REFLECTION

When I phoned up my sister to say our father had died her response was "well we are orphans now" As this was 10 years ago and my sister and I were well into our adulthood it seemed at first a strange comment. Yet she was stating a fact that we no longer had a living parent so technically 'orphans' but not in a tragic way that some people have lost both parents at a young age. Jesus uses this metaphor as he is saying goodbye to his disciples, 'I will not leave you orphaned'.
There is a bond between Jesus and these people who have followed him which is as deep as a familial bond - the circumstances of Jesus' impending death will be traumatic for them hence his words of comfort in other parts of this chapter, and indeed, even in this passage:- the promise of 'another advocate' and the spiritual familial bond that exists 'On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you'. The natural human relationships of parents, children and siblings is now voiced in a spiritual way of God's relationship with Christ and with us.
Paul uses this imagery by quoting the Greek poets by saying 'For we too are his offspring' and echoing these words in John that we have looked at 'in him we live and move and have our being'.
We are so familiar with this concept and these passages that we can perhaps overlook the radical nature of these words.
I have always loved the Acts passage, imagining Paul standing up in a bustling street shouting out, 'Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way'. 'The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things'. However, when Stephen and I were in Athens a couple of years ago, seeing the city dominated by the Parthenon atop the Acropolis and in our wanderings 'coming across' yet another ancient temple or shrine, the radical nature of Paul's proclamation became very clear. Remember that at this time the Temple in Jerusalem, the focus of Jewish pilgrimage, part of the 'wonders of the age', is part of Paul?s religious heritage. He is a Jew , he has worshipped in the Temple, he aspired to be a 'perfect Jew' but he is declaring, among the wealth, bling and vitality of this great centre of civilisation that God, the God of Jesus, the God Paul now follows does not need a place adorned 'with gold, silver or stone', no-one can fashion God?s image because God is in us, abides in us, and we abide in God.

Just pause for a moment . . .

For we can forget that this is still a radical message. God is not found in the buildings we erect to worship in, although we need somewhere to shelter us from the elements as we worship. God is not found in symbols or paintings or stained-glass windows, these can all help us to focus on the stories of our faith but God is not constrained by these objects. God is not even found in the words printed on a page - but only when those words touch us and become real within us - abide in us - that they become the 'living word', speaking to our spirits and uniting us to God and to each other.
I return to the Psalm that was our 'call to worship', just because we are not in our usual church does not mean we are not surrounded by God?s steadfast love for us and that God hears our prayers wherever and whenever we pray. In that sense Paul was building on another aspect of his Judaism, a spirituality the 'remnant' found in the exile when there was no Temple and the people were surrounded by the temples and beliefs of the Babylonians. It was perhaps a spirituality the people lost sight of in the return to Jerusalem and the pressure to restore the Temple again.
We will be beginning to turn our minds to our 'return' to church the buildings and to the familial people (purposely used word not a typo!). It will be good to have that familiarity back and definitely see people - even at 2 metres distance, and possibly with face masks on. Yet we will need to consider those who are not able, or do not feel able, to return until a vaccine has been administered. We will need to be gentle with each other. We perhaps need to hear those words again from Jesus 'This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.' God has been abiding with us in lockdown, God's steadfast love has never left us. May we not lose sight of that truth and that sense of God's presence with us as we 'baby-step' our way back to church and remind ourselves whose offspring we are and who unites us together one Lord, one God and one parent of us all.
So now slowly and reflectively I invite you to share the Lord?s prayer perhaps lingering over those first words 'Our Father' . . .