John 3:1-17 

Trinity Sunday, May 30, 2021

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”

Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

| Centering Prayer |

Have you ever been with another person,

Such that both hear the same words,

But each derives a different meaning?

Recently, I heard this illustrative story:

People in a hot air balloon are swept up in a storm.

When the storm breaks

They come out the other side

Of the wind, rain, and pitched darkness

Into completely unfamiliar territory.

They reduce altitude

And spot a farmer standing in the middle of a wheat field below.

“Where are we?” yelled the pilot.

“You’re in a balloon!” the farmer shouted back.

Thinking of a better way to rephrase it

The pilot shouted back again, “Where are you?”

To which the farmer replied, “I’m in a wheat field!”

Such is the case of Jesus and Nicodemus.

A leader of the Jews,

Schooled in the law of Moses,

Nicodemus clandestinely approaches Jesus

Under the concealment of darkness

Seeking understanding about the signs Jesus performs.

Clearly in the mind of Nicodemus,

These signs show favor or power from God.

The word in question

Is spoken by Jesus:

You must be born anõthen.

This is one Greek adverb with multiple meanings.

Nicodemus clearly hears it as “again,”

As demonstrated with his silly follow-up question

(“How can anyone be born after having grown old?

Can one enter a second time

into the mother’s womb and be born?”).

However, Jesus’ continuing commentary clearly demonstrates

He meant it to be heard as “from above.”

(Considerable linguistic insight provided by: Sharon H. Ringe, Professor of New Testament, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, as found at: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-2/commentary-on-john-31-17-3)

“No one can enter the kingdom of God

Without being born of water and Spirit,” Jesus teaches.

In other words,

The only way into our Heavenly Father’s kingdom

Is to have one foot in this world

And the other foot firmly planted in heaven.

Being born of water = think “this world,”

“Think the great flood with Noah and his ark,”

“Think the Red Sea parting for Moses and our Hebrew ancestors,”

“Think the baptisms of John the Baptist for repentance of sins.”

Being born of water

Should cause one to consider

how the God of creation

has a long history of rescuing God’s people;

saving us from unrighteousness, warring intent, and sins of the flesh.

But the world is not enough.

Baptism by water is not enough.

Perfect attendance in church isn’t enough.

Attending seminary and being ordained isn’t enough.

There is nothing humanly possible,

No human effort, no righteous deed, no feat so worthy

That will, on it’s own, open the doors to the kingdom of heaven.

“We are not saved by our works,”

the apostle Paul correctly interprets the Gospel,

“We are saved solely by the grace of God.”

And that grace is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Being born of the Spirit:

Think the presence of Christ in the absence of his body.

Think wind, Jesus tells us,

“It blows where it chooses,”

(which is to say Christ’s mind is not our mind)

“you hear the sound of it,”

(our senses are aware of the presence of the Spirit)

“but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.”

(In other words,

don’t spent wasted time

attempting to understand what the Spirit’s next move may be.

Just let it go,

Just let it be.)

Simply be aware;

Watch for signs of the Spirit’s presence and movement.

Listen for it’s rustling.

Discern it’s intent.

Follow where it leads.

Let the Spirit guide you

From the here and now

Forward to God’s deepest desire.

“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” – Jesus, John 3:3

Not “again.”

“Born from above!”

Baptized in this world and

Adopted by the Spirit of Christ

From above!

Though we struggle in a world filled with sickness, sin, and death,

The apostle Paul writes in his epistle to the church in Rome,

We have not been abandoned.

In Christ, God has adopted us

As God’s very own children and heirs.

(With thanks to Elisabeth Johnson, Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Watertown, MN)

We have not been left behind

Simply with four historical books of the Bible

That tell us the story of Jesus.

We have been claimed and named,

Bought and paid for,

Accepted and included,

into God’s heavenly family.

The power of adoption,

Or huiothesia in the Greek

(Phonetically: hwee-oth-es-ee’-ah)

Cannot be overstated.

Think chosen,

Preferred over all others.

Parents who have adopted children may understand.

Adopted children might gain understand with age.

