Sunday, May 9, 2010
Easter 6C
Jerusalem Baptist Church (Emmerton), Warsaw VA
John 14:23-29
23Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
25”I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
28You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.
As we draw closer to the celebration of the birth of the Church – Pentecost – we are going to do a little bit of hopping around in the scriptures. Last week’s passage had us following Peter to defend his vision from God to reach out to the Gentiles to the folks in the Jerusalem church who thought that to be a Christian meant that you first had to become a Jewish believer and all that THAT entailed, in order to follow Christ. Peter’s defense convinced them – at least momentarily – of the fact that the Gospel was for everyone and everyone was to be received INTO the Gospel – regardless of whether or not they were a follower of the Hebrew Law.
Today, we are traveling back in time to the conversation Jesus had with his disciples during their final meal together. Jesus in John is as plain and open as he can be about what is going to happen to him and why he is going to go through the things that he went through. That is the single most obvious difference between John and the other three gospels. The short term for it is that it is full of ‘I am’ statements from Jesus. “I am the resurrection and the life”, “I am the bread of Life”, things like that are strewn throughout the Gospel, very unlike the secret Messiah we find in Mark.
All that to say, Jesus is much more … assertive, I guess we could call it, in the Gospel of John. Here he has just reiterated to the disciples that he is going to leave them, and their response, predictably, has been one of consternation combined with unease, if not outright fear. If he is leaving, what’s going to happen with all the plans we had for taking back the Kingdom of Judah, of kicking out the Romans, of reestablishing the Davidic Dynasty?
Jesus’ response is essentially “haven’t you been listening? Remember what I told you – especially remember what I am telling you NOW – so that you will look back on this moment and remember what I said and realize what what I am saying MEANS.”
And what he spells out for them is a promise of presence through the person of the Holy Spirit.
Initially, in his response, Jesus describes who his followers are – how they will be recognized, if you will. And that recognition doesn’t depend on what you are wearing, or whom you know, how much you make or where you live. It has everything to do with love – with HOW and WHOM you love. Jesus’ words are piercingly clear:
“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
The bond that is established between the believer and the Godhead is no longer dependent on the keeping the Mosaic law; it is based on love. Jesus makes it clear also that, if there was any doubt as to who this mandate comes from, it is not ‘just’ him – it is from God.
Beginning in verse 25, John uses the term ‘Paraclete’ to begin to refer to the Holy Spirit. The word has multiple meanings: while the literal meaning of the related verb (parakaleo) means "to call to one's side" -- usually asking the other for help -- the noun took on a legal meaning as "helper in court". Thus we have translations like "counselor," "advocate," or "one who speaks for another" as well as the (too) general translation of "helper". If the paraclete is the helper in court, whose helper is he? Is he ours, or is he Jesus’? Traditionally, we tend to think of the Holy Spirit as being our helper, and this does seem to be the case in some if not all instances. But there is some evidence that the Holy Spirit is also helping JESUS communicate with US when we might be particularly stubborn or thick-headed. In verse 26,
The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
In this instance, as well as in the following chapter, the Spirit serves to communicate on behalf of Jesus or in the place of Jesus. This advocate is one that not only guides us, but he also longs for our continued engagement in the holy dance that is our relationship to God.
Jesus’ next words are to what were either the spoken or unspoken fears and worries that the disciples had – he gives them his peace. Think about it. HIS PEACE. Jesus has a pretty clear understanding about what is about to happen to him – the arrest, the beating, the torture, and the crucifixion itself… and yet he faces it with equanimity. He does not shy away from it, he accepts it as necessary for his purpose on Earth to be fulfilled. And it is that same attitude that he has that he offers to his disciples. He makes it clear that the peace they are going to receive is not what the world would consider peace, it is not the absence of conflict. He knows that they are going to be facing some of the same things that he will be facing in the next few hours over the rest of their lives – some longer, some shorter – but that absence of conflict would not be among their experiences.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
At varying times in our lives, these words either land and sink into our psyche or they bounce right off, and we go right on being troubled or being afraid. Isn’t that the case with most of us? It seems almost an exercise in futility to read through them again, or find the other passages where the initial and recurring word from God is ‘Do Not Be Afraid!’
We COULD spend some time itemizing what it is we are most readily afraid of: the unknown, change, the stranger, a new direction in life that we are unwilling to allow to disrupt our day-to-day existence … there can be any number of things. I was looking at some pictures that a friend posted of Antofagasta last night, and one of them was of a beautiful sunset over the ocean – the sun was setting behind a cloud bank that was out to sea some distance from the coast, and I commented to him that I remembered watching those sunsets, and then at night I would have nightmares of the clouds actually being giant tsunamis that were coming to eat away at the beach and then the land and finally our house… I remember many a night waking up in a cold sweat from frantically trying to claw my way up a crumbling sand bank… it is amazing how we can turn the most beautiful things into a source of fear and distrust.
What does this mean for Jerusalem Baptist Church at Emmerton, on Mother’s Day, 2010?
What is it that causes us to worry, to be troubled, to be afraid? There are significant changes going on in our national life as well as on the international stage – things that have been happening over the last 7 years as well as things that have been building over the last 7 decades if not longer.
Our national dialogue has taken on a frantic tone in many instances, and the voices that seem to be heard loudest are those that speak to incite fear and anger and mistrust, that seem to thrive at the prospect of provoking increasingly violent conflict not in the political process, but apparently in our very cities and streets.
In light of that, what do Jesus’ words to NOT be troubled, to NOT be afraid, mean to us and for us?
This may be a time when we would do well to take Jesus’ words both literally AND figuratively. Literally insofar as we are being called to face the world with a serene spirit – a calm disposition that would see beyond the hype and the clamor to the need and desire that only Christ can fill in the lives of those who are searching for peace in the earthly sense; and figuratively in the sense that we have been charged with responding as Christ responded – not as the world expected, but as God called.
May we be so faithful.
Let’s pray.
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