John 15, 9-17
“On the Team!”
Easter 6
INTRODUCTION
When it is something you really desire, it is great to be chosen and very distressing when rejected.
I remember playing baseball when I was a child. Groups would gather, captains would be elected and then the choosing would begin. I always remember waiting on the sidelines until my name was called, praying that I would be chosen before the last name called- it was always good to be chosen number one or two. When you were the last person chosen, it was as if the team didn’t really want you, but there was no choice and the hurtful feeling, the projected sense of rejection by the rest was a terrible feeling. Perhaps you have been there. If so, you know the feeling.
Or applying to college, university, or graduate school and waiting to hear whether or not you’ve been accepted. Acceptance brings joy and relief and a sense of worth, rejection brings a feeling self-doubt, and inadequacy.
Or if you are currently unemployed and searching for a job and you send hundreds of resumes to companies and don’t hear anything! Or if you finally land an interview and never hear from the interviewer or are rejected, the feeling adequacy, competency and self-worth drops another few notches. If, however, you obtain the new job, the relief and joy and self-worth is elevated.
This morning as we gather in worship after another week of ups and downs in life, after feeling a sense of insecurity from the terrorist alert who are now plotting to surgically implant bombs in animals such as dogs, perhaps from experiencing rejection and alienation or conflict, we gather together as the people of God and we hear the good news that Jesus has chosen each one of us to be a child of God. Being chosen brings with it the wonderful love of the savior.
1. GOD’S LOVE TOUCHES DEEPLY
The reading from John for this morning is from Jesus’ farewell discourse to his disciples. It is a continuation from last week’s gospel reading concerning the vine and the branches. We remember that when placed in context, Jesus is sharing with his disciples that he is going to be leaving them. They would be filled with anxiety and concern over what he is telling them. They would be without their leader, their teacher, their master.
Yet in these words there is comfort given to the disciples. They are told that the love that the Father had for Jesus, is the love that Jesus has for them. They will abide in God’s love. They will be wrapped in the tremendous love. This love will touch their hearts and support them in the difficult times ahead but living in the love of God and with the promise of life in God, they will endure.
Not only will they abide in God’s love, but they were chosen to be God’s people. They were chosen! Imagine how they must have felt! Jesus reminds them that they did not choose him rather he chose them to be his followers and to experience God’s love and power in their lives. People even today seem to think that they can chose God and God’s blessings on their own terms and in their own ways, but here Jesus reminds us that it is not we who accept Jesus, but Jesus who has accepted and chosen his people! The feelings of the disciples would certainly be raised to a new level of joy as Jesus reminds them that they had been chosen and that they are to abide in God’s magnificent love.
Yet another uplifting aspect of this message is that Jesus calls them friends! Another significant barrier is torn down between God and his creation. No longer are they master and servant, but rather friends. The playing field is leveled and the joy and the love that is felt in that group at that time would be positive and uplifting and warm.
However, there is more to it than simply feeling God’s love and experience the glow of being chosen and even of being able to call Jesus friend – for this is predicated on the fact that they were to keep the commandment that Jesus gave them – to love one another as he loved them. They were not to simply sit and bask in the love of God but rather they were to live out that love and share it with others. They were to do what God wanted them to do in their lives, bearing the fruit of a faithful believer, sharing the story of God and living out the love of Jesus. They were to live out the sacrificial self-giving love that would seek the best for others. This would prove to be no easy command to keep.
2. LIVING THE LOVE OF GOD
In each of the examples in the introduction: being chosen for a baseball team, a college or university, or even being selected for a job, one thing is certain, that even though there is a sense of euphoria at being chosen, once chosen you have to perform! In order for a person to keep the job, not be thrown out of school or laughed off the team, one must perform to the best of their ability! In respect to our faith in Jesus, that is true, also. Jesus chose us; Jesus loves us; Jesus has saved us but we are also commanded by Jesus to bear the fruit of God’s love with one another.