It is one thing to give birth,

It is something altogether different

To intentional lay claim to a child,

To gather them in and make them your own.

That intentional selfless act

Is but a taste,

Just an inkling of

The enormous gift of love the Spirit provides.

Grace is an order of magnitude beyond our comprehension.

We don’t have to understand it.

We simply claim it,

Live in it,

Bathe in it,

Drink it in.

…

Our scriptural lessons for today

From Isaiah, Romans, and the Gospel of John

Help to paint a picture of our Triune God;

A Father’s love that created us,

Made covenant with us,

Taught us how to live,

And desires our obedience;

A Father’s love who sent us his own Son

As a gift to humankind,

To forgive our sins

And to save us into eternal life.

The Gospel is a portrait of

A Son’s love

That taught us to love,

That showed us how to love,

That laid down his own life because of his love

For you and me.

This is what a Son’s love looks like:

Jesus refused to abandon us in the Garden.

By fulfilling His Father’s will

He enables us to call upon God

With the same loving intimacy we heard

Our Lord cry from the cross:

“Abba! Father!”

Jesus paints a picture for Nicodemus of

The Spirit’s love

That has chosen us,

Preferred us,

Adopted us as God’s own.

The Spirit’s love

Desires to abide with us, and in us.

The presence and guidance of the Spirit

Connects us with Christ and

Connects us with each other

As fellow children and heirs of God.

…

Dearly beloved,

Jesus is talking about

A God that will not let us go,

A God who loves us

We are His children,

Siblings with Christ,

Heirs to the divine inheritance

Of eternal life in God’s completed kingdom.

Come,

Be the Body of Christ.

Cry “Abba! Father!”

And lay claim to God’s grace and love

Given to you.

Amen.

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

May 23, 2021

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: 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. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

| Centering Prayer |

As “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) is the shortest verse in the Bible,

Pentecost is the shortest season in the Church year.

Pentecost is exactly one day long.

Every Sunday following Pentecost is known and organized

Simply by the number of Sundays following Pentecost.

For example, three weeks from today will be

The Third Sunday Following Pentecost.

Pentecost must be a big deal to liturgical peeps.

This liturgical numbering system continues until Advent!

Pentecost comes from the Greek Πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē) meaning “fiftieth”.

(Wikipedia)

Generally speaking,

Many of our Jewish ancestors hosted

an annual harvest celebration called “First Fruits”.

Ten percent of newly harvested fruits and vegetables

Would be given to the Temple or local Synagogue

To support the Rabbi and to feed the poor.

The culture of the tithe is rooted in the gifts of First Fruits, and

50 days later, Pentecost.

Following the ascension of Jesus

The second chapter of the Book of Acts

Reports the coming of the Holy Spirit

Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus.

The Spirit descended with “divided tongues, as of fire.”

The Holy Spirit gave each the power to witness

In every language

To all the world.

In Peter’s following sermon to the crowd

He gives his first-hand, eyewitness testimony to

The resurrection of Jesus,

His ascension, and

Being seated at the right hand of his Heavenly Father.

Thus the beginning of a new Messianic Age.

Peter’s testimony led to the first converts to be

Baptized by water and the Spirit and to be taught the ways of Jesus.

The Church was born.

One can loosely say that Pentecost is the birthday of the Church.

Happy birthday, Church!

You just turned 1,989 years old

(assuming Jesus was killed at age 32 and his birth was in 0 AD).

…

As there are two different Creation stories in the Bible,

Coming from two different sources,

So, too, are there two different Pentecost stories,

Reporting when the Holy Spirit came to the disciples.

The most popular one is the one I mentioned, from Acts 2.

The other Pentecost story is found in John 20:19-23

“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

I hope Jesus was fully vaccinated before he breathed on them!

With his promise to send the Holy Spirit,

Our Gospel lesson for today is fulfilled.

Jesus ascends.

His replacement,

God in the world,

Is the Holy Spirit.

While Jesus could interact one-on-one,

The reach of the Holy Spirit is global.

…

Back to our Gospel lesson,

Prior to his death.

