Sermon Seeds: Loving Friends
Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B
Lectionary citations:
Acts 10: 44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5: 1-6
John 15:9-17
Worship resources for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B are at Worship Ways
Sermon Seeds
Focus Scripture:
John 15:9-17
Focus Theme:
Loving Friends
Reflection:
by Kathryn Matthews
This week’s passage from the Gospel of John contains many familiar phrases that inspire and comfort us, including the heart, the bottom line, of what it means to be a Christian: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” As Jesus neared his death, he made a farewell address to his followers, and the theme of love is powerful throughout.
When Jesus knew his hour had come, the Gospel writer says, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (13:1b). “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (14:15). And now, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (15:9).
The meaning of abiding
These words about love help us to understand the meaning of Jesus’ command to “abide” in him, to understand ourselves as living our lives within his own reality, as part of him in the Body of Christ, as sheep of his flock, as branches of a vine that bears rich fruit for a world hungry for love. These words about love help us to understand what love really is, and what it means to make our homes, or to abide, in Jesus.
John’s Gospel tells us that we are known and cared for, as sheep are loved and cared for by the shepherd who even lays down his life for the flock, rather than running away like a hired hand. Because of that love, we can trust the One who knows us intimately and cares for us tenderly, who holds our very lives in that care. We are known and held and loved, but we are commanded, too, to belong to one another, to care for one another, to love one another.
That is the kind of obedience, not blind obedience but trusting obedience, that Jesus inspires and even models, for he has lived his own life in trusting obedience to God. This kind of love and trust is where we live our lives and live out our faith.
These laws aren’t harsh or burdensome
The word “commandments” isn’t legalistic and doesn’t refer to a harsh code of burdensome laws. John’s Gospel doesn’t even focus on the commandments of the law as the other Gospels do; John’s theme is love, and to obey is to love. This command is not the “but” in “I love you, but….” Rather, it’s the “and,” as in, “I love you, and I want you to love one another.”
Or maybe a better word is “so”: “I have loved you, so you must love one another.” This unselfish love that binds us together in community just as it binds us in relationship to him, he tells us, is the path to true joy, the kind of joy we can abide in.
Love to sustain community
An other-centered, belonging-to-something-greater-than-yourself love was crucial to the struggling little community that John was addressing. Just as the disciples were about to experience their world imploding as Jesus faced death and those disciples ran for cover, so the Johannine community a generation or two later was facing all sorts of persecution and ostracism because of their faith. They might have been tempted to turn inward, loving God (of course) and one another, and concentrating on their own survival.
Instead, Jesus lays on them a different ethic, one that will transform the world rather than judge or run away from it. In a way, this love is “tough love.” Bernard Brandon Scott uses last week’s uncomfortable image of pruning to describe how this works: “The Johannine image is not one of quietism but one of ethics and action that knit or prune humanity back together in love.” Instead of thinking about who gets pruned away (judged and rejected), Scott notes that we’re called to “prune humanity back together in love” (New Proclamation Year B 2006).
The true test: being rooted in love
Jesus’ commandment to love provides a clear, comprehensive framework for forming values in every age and every situation, no matter how different our cultures, our technologies, our sophistication. We might ask ourselves about every decision and choice and plan and vision: Is this rooted in love? Does this bear fruit for the kingdom of God? That’s the true test.
Love, of course, doesn’t mean the romantic, ephemeral feeling that may fuel our popular music, our films, and all too often, our personal quest. Being other-centered rather than self-centered, even to the point of giving up our lives (suddenly or over a lifetime) fulfills the law of Christ. Purity codes and legalisms fall away.
How well we know the challenge of being other-centered: in our culture, with mobility, career pressure, distractions, and overloaded calendars, it’s difficult even to make room for friendship. We don’t stay long enough to get to know one another, let alone to care about one another. And yet this Gospel keeps talking about staying, about abiding, about making our home in God, in the Body of Christ.
Loving the way Jesus loves
I remember a day during my first semester of seminary when the professor quoted Henri Nouwen as saying that we’re called to “love Jesus, and love the way Jesus loved.” In his beautiful little book, In the Name of Jesus, Nouwen provides a lens through which to read this passage: “Knowing the heart of Jesus and loving him are the same thing.”
Nouwen was writing about ministry, and of course we’re all called to be ministers of the gospel, so his words tell us what it means that Jesus has chosen us to love the world: “The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God.”
What would this kind of love look like?
This is a lofty ideal, and we might wonder what this kind of love would look like. Love is definitely more than nice words and warm affection. Carmelo Álvarez reminds us that “communion, or koinonia, includes the sharing of human resources, material goods, and communal fellowship….a commitment of solidarity toward unity as a witness in a broken and divided world” (Feasting on the Word Year B, Vol. 2).
Álvarez uses Archbishop Oscar Romero as an example of this love, as one who knew how to be both prophet to the rich and pastor to the poor and oppressed people of El Salvador. Once a comfortable and respected son of the institutional church, Romero went to the margins (a dangerous place) to champion those who suffered there.