How are we doing? Jesus calls us friends. Are we friends with one another? Not just fair weather friends, but ones who truly stand by one another? Do we care for one another? Do we love one another? Are we supportive of one another? Do we lift one another when we are down?
Or do we witness to the truth of Jonathan Swift’s statement: “We have just enough religion to make us hate one another but not enough to make us love one another.” How true is this when we see conflict arising in Christian communities, when people speak angry words and feel nothing but hatred for others, or contempt or even despise others. This is evil welling up inside congregations and bearing witness to something other than Jesus.
Just imagine the hatred in that congregation in Maine where arsenic was placed in the coffee. They are thinking it was a conspiracy, perhaps because a communion table that was a gift to the congregation had not been used in several weeks! How terrible, ugly and evil conflict can be when God’s love is not felt and when the command of Jesus is not obeyed!
We are called friends by the Lord. We are together in Christ in this community of faith. It is here that we are to care for one another and love one another. Are we able to support and care for person in this place? The pastors can not do it alone. Each believer has been chosen for a purpose. What is your purpose in the congregation? Once chosen and loved by Jesus, there is fruit to bear, work to do, and friendships to make. Whether in a small group or on a ministry team, or in a Bible study, have you made friends? Are you caring for one another?
Our mission statement includes the word, CARE. We are to be a caring and loving congregation in Jesus name. That means everyone on the team! If you are chosen to be on a baseball team, you better play your position…just so and even more importantly in the kingdom of God. And we are together in living our faith. There is a new reality show in England, Sick Day. The basic premise is that five people were brought together to live in one house. The winner was the one who was able to contract the greatest number of diseases in two months. All sicknesses counted from flu to warts. A doctor was stationed nearby. Just as love and caring attitudes can be contagious, so can the sickness and disfunctionality of the evil one be contagious and infect a congregation. May we exhibit the fruit of faith, the love that is our in Christ Jesus!
3. BEARING THE FRUIT
Jesus chose us to be in this community and on this team. We are to be a community that cares for and loves one another – as we do this, others will want to belong and to be involved in this wonderful community. What we do among ourselves shows how seriously we take being chosen by God. How we use the gifts, abilities and talents that God has given us speaks volumes about our faith in Christ and our ability to love one another. Others observe our behavior, our attitudes, and our actions. Will others be drawn to Christ and this congregation through your lifestyle and your witness to the joy of being in the place?
And we need not only share the love of Jesus, we need to share the words of Jesus – to announce to others the good news of life and salvation in Jesus. We need to express to others the joy and the love that is expressed and shown in this community. Come and see what love the people of God have for one another. If we cannot do this for our congregation, then we had better examine ourselves, see where the sickness is and pray that God will heal and make us better people.
This is an exciting place to be. Welcome others, share with others, support and encourage others, love others and share the story of faith in Jesus. For this story makes all the difference, now and forever. Ultimate and eternal consequences stand in the balance. May we not be tossed off the team for failure to use the gifts we’ve been given!
That you love one another as I have loved you, said Jesus to his disciples and through the pages of scripture to each one of us. Loving in a self-giving way, not always liking the other, but loving in Jesus’ powerful name, that is our command!
CONCLUSION
In a New England church, one of the poorer families had a year when everything that could go wrong in their lives, did go wrong. The father discovered he needed an organ transplant if he were to stay alive. The small business owned by the mother and her mother burned to the ground. They had an automobile accident, totaling the car. A child was discovered to have learning disabilities. A Pet died. They began to feel cursed. The church came together. Some of the members came to the home, prayed through each room and for those who lived there. Candles were lit, prayers were said, conversation happened and the community of faith walked with them in love through their troubles. Not all of the troubles disappeared in an instant, but the love of the members brought a new attitude and a togetherness that would help them through the difficulties. This is sharing God’s love in tangible ways. The people of God are chosen and they are friends! Amen.