Jesus is instructing his disciples in the Upper Room.

Much had been taught and demonstrated about discipleship

Over the final three years of his life.

After Jesus washes the feet of his disciples,

He teaches them about the primacy of love.

He informs them that He is the way to the Father.

Then he pivots.  

Jesus changes the focus from himself

To the promise of the Holy Spirit to replace Him.

Most Christians, especially most Protestants,

Know precious little about the

Third Person of the Holy Trinity,

The Holy Spirit.

In sweeping statements

Jesus gives us a gold mine of information,

Here in the Gospel of John.

First, the Greek word used for the Holy Spirit is “Paraclete”,

(Par·a·clete /ˈperəˌklēt/ noun (in Christian theology) the Holy Spirit as advocate or counselor (John 14:16, 26) – Google search.)

Which means Advocate,

One who speaks and acts on behalf of another.

In antiquity a paraclete was a mediator, comforter, and counselor;

One who instructed, assisted, and enter pleas on behalf of others.

A paraclete’s comfort was more than condolence,

It was sound advice and direction.

(This, and the following portion of the sermon is indebted to the excellent exegetical work found in “Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary”, Soards, Dozeman, McCabe, p.175-177, 1993)

The Spirit provides

True advice and direction.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth,

Testifying on behalf of Jesus Christ.

Disciples do the talking;

It’s the Holy Spirit of Truth

Dwelling in us

That gives us words, strength, and conviction.

Don’t sweat it.

We may be agents of the power of the Spirit,

But the work of Christian conversion is done by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit of Truth –

– Truth:

Jesus is God’s son,

Born and dwelt among us.

(John 1)

– Truth:

Jesus was sent to the world as an act of love

That all the world would believe and follow him,

Not to condemn the world,

But that the world might be saved into eternal life.

(John 3:16-17)

– Truth:

Jesus taught and practiced a life of love,

Suffered and died on a cross to atone for our sins,

Was risen from the dead 3 days later, and

Ascended into heaven.

Testify to this truth and let the Spirit convict.

…

The Holy Spirit proves the world wrong about sin.

Condemnation under the Law is replaced

By the sacrificial, atoning death of Jesus.

The redemptive and saving grace of Jesus Christ

Extends to all the world,

Including those who have yet to come to believe.

The Holy Spirit proves the world wrong about righteousness.

The resurrection and ascension of Jesus

Clearly identifies who he is and

The authenticity of his teaching and love.

Righteousness is following in the way of the Lord,

Not unrealistic adherence to the Law.

Righteousness is loving the Lord,

Loving our neighbors,

Even loving our enemies.

The Holy Spirit proves the world wrong about judgment.

Though there may be setbacks and exceptions,

The overall trajectory of God’s kingdom is ever upward.

Good wins over evil,

Light prevails over darkness,

Jesus Christ prevails ultimately victorious over Satan and the forces of evil.

Lastly, Jesus teaches

The Holy Spirit will teach and guide you to all truth.

When the Spirit takes up residence in your life,

It is at work to expand your understanding of Jesus.

As the Spirit works

We develop a deeper comprehension of Jesus, …

… a deeper perception, thankfulness, and intimacy with God.

I use visualization to open myself to become

A welcome dwelling for the Holy Spirit to descend and take up residence.

I see the Spirit in the air that I breath.

In every breath,

The Spirit fills me,

Teaches me,

Guides me,

Advocates for me,

Gives me words, and

Develops and deepens my intimate, loving relationship with Jesus.

To recognize the movement and work within myself,

Is to also recognize and honor the movement and work of the Holy Spirit within others.

Watch, listen, learn, discern.

Find truth. Speak truth. Come to truth.

Set the Holy Spirit free

And watch it set our church on fire.

Come, Holy Spirit. Come.

Happy birthday, Church.

Amen.

John 17:6-19

May 16, 2021

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

John 17:6-19

”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.

And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

| Centering Prayer |

This is the seventh and final Sunday

Of the liturgical season of Easter.

Next Sunday is Pentecost.