A faithful love
Álvarez says that Romero didn’t turn away from, or ignore, the setting in which he preached, or the people who needed a word of hope about their lives, then and there, not simply pie-in-the-sky promises of heaven while their loved ones were disappearing into the violent machinery of a corrupt state. In exquisite faithfulness to the love of which Jesus speaks in this passage, Romero ultimately laid down his life for those he loved. (I recommend the film, “Romero,” which tells this story.)
What is the context, the concrete situation, in which you preach this text on Sunday morning? Álvarez challenges preachers–and churches–to live out this text by “strengthening communities of solidarity, affirming diversity, promoting healthy relationships in families and communities, embracing strangers, and promoting intercultural and interreligious dialogues.” What is the path of love and joy, and what is your role as pastor/preacher?
Álvarez suggests that we turn to this text from John’s Gospel for guidance, for here Jesus helps his disciples (including us) face what lies ahead with a faith that can be described as trust. This is the preacher’s task as well, Álvarez reminds us (Feasting on the Word Year B, Vol. 2).
In each generation, a word of reassurance
The earliest disciples faced impending loss and grief, the Johannine community faced persecution and marginalization, and the people of El Salvador faced (and continue to face) violence and injustice. If we read this text in its own setting, we see that in the very next verse, Jesus’ words are about the opposition–even hatred–that his followers will face: “If the world hates you,” he says, “be aware that it hated me before it hated you” (v. 18).
Erik Heen connects the reassurance of this verse and the promise in verse 16: “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.” Heen emphasizes the importance of reading this week’s passage along with the verses that surround it: verse 16, “taken out of the context of Jesus’ discourse on the true vine and understood solely in terms of God rewarding a disciplined prayer life by fulfilling specific requests, has wreaked all sorts of spiritual havoc through the centuries.” Jesus is teaching us what we need to know about prayer, not as a list of requests for what we think we need but for “the power to love the world even though the world responds to that love with hatred” (New Proclamation Year B 2009).
Jesus knew it wouldn’t be easy
Jesus knew it wasn’t going to be easy for his little band of disciples, or for the church that followed them, for the Romeros of this world and for each one of us, struggling to live out our faith in the face of everything that challenges it. In this farewell address, he reassures us that we face these things not as servants, but as his friends, as the ones in his circle who have been let in on the big picture, the reign of God, and given our role in bringing it in.
Ironically, there are times when the world seems to go ahead of the church in bringing in a reign of justice and peace. Think of women’s rights, for example, or LGBTQ rights; the church is often far behind the wider society in recognizing the full humanity, considerable gifts, and rights of all people. And so, studies indicate that a growing number of young (and not-so-young) people, alas, think of the church as hateful, judgmental, and hypocritical. Granted, these are hard words to read, especially for those of us who love the church and experience it differently.
“Spiritual but not religious”
It’s also not surprising that a growing number of people do not claim any religious affiliation at all, even though they think of themselves as “spiritual.” This is a call to reflection and humble self-examination for the church, not just lament and certainly not criticism or complaint about those we have lost, or alienated, or failed to attract. Indeed, we need to understand why the world hates us, before we take comfort in these words of Jesus, in order to avoid self-righteousness. A thorny question that one sermon can’t resolve!
We don’t have to be the kind of hero Oscar Romero was called to be. It’s hard enough to give our lives slowly, day by day, in love for the world. We live in a country that continues to debate its identity as a “Christian nation” (regardless, it seems, of the separation of church and state, or the guarantee of freedom of religion to all, including non-Christians). Perhaps we should ask why so many Christians cry “Socialism!” every time our nation moves toward greater sharing with one another, and tries to alleviate the suffering of those on the margins, just as Jesus commanded us to do.
A contemporary challenge to Christians
One of the most haunting stories I’ve ever read is from Jim Wallis, in his book, Call to Conversion. Wallis describes something that happened at a conference in New York City on social justice that included religious leaders of all kinds. “At one point,” he recalls, “a Native American stood up, looked out over the mostly white audience, and said, ‘Regardless of what the New Testament says, most Christians are individualists with no real experience of community.’ He paused for a moment and then continued: ‘Let’s pretend that you were all Christians. If you were Christians, you would no longer accumulate. You would share everything you had. You would actually love one another. And you would treat each other as if you were family.’ His eyes were piercing as he asked, ‘Why don’t you do that? Why don’t you live that way?'”
Let’s pretend we are all Christians. What would that look like, in this world? How might it be different from the way we live today? Nowadays, it seems that many people see church membership as something we choose, much as we shop for other needs in our lives. And yet Jesus says here that we did not choose him, rather, he chose us. Doesn’t our “chosen-ness,” our being chosen by Jesus, up-end this consumerist approach to being Christians?
Rather than expecting a church to fill our needs, are we called instead to seek to fill the needs of others and in so doing, find our own deepest needs met? How does being a member of the church afford us the possibility of both space and time for friendship, for caring about one another? Is your church a safe space where you can be known and cared about? Have you ever experienced another person or a community being “for” you?
