As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you!

(Sermon 5524) Ps 98, Colossians 3:12, John15:9-17.

 Reading from Colossians Chapter 3 verse 12:  Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

In the name of the father, the son and The Holy spirit.

Our Church is not built only on human love. That would be much too small for God. No, the Church is built on God’s love and God’s love is different.

Some years ago I went to listen to a lady who was visiting a friend in my  friend’s house and there was a  missionary speaking of her experiences in Mongolia of the mission she ran through the Baptist Church in the USA. and how she reached out to all people, and I could tell we were getting to the good part. Her hands were clenched as if she was about to pray, . Her face was excited. But then her voice slowed down. She started giving me intricate details of her experience. She was drawing it out, so I could see it more clearly. She was slowing down her telling, so I could understand why this was such an important moment in her life.

Is that not how it is with life-changing moments not only for Sarah, but she felt she was making a huge difference to life’s of these people, she was reaching out to the marginalised ? When we share them, we want them to be deeply experienced. We will emphasize details, explain situations, slow down, and meditate on what was happening. Why? So, others understand. So, they slow down for a moment with us and contemplate all the experience means.

Something like that is happening in our gospel reading from John. John has reached the pivotal point of the Gospel. Jesus has spoken repeatedly about this hour, His passion, the moment when He will be glorified by His Father, raised up to draw all people to Himself. As the disciples gather for the Passover, their last supper with Jesus, Jesus pauses to teach them and… it is a long pause. They gather in the upper room in chapter 13, and it is not until chapter 18 that they leave. John slows down the climactic moment of his gospel, so we experience the fullness of what is happening. As if we were there, in the moment so we to could sense all that was happening

John is drawing us into the fullness of God’s radical, incomprehensible love. In this moment, Jesus calls His disciples not only to experience but to also share the radical nature of God’s love. (15:12).  “Love one another, just as I have loved you”. Nothing complicated, nothing difficult to understand yet maybe difficult to grasp, To love seems for some a difficult word to adhere to, but in the moment of what is happening within the gospel as if we were being drawn into the story, and being allowed to share in this special moment,

As Christians, we know what it means to be loved by God. We have experienced His grace in the baptismal waters, His grace in the sharing of His body and blood, the symbolism of what communion means and what God is sharing whith us through Jesus Christ, Jesus was no ordinary man,  His grace in the word proclaimed. We know what it means to be loved by God. But what does it mean for us to love like God? How do we love others as God has loved us?

Martin Luther once contrasted divine love and human love. Human love, according to Luther, finds its object. That the cross that symbol of pain suffering, yet a symbol of Hope for all, is out Theology. theology is like a map, said C.S. Lewis. It guides our minds to a coherent, practical understanding of God.  making us all able to learn more about the meaning, importance, Lets just brake down the word Theology and Simply put, theology is the study of the nature of God and religious belief. The word “theology” derives from two Greek words: “the study of God.” Theology comes from the word Theos, Greek for “God,” and -ology, which is from the Greek word logos, meaning “word.” In its literal form, the term theology means “words about God.” that’s it in a nutshell,

 That is, a human will love something which is lovable. Whether it is a cute puppy, or a beautiful sunset, or a compassionate friend, we will find what is beautiful, pleasing, beneficial, and good… and we will love it. We know what it means to be loved by God, but what does it mean for us to love like God? Do you feel more loved by God when he makes much of you, or do you feel more loved by God when he undertakes through the cross in the Holy Spirit to enable you to experience a kind of inner revolution that you enjoy making much of them forever? That’s the test question for this generation. maybe we still do.

Was there a time when we were  delivering the wrong books, the wrong sermons, the wrong message to this generation. “It’s all about me, all about my value.” We stand before the holy cross of God Almighty and take it as an echo of my worth, instead of as an echo of the horror of demeaning the worth of God — which is what sin is — and which is why the cross was necessary. As Christians, we seek to imitate Jesus in all ways, including how we love. But what does that mean? 1st john 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” This verse shows us that if we know God, we will be loving. Since Jesus is God’s love embodied, what does it mean for us to love like Jesus? Let’s look at what He showed us. Jesus loved without favouritism or discrimination, meaning, He loved His friends and enemies alike. He loved regardless of economic status, cultural background, or ethnicity. We are commanded to do the same: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James:2:8–9). It’s not difficult to love people who are just like us—even nonbelievers do that. Jesus made it clear that He expects us to love those who are not like us, even our enemies, too (Luke 6:32–36). In the Gospels, we see that Jesus ministered and provided healing and food to people who would later betray and crucify Him Forgiveness opens the door for restoration and reconciliation.