Pente-, meaning 50, or

Fifty days following the resurrection,

The Holy Spirit comes and fills the disciples

With tongues as of fire.

So, next Sunday, join the celebration.

Revive the Holy Spirit in your life,

And testify to the spiritual reality

By wearing the colors of fire:

Red, orange, yellow!

…

Each year, during this season of Easter,

We dive deep into the Gospel of John,

With this Seventh Sunday always focused on the 17^th chapter;

Jesus praying for his disciples.

We cover the whole 17^th chapter in a three-year cycle,

This year with a focus on the middle third.

Jesus is praying to God

On behalf of his disciples

In the Garden of Gethsemane,

On the Mount of Olives,

Immediately prior to his betrayal by Judas and arrest by soldiers and the police.

Jesus is having a prayerful conversation with his heavenly Father,

The creator of the world,

The one who fathered him,

The one who sent him, to save the world.

His prayer reveals

Much is going through the mind of Jesus;

Certainly, the work, ministry, teaching, and outreach he had accomplished,

Low the past three years.

Certainly, his thoughts turned to his mortality,

Expected suffering, pain, humiliation, and death.

Just as most who are facing impending death

Jesus prays for the wellbeing of loved ones and friends.

Certainly, he prayed for

Their safety,

Their strength to faithfully follow through

With their Apostolic Commission

To bring the world to him.

There are two key themes that catch my attention in Jesus’ prayer:

unity and protection,

As found in verses 11 and 15.

“Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. …

… I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” (17:11b, 17b)

…

Our Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane

Is an invitation for us to have a deeper conversation about unity.

The unity Jesus prays for is

For disciples to be unified just as

God and Jesus are unified.

What unifies our Divine Creator with our Divine Redeemer?

What is the special sauce that binds God and Jesus together that we should use liberally to bind us together?

May we be united by responsible stewardship of the natural world.

God created it.

Jesus lived in it.

We take care of it.

May we be united by grace.

God knew we needed mercy and forgiveness before we did,

So Jesus was sent and died to take away our sins.

God knew we needed salvation.

Because we are utter failures to even save ourselves.

Jesus was risen from the dead, and so, too, are we.

Grace is the gift of eternal life.

May we be united by love;

The same Old Testament love that shows that our God doesn’t quit on us,

To the love of Jesus

That heals and casts out demons, that

Teaches us to love God and love neighbors so much that we become known, identified, by our love.  

Christian unity is a common rallying cry

And fervent prayer for many when

Facing conflict that threatens division.

Word came to the Apostle Paul twenty years after the ascension of Jesus

That members of the local church he helped establish in the Greek city of Corinth were embroiled in turmoil:

Jealousies, rivalry, and immoral behavior.

Paul appealed to them to be unified by love, the same love God has for the Son,

And the Son has for those who follow him.

Today is no different.

We find ourselves cooking in a boiling stew of

Conflicts and threats of division.

Be it politics, race, or religion …

Be it a controversial zoning variance, vaccine requirements, who should get unemployment benefits, or how to safely open schools …

… There are as many divided opinions and conflicts as there are stars in the sky.

The Church reflects larger society.

External conflict and division are imported into faith communities by members themselves.

It’s unrealistic to expect an absence of

Internal conflict and division.

It is wise to be cautious about unity.

It is possible to be unified in

All the wrong things.

Jesus doesn’t pray for our unity in all things, only in that which unifies himself with the Father.

Unity is not conformity.

Diverse opinions and world views are welcome and

We must create a threat free environment that supports diverse points of view.

There is a dangerous nature of unity that should not be ignored;

The tempting call to be unified by the evil one.

For example,

I do not pray for unity or seek unity

With those who hate, who hurt, who destroy.

It is unholy to seek unity with racists, bigots, or those who employ violence and oppression.

Unity is sacred when we are unified in faithful response to God’s will.

However, unity is unholy and profane if aligned with the evil one.

We, Protestants, tend to get all nervous when talking about “the evil one,” the “devil,” or “Satan.”

Joining hands and singing “Kum Ba Yah” may avoid the topic and make us feel better,

But it does nothing to address the reality of evil in this world.

To deny evil is to enable it.

Jesus doesn’t mince words,

And neither should we.

Jesus engages in a cosmic fight with the evil one and our place is right by his side.

…

Our Lord’s prayer in Gethsemane

Is an invitation for us to have a deeper conversation about

Divine protection.

“Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. …

… I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” (17:11b, 17b)

Jesus prays for the protection of his disciples.

One can observe that all his disciples, with the exception of John, the beloved,

Ended up being martyred, so,

Why didn’t God protect them?

Jesus isn’t praying for physical protection, although this may take place.

He is asking for protection of Christian unity, and,

Jesus is asking for the disciples to be protected from the evil one.

Jesus is praying for you.

God is being petitioned to protect us and all that holds us together: stewardship, grace, and love.

Jesus is praying for your success.

Care for the world, and all that fills it.

Be the grace and love of God, and the Lord will protect you.

Jesus is praying for your safety in the cosmic fight between good and evil.

He is praying for your strength to overcome evil with good.

Jesus is praying for you

Because he loves you.

Simple as that.

…

Life can get dirty and sloppy real quick.

There is so much that threatens to divide us.

May we focus on what unites us:

Stewardship of God’s creation,

Living as an instrument of God’s grace,

Channeling God’s love to every corner of God’s world.

God will protect you.

Remain focused, and,

By God’s strength,

We will successfully build out God’s kingdom.

In God’s protective safety,

We will defeat the evil one,

Once and for all.

Let us pray:

Holy Father, protect your disciples so that they may be one, as you and Jesus are one.

Protect your disciples from the evil one.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen.

John 15:9-17

9 May 2021 – Sixth Sunday of Easter

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

John 15:9-17

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

| Prayer |

“If I could only have one food

To eat for the rest of my life?” Gordie asked.

Vern replies,

“That’s easy. Pez.

Cherry flavor Pez.

No question about it.”

(“Stand by Me”, 1986. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092005/)

These lines are from one of my favorite movies of all times,

“Stand by Me” written by Stephen King and directed by Rob Reiner.

The move is about a writer who recounts a boyhood journey

With his closest friends

To find the body of a missing boy.

I believe this movie appeals to me so much

Because it captures my childhood in a nutshell

(except for the missing body part).

“Stand by Me” describes my growing up,

Especially between the ages of 8 and 11.

My family lived in Sinclairville, New York

Midway between Jamestown and Fredonia.

My closest friends were Tommy Jordan and Kevin Kochersberger.

Our foil was Brian, who lived next door to Tommy.

Though we used Brian as comic relief,

He had an intimidating older brother.

Tommy was the son of the undertaker.

Kevin was the son of a college professor and wicked smart.

Brian was the youngest son in a broken, dysfunctional family.

Of course, I was the son of the Methodist preacher in town.

We roamed the neighborhood on banana set bikes,

Built treehouses,

Raided neighbor’s gardens,

Shot off Estes rockets and BB guns,

Road Tommy’s minibike,

Slept outdoors under the stars.

We cleared off snow from local ponds and played hockey with shovels.

We caught crawdads in the creek,

Went sledding down the hill at the town park,

And spied through the bushes when ever Tommy’s father

Brought a stiff to the back door of his funeral parlor.

The 1960s were very good to my friends and me.

Friends.

Like the writer in “Stand by Me”

We’ve all gone our separate ways,

Fallen off each other’s radar.

My friends of yesterday

Might still be only 3 degrees of separation because of social media,

But nothing can recreate that sense of friendship

That I experienced growing up.

Friends.

We were palls, companions, playmates.

We kept each other’s secrets.

We got in trouble together.

We explored the world together.

We stood up for one another.

We were loyal to one another …

And your word was your virtue.

We would not have used this word at the time,

But we loved one another.

Indeed, friend comes from the Dutch vriend,

An Indo-European root meaning “to love.”

(Google definitions)

In John’s Gospel passage,

It should be noted that

Jesus begins with a different kind of love: agápē love. (Ibid.)

