Sermon | Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year A) | Sunday, 10th May 2026
St Peter’s Church Centre, Stanley | Morning Worship
John 14:15-21 | Acts 17:22-31 | 1 Peter 3.13-22 | Psalm 66:7-18
It is said that we live in “interesting times”. Well, to be quite honest, you can keep your interesting times and give me hopeful times instead!
Perhaps that is a sentiment shared by many in this world right now – those living through the hell of war, or persecuted for their beliefs, or just trying to make ends meet whilst the wealth of nations is hoarded by a few.
Perhaps a sentiment shared by the Disciples after the Resurrection … in those unsettled and scary times.
Change is ok. I’m ok with change… mostly…! You?
Too much change overnight though, is unsettling. Some people do like that a lot: disruptive change in society can be seen as a way of “fixing” the stuff perceived as broken, especially when it looks like it’s been a collective choice. Except human experience, in the 21st century, isn’t “fixed” like that, any more than at any other time in history. Usually it’s the people that have no voice that are affected the most – those on the edge of society. Those without hope.
A question then: Which problems are actually fixed through the diminishing of others, I wonder?
Isn’t it funny how we are always in the middle of momentous change? It feels like it is happening everywhere—locally, nationally and globally, and in all areas of life, all at once. Uncertainty is not just something we talk about; it is a real part of our daily lives. With the recent elections, we have seen some new hopes, frustrations and protests, as communities figure out what is most important for the future they all want. During these times, it is easy for public life to become divided, internalised, and then we over-focus on ourselves – “what about me?” – “what about my bins?”.
And yet regardless of all this change and disruption, Christians keep listening to the words of Jesus. These words today, first spoken at The Last Supper, are not just for that that place in that time; they are about God’s endless, universal love being constantly present; and the Holy Spirit who supports the people of God through all phases of this world, all the changes – good and… not so good.
I want to focus for these few minutes on the hope that is present and central in Jesus’s words to his disciples. I will also mention our other readings today, because they too speak about our need for God being present in our lives.
In the upper room of John 14, the disciples are still safe for a moment, but they are already feeling quite lost. Jesus speaks to them in that uncertain space, not by telling them what will happen, but by promising to be with them: ’I will not leave you orphans.’ In the King James translation, the word used “comfortless” – and we all need at least some degree of comfort that sustains and endures, don’t we? The Holy Spirit is not just a theory then, but a gift of divine friendship, through all that will come. Faith, at its core, is not knowing what is coming, but trusting that we will not be left behind, alone, regardless.
By the time we reach Paul, in the Acts of the Apostles, the environment has shifted dramatically. Paul is not speaking into a vacuum but into a world already filled with spiritual language, religious searching, and competing explanations of reality. Athens is by no means secular; it is saturated with spiritual ‘certainties’ and also some ambiguities too. The Gospel does not always bring God into a void but recognises God’s presence already at play and give it a fresh name through Jesus. Paul could see what they had, what they were grasping for, and ultimately what they needed, in the form of Christ. It was still a ‘hard sell’.
And in our Psalm, there is thanksgiving for God having been there, during the times of adversity, and thanks is given – burnt offerings and rituals that were common and known then.
In today’s world, where things are so uncertain, people are questioning who they are and what is best for everyone, with moral imperatives and crying out for strong voices and simple answers! The real question is not when the Spirit comes, but how we live when God’s presence is already here. The Church is not separate from this complexity, but part of it. It is called to stay true, kind and aware of those who are on the outside, trusting that love, not fear, is the most important thing about God’s people.
Knowing that someone is coming to save us is profound. Remember where we are in the story. This is the night of Jesus’ betrayal. And what does Jesus say to the disciples, who were by the end of this night going to be scattered across Jerusalem in confusion, fear, betrayal and mystery? He says, ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.’ ‘Because I live, you also will live’. There – in those few words – is the hope that can make all things possible.
He knew what was coming – for Himself and for them. Dark times indeed.
They will be in great need of some assistance to continue with the mission.
He asks them to keep His commandments.
“Love one another as I have loved you.”
To keep doing that takes more than we have on our own.
Even with all the other agency and support we find in this world, it is to the Holy Spirit that Christians turn daily, to keep going – for the inspiration to love even when that is so hard to do.
Now, I have to pause at this moment – it could look like the Spirit is given twice – in John 20 and then in Acts. These are two very different, yet complimentary moments. The Spirit – advocate and comforter – that Jesus promises to send them is indeed bestowed upon them after His resurrection – at the moment they need it the most:
“ ‘And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.‘”
John 20:22
Soon, we will celebrate Pentecost. A time when we give thanks for the coming of the Holy Spirit in such a way that the church can look outwards, at all our sisters and brothers, in their adversity and their joy, and begin the changes that God seeks to build His kingdom.
We are not left to face uncertainty alone or to navigate change without support. The promise of Christ remains: love is the deepest command; presence is the deepest gift and that the Holy Spirit continues to be given – quietly, persistently – so that even in difficult times, we may remain people of hope, shaped not by fear, but by the life of God among us.
It is the Spirit – this enduring presence of God – that brings Jesus into our lives now.
This free gift acts in and through us, reminds us of all that we have been and can be – and that we are not alone.
Yet such grace and love as we find in the Spirit of Truth is too much for the world to accept, we are told.
It can be hard to live as Christian disciples in this age, and yet even we can do great things, because we have this blessing from Jesus.
Do you feel it? Do you sense it or know it? Maybe you look backwards through life – near and far – and see where God was active or where in fact you were not alone, though it may have seemed so. Maybe you experience great pain and suffering, and hope beyond hope that you are not alone and that God, your redeemer, your Christ, is with you. And yes, as you look into the next moment, the next day and a future that may be uncertain, will you trust that God will not abandon you and that the comforter, the advocate will be there, showing the way, quietly in your prayers, and through the presence and love of others?
I will. I will speak of the Holy Spirit to anyone who will listen, although I cannot articulate it well. If faith has taken me anywhere it is into the next day, knowing that I will not be alone in my spiritual journey, that trusting in God is a mutual and intimate existence. And that regardless of how any other aspect of being fares, believing in Jesus and building a faith upon Him will my greatest endeavour and one that is shared.
Where does that leave us, then, in these “interesting times”?
However you experience Pentecost with its fire and noise, or the quiet breath of Jesus upon His frightened friends, we cannot fail to be transformed by the Holy Spirit in some way at some time – perhaps even every day. Remember though, we have heard these things and are called on to share them – praying in and through the Holy Spirit that others may become known by God, accepting of His free and amazing grace, in the words of the Christ transformed through death and resurrection.
For us to love one another, and to keep the commandments of Jesus;
For us to have resurrection stories of hope that others can see, we must live daily in the Holy Spirit;
We are not alone in this, for we dwell in Christ, and Christ dwells in us.
I close with a little prayer of benediction, to you all in the days to come:
Go now into a changing world
without fear of uncertainty.
For the God who made us,
the Christ who walks beside us,
and the Holy Spirit bestowed upon us
remain present still.
May hope rise within you,
love shape your living,
and peace steady your hearts,
today and always.
God be praised!
Amen.
Image by Alan Aprilio on Unsplash