 |
| Grammatical Caveat: Because sermons are meant to be preached and are therefore prepared with the emphasis on verbal presentation (i.e., are written for the ear), the written accounts occasionally deviate from proper and generally accepted principles of grammar and punctuation. Most often, these deviations are not mistakes per se but are indicative of an attempt to aid the listener in the delivery of the sermon. |
“Choosing Goodness”
John 14.15-21
Sunday, May 17, 2020
All good things must come to an end.
Have you heard this phrase before? Chances are you may have said it yourself. The meaning of this phrase is that not even the most enjoyable experiences can last forever. Isn’t that the truth. You all know what I mean, right?
Let's take a moment to consider good things that have come to an end. In no particular order: the Beatles, Joe Maddon, and the Cubs, the glory days of high school or college, Tom Brady and the Patriots, your favorite TV show, the economy, Sonny and Cher, your favorite restaurant, childhood, relationships, Prince William and Harry, vacations, amusement park rides, Sunday drives, are all examples of good things coming to an end.
All good things will come to an end. And that is okay. Everything we experience and encounter will never last forever, though there are times it does feel like it lasts forever. Still, life goes on.
Today we see Jesus preparing the disciples for life after his death—when the reality of a good thing ending sets in. The story today picks up from last week with Jesus and the disciples dining together at the last supper. Jesus has been telling the disciples about his coming departure, which raises the disturbing prospect of separation. Jesus knows it’ll be devastating for the group who gave up everything for him. He knows they’ll feel abandoned, betrayed, and even orphaned. Easter will be a joyous reunion, but the resurrection appearances will not continue indefinitely. All good things must come to an end.
What will the disciples do? How will they continue the ministry Christ leaves for them? As the years pass, people will be called to believe in a Jesus they have never seen or heard. All that Jesus revealed in his teachings and ministry will be conveyed through the tradition of the church in a world that may seem indifferent at best and hostile at worst to the message about a crucified Messiah. It is understandable then why there is so much fear, disbelief, and uncertainty in that upper room. Life will look different on the other side of death. What are they to do?
In his farewell discourse, Jesus tells the disciples that though he physically will be gone, he will send them a helper, companion, counselor: The Holy Spirit. Jesus explains to them that it is by the Spirit, they will recognize the risen Christ, as well as the abiding presence of the Father and the Son. Of course, they will only know the peace and love the Triune God offers if they keep the commandments Christ gave to them. They keep the commandments not because of some transactional understanding of faith, but because they love Jesus. Jesus promises that God will send the Helper and that upon receiving the Holy Spirit, they will be set apart from the world. It is the love they share, give, and receive, that will set them apart.
The Holy Spirit is what makes the community of believers unique. Unlike the world, the community of believers recognizes the power to transform comes not from anything we do, but from God. It is by the Spirit that we can do the work of God. The work of the Holy Spirit is to keep the truth of Jesus present to the world after Jesus’ departure. Whenever we love someone, whenever we care for our neighbor, whenever we consider the needs of the other, whenever we set aside our egos to welcome the stranger, and whenever we listen long enough to embrace our enemy, we bear witness to the Risen Christ in the world. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. Consider the song we learned way back in Sunday school, This Little Light of Mine. What today’s Gospel lesson asks of us is the same question this song asked of us as children: Will we hide our light under a bushel? No! The Holy Spirit in us is what continues the ministry of Christ—and the ministry of Christ revealed to the world the heart of God.
In some way, what we hear in this story is that the good thing about Christ's love is that it will never end. However, this love is made visible when we keep the commandments. Belief in God is not enough to manifest the love of God in the world. Instead, we must do the work of Christ, and we can only love as Christ loved because of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.
Perhaps you’re asking yourself, “Okay, preacher. Love, I get it. But what exactly are the commandments we are to keep?” It’s simple, friends. All of the commandments of our faith come down to one—to love one another. Remember what Jesus said at the beginning of his final meal with his friends? “A new command I give you,” Jesus says. “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” Everything we do boils down to this command. When we love one another, we will know goodness all the days of our life.
I started the sermon today quoting the proverb, “All good things come to an end.” If I may be honest, I’m ready for this bad thing that is COVID-19 to come to an end. Life is a paradox, and like good things, bad things will come to an end, too. However, it does not look like this will happen anytime soon. We must do as Jesus commands, and we love one another. Like, truly love one another. But it is difficult, isn’t it? Our egos get in the way, and that’s why we’ve really botched this commandment a lot over the last two thousand years. In my own life, it’s not too difficult to name why I perpetually flop at carrying out Christ’s command. Loving is hard—all the trust it involves; all the vulnerability it requires; all the selflessness it beckons; and all the time, effort, discipline, and transformation it needs. Left to my own devices, I’d be hoping for the bad times to end for a long time.
The good news of all this, however, is that I’m not left to my own devices. The Spirit is with me—and is with you. We don’t have to love all by ourselves. We don’t have to do the impossible on our own. Jesus tells the group of disciples to love, as if to say, you don’t have to love from your well alone. Instead, you have each other, but more importantly, you have this promise: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.”
Friends, remember, the Holy Spirit is an abiding presence; a teaching presence, calling to mind Jesus’ words; and a presence that both guides into all truth and declares the things to come. The Advocate is God’s own Spirit, God’s own heart, living within us. What Christ promises us is that Spirit will be with us, making possible God’s reign on earth possible—that alternative community that welcomes all because all belong. Indeed, this Spirit will abide by and among us, moving us to create sacred places where genuine, selfless human love can root and flourish.
We are called to love one another. In loving one another, the world will know God’s love. By knowing God’s love, we will be transformed into the beloved community. The beloved community lives and breathes and has its being in God by the Spirit—the same Advocate Christ promised to the disciples.
Before us today is the same invitation Christ extended the disciples—keep my commands, and you will know the goodness of love. The commandment — or better yet, the call — is to drink our fill of the Source, spill over to bless the world, and then return to the Source for a fresh in-filling. This is our movement, our rhythm, our dance. Over and over again. This is where we begin and end and begin again.
Love me by keeping my commandments, Jesus says. The love we are commanded to share is the love we are endlessly given. “You in me and I in you.” The definition of love.
I guess the saying isn’t true, after all. Not all good things come to an end.
The love of God in Christ breathed in us by the Spirit is a good thing that lasts forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment