time, in my life of faith these readings breath new life and a stirring of the Holy Spirit in me, as well as in each one of us who hears these words, once more.

And it’s like this because in a linear way we have moved a step forward, yet in a cyclic way, we return to hear once again what the scriptures have to say to each one of us, and how that influences the next step we take in the love of God.

As much as we want things to stay the same when we find them pleasant, or enjoyable, they never do.

We change, what we need in the world also changes, and throughout we find the Holy Spirit stepping up to be the inspiration to help us move forward to that next moment that we wish for things to stay the same.

What changes though is each one of us as we remain open to the working of the Holy Spirit in and through each of our lives, because Isaiah reminds us: “1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me” And this changes everything.

Amen.