If
you were going on a long trip, what would you say to your family and friends
before you left? If you knew that you were going to see someone for the last
time, what would you say to them? When your children moved away from home, what
did you say to them? In each case you probably gave them some instructions of
words of advice. Well, in the Gospel passage from John 15:9-17, Jesus gave us
and his disciples some final instructions or words of advice. This passage is
part of the final instructions that Jesus gave to the disciples the night
before he was crucified. It follows the passage about the vine and the
branches, but it goes even further. Instead of talking about abiding in each
other or loving each other, it talks about serving each other, which goes hand
in hand with loving each other.
1. Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Part of Lessonmaker Bible
software package
Jesus
knew that the disciples would not find love in the world. He knew that the
world would largely hate them and his message. In fact, the world still hates
his message today. You only have to remember the recent controversy involving
the student who went to school wearing a T-shirt with the message “Life is
empty without Jesus” printed on it to see that this is true. Nevertheless, we,
like the disciples, are called to love each other and our fellow man in spite
of opposition. When we love each other, we will experience the joy of obeying
God.
When
we love one another, we also allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and grow in
us. How it grows will depend on our connection to each other, to God and to his
church. The stronger our faith, the more we will do, and it is the things that
we do for God and for others that bring glory to God and strengthen the Holy
Spirit within us.
Love
for others means being willing to die for others. Jesus showed his love for us
by dying on the cross for our sins. The men and women who serve in our armed
forces also show this same type of love. They and countless other armed forces
personnel who served in WWI, WWII and the Korean War as well as in more recent
conflicts and peacekeeping missions, were willing to sacrifice their lives for
the freedom of others. They were willing to go out of their
way for others by dying to save others or coming to the aid of those who were
in need-even at their own personal expense, and they are still willing and
ready to do so today. Jesus showed how far that type of love can take someone
when he died for us. If Jesus could lay down his own life for us, what part of
our lives can we give up for others-prejudice, unwillingness to help, envy,
material goods, hatred, unwillingness to forgive, or even something else?
God
wants us to have relationships that are more than mediocre.
Relationship-building takes time and requires compassion, wisdom, empathy,
kindness, courtesy and forgiveness. We can’t overlook what taking concrete
action can mean. We can be active in love for one another. It is a lot of work,
and that’s fine because God knows that we can do this work, and he knows that
what we do will enrich both our lives and the lives of those whom we serve. When
we love one another, we act as God’s hands and feet to those that he puts in
our lives. It does take time, effort and money to be an active friend, but the
blessings outweigh the costs.
Loving
others as God loved us is the heart of Christian discipleship. Christian life
can only exist through human relationships, especially when they are based on
mutual respect and humane values-including love. The apostle Peter showed the
same type of love in Acts 10:44-48. His love for others, combined with the
visions he and the Roman centurion Cornelius had led Peter to minister to
Cornelius and his family. When Peter proclaimed the Good News, the Holy Spirit
moved within his audience, and it marked both a second Pentecost and the
spreading of the Good News to all people (not just the Jews). If the Holy
Spirit could move in the hearts of Peter’s audience, it can move in the hearts
of people in our world today.
I
actually prepared this sermon on Mother’s Day 2012, so the Gospel reading that
this sermon is based on was very appropriate for that day. After all, a
mother’s love for her children is a prime example of the love Jesus calls on us
to have for one another. Mothers make sacrifices for their children, and in
some extreme cases (such as domestic violence), they have literally sacrificed
their own lives for their children.
People
who do not love God will be his enemy until they allow God to be the centre of
their lives. When they do, they will be in their appropriate places as obedient
friends of God, and God will be in his appropriate place at the centre of their
lives. This will happen in our lives at a time when we will surrender our
personal desires and obey the will of God. If we are to be fruitful for Christ,
we must seek his will for our lives and let him lead us to what he wants us to
do for others and for him.
When
we love one another, we fulfill the second of Jesus’ two Great Commandments.
When we love Jesus, he becomes our true best friend. Friends have our best
interests in mind, just like Jesus does. Friends will be with us in good times
and bad times just like Jesus is. They help us to expand our world, expose us
to new and creative possibilities, and sustain us when we are in need.
God
has chosen all of us for the purpose of bearing much eternal fruit in such
personal characteristics as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These characteristics will grow within
us and help us when we tell others about Jesus and lead them into a fruitful
relationship with him.
We
can say that Jesus is our friend, but can we say that we are his friends? Do we
listen to him when he speaks to us, or do we only want him to listen to us? Do
we want to know what’s on his heart and mind, or do we only want to tell him
what’s on ours? Being a true friend of Jesus means listening to what he wants
to tell us and then using that information to do his work in our world and in
our lives.
Bibliography
2. ESV Study Bible. Part of Lessonmaker Bible software
package
3. Craig Condon, “We Will Remember Them”. Preached at the
2006 Remembrance Day Service in Liverpool, NS
4. John Shearman’s Lectionary Resource, Sixth Sunday of
Easter, Year B. Retrieved from http://lectionary.seemslilkegod.org/archives/year-b-sixth-sunday-of-easter
5. Jude Siciliano, O.P., “First Impressions, 6th
Sunday of Easter, Year B”. Retrieved from www.preacherexchange.org
14. The Rev. Susan R. Briehl, ELCA, “Sermon for the 6th
Sunday of Easter”. Retrieved from www.day1.org
15. Stanley, C.F., “The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles
Bible: New King James Version” (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
16. MacArthur, J., “MacArthur Study Bible, NASB”
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers:2006;2008)
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