Are we “captured by the story”?
In what ways do you feel you have been assured by God that everything is going to turn out well, in the end? In what ways has your church been assured? Do you feel that Jesus, then, is your friend who tells you what is going on, rather than a master who doesn’t bother to inform the servants about what is planned? What is your understanding of “the plan” that Jesus has shared with you?
Charles Cousar suggests that being “friends of Jesus” means “being captured by the story, following the sometimes comforting, sometimes disturbing plot that leads to the cross and the empty tomb, and finding in it the light to guide their way in the world” (Texts for Preaching Year B). Are you and your church “captured by the story”? Where is the light taking you? In what ways do you experience Jesus calling you “friends,” not just “servants”?
The Rev. Kathryn M. Matthews retired in 2016 after serving as dean of Amistad Chapel at the national offices of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio.
You’re invited to share your reflections on this text in the comments below the post on our Facebook page.
A Bible study version of this reflection is at Weekly Seeds.
For further reflection:
Fred Rogers, 20th century
“When I say it’s you I like, I’m talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.”
Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Amiel’s Journal, 19th century
“Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind.”
Madeleine L’Engle, 20th century
“We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”
Meister Eckhart, 14th century
“In this life we are to become heaven so that God might find a home here.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 20th century
“Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be the first in love. I want you to be the first in moral excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity.”
Dr. James Forbes, Whose Gospel?, 21st century
“The progressive spirituality I believe in is deeply rooted in the conviction of Dr. King that God’s dream of the Beloved Community sets the agenda for the church.”
Jane Austen, 19th century, Northanger Abbey
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
Jean Baptiste Lacordaire, 19th century
“We are leaves of one branch, the drops of one sea, the flowers of one garden.”
Lao Tzu, 6th century B.C.E.
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
Abraham Kuyper, 20th century
“He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God.”
Charles Cousar, 21st century
“What makes people friends of Jesus is their being captured by the story, following the sometimes comforting, sometimes disturbing plot that leads to the cross and the empty tomb, and finding in it the light to guide their way in the world.”
The Dalai Lama, 21st century
“Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities.”
Lectionary texts
Acts 10: 44-48
While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Psalm 98
O sing to God
a new song,
for God has done
marvelous things.
God’s strong hand
and holy arm
have given God
the victory.
God has made known
God’s victory;
and has revealed
God’s vindication
in the sight
of the nations.
God has remembered
having steadfast love
and faithfulness to the house
of Israel.
All the ends
of the earth
have seen the victory
of our God.
Make a joyful noise
to God,
all the earth;
break forth into joyous song
and sing praises.
Sing praises to God
with the lyre,
with the lyre and
the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound
of the horn
make a joyful noise
before the Ruler,
the Sovereign.
Let the sea roar,
and all that fills it;
the world and those
who live in it.
Let the floods clap
their hands;
let the hills sing together
for joy
at the presence of God,
for God is coming
to judge the earth.
God will judge the world
with righteousness,
and the peoples
with equity.
1 John 5: 1-6
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.
John 15:9-17
[Jesus said:] “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.”
Notes on the Lectionary and Liturgical Colors
by the Rev. Susan Blain, Curator for Worship and Liturgical Arts (mailto:blains@ucc.org)
Faith Formation Ministry, Local Church Ministries, United Church of Christ
(Essay based on an article by Laurence Hull Stookey: “Putting Liturgical Colors in their Place” in Calendar: Christ’s Time for the Church ©1996 Abingdon Press.)
The use of colors to differentiate liturgical seasons is a custom in use among some Western churches for hundreds of years. Although the custom of using colors is an ancient one, there has not always been agreement on what the colors should be. The Council of Trent in 1570, a Roman Catholic response to the Reformation, codified the colors for the Roman Catholic Church. When we talk about “traditional” colors today, we usually are referring to that codification. There were four basic colors in that codification: purple (penitence), red (Spirit or Martyrs memorials), green (long season after Pentecost) and white (festivals). Other colors, or no color at all, were acceptable variants in some regions.
The Reformation of course was a watershed for Christian ritual practice. Anglican and Lutheran churches often used some form of liturgical colors; however, the Reformed tradition of churches, where the UCC falls, for the most part did away with the custom of using colors, opting for much more simplicity. During the ecumenical liturgical movement of the mid-20th Century, Protestant churches began to look back at some of the ritual and colorful practices of the past with an eye toward reclaiming them to help give expression to feeling, tone, and imagery underlying the lectionary stories.
Before the Reformation’s iconoclasm, and Trent’s code, practices varied from place to place, often depending on what was available. Indeed, in some places the custom was to organize vestments into practical categories of “best,” “second best,” and “everyday”–not depending on the color at all. For Christmas and Easter the “best” vestments were used, no matter the color! Other, less prominent feasts or Sundays got “second best” or “everyday.”
So, here is a challenge to worship planners: Take it upon yourselves to develop and expand the “received” tradition!