Lydia is a business woman,
the head of a household,
someone who has moved to Philippi,
and she is a worshipper of God.
We know only a little about Lydia.
Lydia was from Thyatira, in the Asian province of Lydia. Is Lydia her name? Or a reference to where she comes from? We don’t know for sure.
We do know that she sells purple cloth. Purple is an important colour, only the wealthy and nobles could wear purple. This means Lydia would know some of the important people in the area.
Lydia was God worshipper, and with other people who worshipped the God of the Jews, she met by the river, outside the city gates, to worship, which is where Paul finds her along with others. She hears the story of Jesus, and she responds.
Lydia is baptised, offers accommodation to Paul and Silas. This isn't the end of Lydia’s story, we hear of her offering hospitality to the Paul and Silas again later in chapter 16.
Lydia is thought to be the first European convert. An unlikely choice, she is not of Jewish heritage, she is female and there is no mention of a husband.
Where do seekers gather today?
Where do we go to tell the stories of our faith?
Outside the boundaries of polite society?
There is a Baptist church in Woolloomooloo who offers assistance to marginalised women including street prostitutes. They are “about creating a safe space where women who are experiencing marginalisation or are in vulnerable situations, can access support and care.” [http://hopestreet.org.au/Women%27s+Services/p/3/]. Our own Uniting Church operates a harm minimisation program: the Medically Supervised Injecting Centre.
Both of these services are outside the mainstream of society, but offer grace and hope to people who are often in despair.
The passage we heard from John’s gospel this morning, is part of a long section of Jesus teaching and praying for his disciples. It comes after the foot washing at the last supper and before the betrayal in the garden. Chapters 14 to 17 cover many topics. Last week we heard the end of chapter 13, where Jesus tells the disciples he is going to be glorified, and that the disciples cannot go where he is going, so love one another.
In the next few chapters we hear:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” [14:1]
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” [14:6]
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” [14:9]
“If you love me you will keep my commandments” [14:15]
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate, to be with you forever” [14: 16]
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” [14:27]
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” [14: 27]
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. [15:1]
Abide in me as I abide in you. [15:4]
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. [15: 8]
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [15:12]
It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. [16:7]
Jesus is preparing the disciples, as best he can, for his death. And that preparation includes how to keep on living the Jesus life, when Jesus isn't walking beside them.
Don’t be afraid.
Love one another.
Don’t be afraid.
Abide in me.
Love one another.
I am sending the spirit, the advocate, the helper.
If you have ever sat with someone who knows they are dying, last words can be important. Sometimes people will write a letter to a loved one, sometimes it is ‘I'm sorry’ or ‘I love you’.
Listen to some of the last words of Jesus again:
"I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” [14: 25-27]
These themes are repeated in these 4 chapters.
Don’t be afraid.
Love one another.
Don’t be afraid.
Abide in me.
Love one another.
I am sending the spirit, the advocate, the helper.
Peace I give to you.
Did the disciples understand? It seems not, but that isn’t unusual in the gospels. “First Peter (John 13:36), then Thomas (14:5), then Phillip (14:8), and then Judas (not Iscariot) (14:22) ask for clarification about what Jesus is telling them.” [Elizabeth Johnson working preacher]
Do we understand?
We aren’t sitting with freshly washed feet, listening to Jesus ramble on about loving each other, trusting in him, and the Holy Spirit that is to come – wondering what on earth he is talking about.
We are sitting here over 2000 years later, hearing a passage that will be familiar to many of us. And ye know that Jesus dies, and that Jesus was buried, and that three days later the tomb was empty.
We also know that the disciples didn’t know what to do, then there were sightings of Jesus, and the disciples putting the pieces together, and the growth of the early church, and questions about Jewishness and Christianity. You know the story.
And among the first words of Jesus to the disciples after the resurrection: “Peace be with you.” Three times in eight verses. Peace be with you. [John 20: 19, 21, 26]
Peace, Jesus’ peace, “is more than the absence of conflict. The peace that Jesus offers us is a profound and holistic sense of well-being.” [Elizabeth Johnson working preacher]
A quote I came across this week from St. John Paul II – “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
We are Easter people and hallelujah is our song.
The spirit flows in our life,
Don’t be afraid.
Love one another.
Peace I give to you.
I wonder what that looks like for us.
I wonder how the peace that we are offered by Jesus; is evident in our lives?