Agape, from the Greek,

Describes a selfless, sacrificial,  unconditional love of God for his children,

A love that advocates, that acts, that wills

The good of another.

It is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.

“As the Father has loved me,

so I have loved you;

abide in my love,” (15:9)

Jesus teaches his friends;

Disciples from whom he will soon depart.

The relationship between the Father and Jesus, the Son,

Is that of agápē love,

A relationship that Jesus has attempted to replicate

Between himself and his disciples,

A relationship that Jesus instructs all disciples to replicate

Amongst ourselves and those who join our community.

Agápē love.

Let’s get to it!

The context of this passage is vitally important

When it comes to describing Agápē  love.

Jesus loves his friends even when they tried to hurt him.

He loved Judas,

As he demonstrated by washing his feet,

Immediately before Jesus foretells his betrayal. (John 13)

Jesus loved Peter,

Who’s feet he also washed,

Even as he foretells of Peter’s denial. (John 13)

Jesus also loved his closest friends:

John, called the beloved.

Jesus loved his friend Lazarus

So much so he wept for him

Before raising him from the dead. (John 11)

Jesus loved each of his disciples.

He prays for them immediately following this passage,

Right before he is arrested in the Garden. (John 17)

Jesus loved his disciples selflessly when he speaks of his future

“No one has greater love than this,

To lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (15:13)

The cross is the symbol for the supreme act of love

Between Jesus and his friends, his disciples.

The cross remains for us today that same symbol

Of Christ’s love for the world.

Jesus makes an important connection in this,

His farewell discourse,

When he refers to his disciples as friends.

Jesus changes words for love of friends, from

Agápē to Philia.

From the Greek, philia, philon, or friend, (15:13, 14, 15)

Friend means “tenderly loving, kindly affectionate.”

(Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, George Ricker Berry, Baker Rook House, Grand Rapids MI, 1897, p. 105)

Jesus ties his message together with philía love;

Love between friends that is loyal, virtuous, even joyful!

“I have called you friends,”

Jesus teaches,

“because I have made known to you everything

that I have heard from my Father.” (15:15b)

Jesus admits as much:

“I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you,

and that your joy may be complete.” (15:11)

If there is a common strand of

Gospel DNA that weaves its way through John

It would be love.

“God so loved the world …” (John 3:16a) drives to the heart

Of John’s message to the early Church.

You are loved,

Jew and Gentile alike.

You are loved,

Just as you are,

Saints, sinners, even the dead and resurrected.

You are loved.

You are loved as the Father loved Jesus.

God loves you so much that he sent us Jesus

Who willingly gave his life

That we might inherit eternal life.

Granted, commanding a friend to do something

Isn’t a very friendly thing to do.

No one likes a Mr. Bossy Boss.

That’s why you won’t find the Gospel of John

Full with Jesus’ commandments,

Or references to Jesus teaching

To uphold Moses’ Ten Commandments.

(Like what can be found in Matthew, Mark, or Luke).

Yet, it is important to take note of the one exception in this narrative:

Jesus commands his disciples to love one another,

To be friends.

Love one another,

Just as Jesus taught and lived,

Just as the Father loved Jesus, his Son.

Loving others fulfills all other commandments.

One loves God when one maintains fidelity to God,

Mimics God’s work and rest habits,

And treats God with respect.

When you love your neighbor

You don’t steal from them, lie to them, or covet their stuff.

When you love your neighbor

You don’t sleep with their spouse or kill them.

Loving others is the fulfillment of all commandments.

Loving others is our Lord’s greatest desire.

Love.

Abide in that love.

Dwell in that love.

Make your home in that love and live in that love forever.

Just as God chose to send us Jesus,

So, too, Christ has chosen you to be his friend.

You were led,

Or are being led,

By Jesus to baptismal waters.

Baptism seals each of us eternally with Christ,

Uniting us as friends.

You’ve been chosen.

You’ve been chosen by Jesus.

You’ve been chosen by Jesus to be his friend.

You’ve been chosen to become friends with one another and with the world.

You’ve been chosen to become God’s love in the world.

Abide in his love,

And your joy will be complete!

Amen.