Wednesday of the Seventh Sunday of Easter



Wednesday Liturgy at St. Luke


2025 Wednesday of Easter 7

 

Collect of the Day: O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and with the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. 

 

Psalm 51:1-12 ant v 10

 

The Epistle is from the first letter of St. Peter, the fourth chapter. 1 Peter 4:7-14

 

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. This is the Word of the Lord.


The Holy Gospel is from St. John, the 15th and 16th chapters.    John 15:26-16:4

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.  This is the Gospel of the Lord.



Sermon: Focus on God’s gifts before you

 

In the Collect of the Day, we ask Jesus, to not leave us without consolation, but to send the Holy Spirit. Liturgically, our churchwide recognition of the Holy Spirit’s dramatic coming will happen next Sunday as we celebrate Pentecost. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to us after He ascended. The Spirit will lead us further into God’s truth. And, the Spirit has. The Holy Spirit creates faith within us through the Word. The Holy Spirit has created the church. He has inspired men to write what we know as the Holy Scriptures. He has led the church into true doctrine that not only catechizes us with correct understanding of God and how God interacts with us, but also how to understand the world and how we should be in the world as faith filled people. The Holy Spirit leads us into all the truth that is essential for our salvation. 

 

The challenge lies in the fact that the church lives in the world and there are forces at work that wish to move us away from faith in Christ and the assurance of eternal life with God. The New Testament writers all lived through times of great uncertainty. So do we. There is much economic anxiety in our world these days. In the last few years, we have endured high inflation and significant changes in our society and government. People are understandably anxious about the future. 

 

One of the things I hear in today’s reading is encouragement to focus on the good gifts that are before you right now. We have limited impact on economic and government decisions. But, what we can do is identify the God-given gifts that are right before us. The gift of our families, friends, and our community of faith is a consolation for us. We know the love of God and we know the love of one another. We share in each other’s burdens. Your suffering is our suffering. We pray for one another. We are with one another. We engage in the practice of welcome and hospitality with one another. Christ’s love for us is the bond of love between us. We are strengthened and lifted up by Christ’s love for us shown to us in the cross. We experience Christ’s love through our communion of faith. Let us be consoled by the Spirit working in and with us to be Christ for one another. 

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. 

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