It is in our love for others that they see Jesus in us: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35). And it is in loving others like Jesus did that we continue to become more like Him. Jesus loved us enough to take on human flesh, live a sinless life, die on the cross, and rise back to life victorious over sin and death so that all who put their faith in Him would become children of God and live with Him May the Holy Spirit produce that kind of love in us so that we can love like Jesus, and may many more come to know and rest in His astounding love.

 

• Unfortunately, such love gets us into trouble. Why? Because puppies, sunsets, and people change. Quoting Ecclesiastes 3:11.. Everything is beautiful in its time but not forever. Cute puppies improperly trained can become demanding dogs. One day, our compassionate friend might do something selfish and challenging. If we only love people who are loveable, we will need to distance ourselves from our friends.

Over time, our love becomes limited. As you look at your social media contacts, how many are people you do not like? As you look at the people you have chosen to spend time with, how many say or do things you strongly disapprove of?

It is hard to love people. Why? Because people act in ways that make them hard to love. To only love those who are lovable leads to a limited kind of love. Our world gets smaller as there are only so many people who can live up to the standards we set before we give them our love. And the love of God, which was poured out in Jesus to extend to the ends of the earth, gets caught up in small, exclusive, limited communities of like-minded people who love like humans.

But the Church is not built on human love. That would be much too small for God. No, the Church is built on God’s love and God’s love is different.

Divine love does not find its object. Divine love creates it. That is, God’s love does not find those who are good and righteous and reward them with love. No, God’s love finds those who are evil and unrighteous and loves them into life. Divine love bestows goodness and righteousness freely on those who do not deserve it. This is the amazing nature of God’s love. Centred in the death and resurrection of Christ, flowing out of His forgiveness of all sin for all people, divine love finds the unlovable and loves them into life.

This is the life Jesus shares with His disciples on the night when He was betrayed, and this is the life He shares with us today. He has loved us with the greatest love, a love that laid down His life for you, a sinner in need of salvation. And it is also a love which reaches out through you to a world in need of salvation. In God’s Kingdom, there is no one so ruined that they cannot be reclaimed, no one so evil that they cannot be embraced, no failure so bad that it cannot be forgiven.

This morning, Jesus calls us to slow down and look closely at our community. Are we loving our enemies, doing good to those who do evil to us, embracing those who push us away? Because that is what Jesus is doing among us. He has brought His love to us, a people who do not deserve it, and He is bringing His love through us to a world that has fallen away from God. AMEN.

Iam the vine and you are my branches!

28^th April 2024. To day the 5^th Sunday of Easter, we look into John 15:1-8. “the Vine and the branches which could be seen as us the followers of the vine, Jesus Christ and the Branches  and our lives, a bit cryptic, but tell me a story about Jesus Christ or indeed a Parable that’s was ever straight forward?,

In the name of the father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.

Think about what you do in your daily life that just leaves you exhausted. I am talking about the things that leave you emotionally drained and physically worn out. Goodness, have I done my 10.000 steps yet!!!

 These are not the kind of things for which sleeping late, taking a day off, or going on holiday are the antidote. It’s about more than just being tired. The constant physical and emotional striving depletes and empties our spirit. You feel your soul drying out even as your tears get closer and closer to overflowing. Imagine the Hell of finding that God is in exile to some people, To those whos faith has diminished!!

 You do what you’ve got to do but it’s not really what you want to do. You give your time and your effort but not your heart. What are those things for you? What’s number one on your list? What’s number two? What’s number – – let’s not even go to number three.

Now think about those things you do that seem effortless. They just flow. You’re in the zone. They are the things in which you totally immerse yourself. You bring all that you are and all that you have. You hold nothing back. You give it your all and you wouldn’t have it any other way. You feel light as a feather. You feel full and complete. You look at the clock and wonder where has time gone.

You don’t want to stop and when you do you can’t wait until you can start again. This is about wholeheartedness and it’s the antidote to exhaustion. * What are those things for you? What’s number one on your list? What’s number two? Number three? Four? You can’t have too many of those.

So what’s the difference between the things on your two lists? One takes all that we have and we feel exhausted but the other we give all that we have and we feel invigorated. That make you  feel like we’re crashing, the other like we’re soaring. One leaves us feeling wrung out and thankful the day is finally over. The other leaves us feeling, what my mother used to call, “a good tired” and thankful for the day. What’s that about?

As different as those two lists seem they have something in common. You and me. You are what’s common to your two lists even as I am what’s common to mine. 

