Sermon by Father David Beresford
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In our Church Calendar we are experiencing a short hiatus—an in-between time—when Jesus has ascended to Heaven, and Pentecost, which celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit, is still seven days away. This is an appropriate time for looking back and looking forward, especially at Good Shepherd, where you have entered what the Church of England calls an “interregnum.”
While you are waiting for your new shepherd to arrive, I want to suggest to you an exercise which is sometimes referred to as Ignation Contemplation. I want you to imagine, if you can, what it must have been like to be a disciple during the time between Jesus’s departure and the coming of the Holy Spirit. I want you to put yourself in the place of the disciples and consider what was going through their minds.
Like you, for them it is a time of anticipation. I imagine it is also an emotional time. The disciples, having lost Jesus once at the crucifixion, have now lost him a second time. This is a bitter-sweet experience. Joy that Jesus was returning to his Father in heaven is mingled with sadness that their Lord was no longer among them.
Our reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes Jesus’ ascension. The disciples are asking questions right up to the end - “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?” It gives you an idea of what they were thinking, and how they expected Jesus to do this one last thing for them. In reply Jesus calls them witnesses, not only in Jerusalem, Judea and Galilee but to the end of the earth. Well, we could say to them, “why else was he training you all this time?” The disciples have been given their commission—God will ask them to continue the work of salvation, which is to restore the true kingdom of God on earth.
How did they prepare for this? They went back to basics and devoted themselves to prayer. (By the way, what a blessing it was to have Mary the mother of Jesus with them!) Remember that it is in prayer—when we take time to speak to God - that we are returning to the root of our Christian identity. Christians are not primarily people who do things; they are, in the first instance, people who pray. It is in prayer that we are being formed and made ready for the work God has reserved of us.
If we needed an example of how to pray, Jesus provides it in our gospel reading. He is praying to the Father out of love for his followers. Part of his prayer includes these extraordinary words, “All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I have been glorified in them.” Jesus then asks the Father to protect them. As a parent, that is the kind of loving prayer I say for my own children and indeed, for anyone in danger. Father, protect them.
So, although Jesus has ascended into heaven, he remains close to his followers. This is a relationship of love, which is the founding principle of the kingdom of God. The disciples will need a lot of it over the coming days, weeks and months. The love which binds this group together—which may already includes Gentiles, or it will soon—is what holds them together. Remember when the disciples gathered together in the Upper Room following the crucifixion? They were in hiding, in fear of the Jewish authorities.
Following the resurrection, the walls came down, so to speak, and fear was replaced with love. It is love that will compel them to continue the work that Jesus began, even in the face of hostility and the threat of death.
And so we come to our second reading, from the first letter of Peter, which warns Christians that in their new role of evangelists they will face ordeals and will suffer for the sake of Christ. They will be tested and, as we know, the story of the early church is one of both rapid conversions and of martyrdom. The powers of the world will overwhelm the gentle preachers of love, and most of the disciples will be killed. At the same time, their brave and noble sacrifice will increase, rather than diminish, the spread of the gospel throughout the world.
I’d like to think that I would be as brave as they were. Standing up for what you believe is easier said than done. In other parts of there world today, such as Nigeria, South Sudan, Pakistan and Iran, being a Christian carries real dangers. Every day our Christian brothers and sisters are being threatened and killed. In my prayer, I ask God to protect them.
You never know when your faith might be tested. That is what the letter of Peter is about. It includes these words which those of you who say the Evening Office known as Compline will recognize. “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.” It is an effective metaphor. A lion is strong and stealth—it sneaks up on its prey and pounces, often before the prey has time to react. The other thing about a lion is this: it has no pity. That is why it is a perfect metaphor for the evil one. Once the devil has his claws in you, he will show you no mercy.
In the first letter of Peter, the devil is a real and present danger. Jesus often cast out demons in a world where devils and demons were common. In our modern world there are some who believe that the devil is a figment of our imagination. To them I would relate what the French poet Charles Baudelaire says on this subject. “One of the greatest tricks of the devil is to convince you that he doesn’t exist.”
The advice contained in the letter is clear: “Resist him, firm in your faith.” In this world you will observe how some people succumb more readily to evil than others. Our Christian faith gives us an advantage in resisting evil, but only if we take it seriously. All of us are in danger of giving the devil room in our lives. After all, the devil only needs a small crack in our defenses to make trouble. What precautions, therefore, can we take to prevent him?
The first line of defense is prayer. When you pray to God, you are acknowledging your need for God. You are acknowledging your own inherent weakness—the source of sin—and so, as Peter’s letter reminds us, you humble yourself before God. Your humility is the greatest impediment to the devil. Some people make the mistake of thinking they are strong enough, or smart enough, to resist the devil. This is a symptom of the sin of pride, something that the devil thrives on.
The other mistake is to assume that you have control. You think, once you invite the devil in, that you can tell him when to leave. Again, this is a terrible mistake. When this happens, it is often only by using extreme measures, such as exorcism, that the devil can be removed.
Apart from pride, how else does the devil find a victim? One easy way is by inverting the commandments. Thou shalt not steal becomes thou shalt steal and so forth. That is why Jesus asks us to keep the commandments, for the sake of our souls. We may find that if we disobey one commandment, it becomes easy to disobey another, and then another. I am reminded of something that Sir Walter Scott said: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Keep the commandments, avoid lying and you will be safe.
To be a Christian means that we are called to live to a higher standard than the world. St. Paul exhorts us, “Do not be conformed to this world.” (Romans 12:2) In the world we face dangers to our souls in various forms. Today we can locate many of them online, in the anonymous cruelty of social media, in pornography, in gambling, in becoming intolerant and dehumanized. All of this happens with our consent, whether we are active in our consent or passive. The point is to recognize it and do something to change it.
Like the disciples waiting for the Holy Spirit, we are in a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus. We are waiting expectantly for him and, when he comes, what will he find? We must use this time of waiting wisely. Following the example of the disciples, give priority to prayer in your life. Take time to sweep your house clean and make it ready. Be prepared to face criticism and even abuse for your actions. The sufferings we endure for the sake of our faith are as nothing compared to the joys we will experience in the hereafter.
In this time of waiting we are being blessed. We are being called to love God and one another. The ultimate power in the world is not a power for evil but a power for good. It is the power of love and of sacrifice. It is very humbling to think of all that Jesus did for us. Now, let us do something for him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2026