Second Sunday of Easter - May God give you every good thing

Second Sunday of Easter

May God give you every good thing

‘Again, Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”’
John 20.19b-23

It is the greatest privilege and responsibility that the people of God have, which is to convey His message of forgiveness to all people. It is a great privilege and a daunting task too! Who are we to forgive someone all their sins or, scarier still, denying forgiveness? Surely only God can forgive sin?

The answer is, of course, that we can’t but God does forgive sin, and he acts through his followers. Jesus gave this task to his disciples and we inherit that task. It is no less daunting for all that. How are we to complete this commission?

We find the answer in the greeting Jesus gave his disciples and the gift that followed. ‘Peace be with you’ is more than a casual hope that you are trouble free but the real comfort ‘May God give you every good thing.’ The good thing that Jesus gives his disciples is the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is more than comfort, more than a great faith experiences, more than living a rich, fulfilled life devoted to Christ – though it is all those things. The gift of the Spirit is an enabler; a can do, will do approach to the task ahead.

The heart of this is to convey the message of forgiveness to those who are sorry and will change and to caution the unrepentant that risk they forfeiting God’s loving mercy. Who is sufficient to this task? None of us! But we are enabled through God’s Spirit.

Come, O everlasting Spirit,
bring to every thankful mind
all the Saviour's dying merit,
suffering still for humankind.

True recorder of his passion,
now the living faith impart,
now reveal his great salvation,
preach his gospel to our heart.

Come, O witness of his dying;
come, remembrancer divine,
let us feel your power, applying
Christ to every soul, and mine.

Charles Wesley (1707–1788)

He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

The Methodist Church provides worship and devotional resources at www.methodist.org.uk