I wonder what if those two lists are two ways of living? What if those two ways of living are two branches in each of our lives?

 And what if one branch vine. fruit and the other leaves us dying on the vine? Fruitless.

As I look at those two lists in my life – and maybe this is true for your life too – I find my first list is about productivity. It’s about my need to do, to accomplish, to meet expectations, to be approved of and liked. It’s about my determination, my work, my effort, my will. It’s mostly about my ego, measuring my worth, and keeping score. I’ve measured productivity with, trophies, awards hours worked and income; checking my progress on the to do list; They filled my shelves of my life but emptied my heart.

The second list, however, is about my fruitfulness. It’s about a way of being that gives my life meaning. It’s knowing my worth apart from my usefulness. It’s seeing the abundance of life as a quality not a quantity. It’s having values rather than measuring value. It’s discovering and following my purpose regardless of anyone else’s approval, recognition, or reward. It’s being comfortable in your own skin. It’s knowing that you belong and have a place. Things just seem to fit together. It’s being  connected to and abiding in something greater than ourselves. Maybe instead of fruitfulness a better word for all this is wholeheartedness. Those are the moments when I show up to life with an emphatic and thankful yes. 

I wonder if we sometimes let our productivity highjack our fruitfulness and wholeheartedness. We get the job done and we pay our way, but at what cost? What have you lost in your life today by living from a place of productivity rather than wholeheartedness? 

I’m not suggesting we ought not be productive. Some things just need to be done. But what if true productivity arises from wholeheartedness and not in opposition to it? What if wholeheartedness and not productivity was our default mode?

I think we all want to live fruitful and wholehearted lives. It’s what we want for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, our friends. Most of us probably struggle to find it.

 I think that’s, at least in part, why we show up here each Sunday. It’s why we follow Jesus. We see in him what we want for ourselves – wholeheartedness. 

And let’s be honest. Jesus wasn’t overly, anything, Born in Bethlehem. A runaway at twelve. Baptized at thirty. Itinerant teacher for three years. Dead at thirty-three. Resurrected three days later. What did he really do on a daily basis? 

For three years he showed up. He was present. He listened. He loved. He connected with people. He prayed. He was faithful and obedient. He told stories about life and finding meaning. He offered mercy and forgiveness. He shared meals with all people . He was compassionate. He touched the hurting and broken places in people’s lives. He had a vision for a new life and a different way of being in the world. He offered hope. He pointed to a life beyond his own. He helped people connect with themselves, and  one another, and God. He didn’t do all that much, but he made a huge difference. In short, he was more fruitful, but taught others to be productive.

That’s how I want to live, don’t you? I want my life to matter. I want my life to have meaning. I want to give myself to what is worthwhile. I want to make a difference. I want to give priority to people and relationships. I want to be deeply connected. I want to blossom and grow. I want to “be fruitful and multiply” as we learn in Genesis 1:28. 

And here’s the hard part about that kind of life. It comes only by removing the branches in our life that do not bear fruit and pruning those that do. Either way we’re going to be cut. And I wonder what that means for us all today.

Look at your two lists again. What would it take to move more of your life to the second list, to move just one aspect of your life from productivity to wholeheartedness? What in your life today needs to be removed, cut away, released, let go of? And what needs to be pruned, tended, nurtured, and cared for? even in our darkest hour, no matter what trials or tribulations we might face, still we can have confidence in the Lord, that He will be by our side, as He always has been, and help us through whatever we are facing.

However, lets not forget our Psalm for today, we also find that assurance from another perspective. When we read from Psalm 22 and reflect on how that Psalm blends and allows us to see the fuller picture, where Gods word and Jesus go hand in hand .

whilst we might initially think of the suffering face by the Psalmist himself, or even more generally to the people of Israel, there are also Messianic overtones here and this Psalm is reminiscent of the Suffering Servant Songs we find in the prophecies of Isaiah. Look again at the Psalm, read it slowly, and note how it ends, ‘They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn – for he has done it.

Through Jesus Christ God has reconciled Himself to us and by His Spirit He is with us always. Whatever life may throw at us, whatever comes our way, we are never alone – the Lord is with us and always will be. So let us reflect.

Lord, we know that as we journey through life that we will face many trials and tribulations along the way, but still we give You thanks and praise for we know that you are with us every step of the way and will never abandon us, guiding us and allowing us to have our lists, our thoughts on how our lives exist and for that we thank You. And be ever grateful for the teaching of our Lord Jesus and all he has taught us with Gods guidance each and everyday Amen.