Reverend Ref +

SERMON
EASTER 6B

Today's gospel passage is at about the midway point of what is called the Farewell Discourse, that section in John where Jesus is preparing the disciples for his departure. But it is not only the disciples who are being prepared for the departure of Jesus; it is also we who are being prepared.

In all three years of the lectionary cycle -- A, B and C -- the sequence is the same, and all three years utilize John's gospel. On the fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear some version of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. On Easter 4 through today, Easter 6, we hear parts of the Farewell Discourse. And finally, on Easter 7, we hear Jesus' prayer for the disciples.

The lectionary is set up this way because after the self-examination of Lent, after the dark days of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and after the joy of the resurrection when we are finally able to shout, "Alleluia!" we might be tempted to think it's back to business as usual. We might be tempted to say to ourselves, "Jesus is back; now I can be a follower again."

But Jesus, in this context, is only with us for a short while. He lives in post-resurrection form for 40 days, teaching and eating and talking with the disciples. Then, on the fortieth day, Jesus ascends into heaven never to be seen in physical form again. The disciples are now, in effect, leaderless.

You could argue that the Holy Spirit is their leader; technically and theologically that would be true. But that is not the same has having the physical presence of Jesus. It's not the same as being able to ask a real person, "What do we do now?" Jesus hasn't abandoned them (remember last week's gospel when he said, "I will not leave you orphaned"); but their roles have been drastically changed.

Instead of being able to ask Jesus, "What now," they have to ask that of themselves, and they have to ask that of the Holy Spirit and hope that they discern the right path. For all intents and purposes, these eleven men are now the leaders of this movement we call Christianity. They are the ones to make the decisions, set the example, and chart a path. And it was for this that Jesus was preparing them in the Farewell Discourse. He's driving home the point that they are no longer followers, but leaders.

This is not only where the disciples are, but it is also where we are. We do not have the luxury of asking Jesus the man, "What now?" We are left with the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, sent by the Father at the request of the Son to help us navigate the road ahead of us. It is our job to make the decisions, set the example, chart a path, and hope and pray that we are correctly discerning where God wants us to go. For all intents and purposes, we are now the leaders of this movement we call Christianity.

But as with any organization where people are involved, there will be problems. Who gets to make the decisions? Who decides what is an appropriate example? Who decides what path to take? What happens when we disagree? Do we decide to work together to resolve our differences, or do we decide to go our own separate ways? And if we do split, will it be amicable, or will each side label the other as apostate and heretical?

Christianity has taken on many forms over the centuries, and many people have either died for or have been killed because of their faith. There are a variety of ways to interpret scripture, and we don't all agree on every interpretation for every point. And yet, people can get all worked up about interpretation and wanting to make sure that they have the right answers.

This is why Jesus spends so much time talking about and using the word 'love' in these passages. In today's short gospel passage, John records Jesus using 'love' nine times. Yes, we have moved from followers to leaders, but do you get the impression that Jesus knew a little bit about human nature? We can claim to be leaders, but if we don't base our leadership in love, then we will fail.

John himself picks up on this idea of love and expands on it; he uses that word, or a variation of it, 26 times in the passage we heard today. Not only does John uphold Jesus' understanding that God is love, but he points out that love is a verb. Love isn't some sentimental feeling that you throw out to either describe God's attributes (God is love), or that you use to describe your feelings for a higher power (You light up my life). Love is a verb and it is found in relationships.

God's love for us was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. By loving one another, God lives in us. We can't hate people we have seen and yet claim to love God. It's easy for us to hate people we don't know or with whom we have no contact: Muslims, fundamentalists, neo-conservative Christians, homosexuals, liberals, Californians, pick your category. But hopefully that specter of hate will dissipate as we work towards a relationship, as we move from fear to love.

John writes, "There is no fear in love . . . for fear has to do with punishment." If we spend time working on and developing our relationships, then the level of fear should decrease. We may still disagree about politics, the environment, theology or whatever, but we are probably more likely to disagree over substance than out of fear. There's a vast difference between something like, "I think we need to have a more efficient immigration policy so that our infrastructure and social services are not overburdened," and something like, "We need to build a wall to keep out illegal immigrants and keep them from ruining our way of life." The latter statement is based in fear, while the former understand we are talking about human beings and trying to work form a position of love.

Fear also has to do with punishment, John says. That can be seen as either reactive or proactive punishment. Reactive punishment is in response to something I perceive you doing wrong . . . "If you don't allow the Ten Commandments on the courthouse wall, you're going to hell!"

Proactive punishment is based on a perceived threat to the status quo and my own personal well-being . . . "Any black person even thinking about voting will be thrown in jail because they might vote to change the system and we need to keep them down where we can control them."

But fear can also cripple our thought process. What if I'm wrong? What if somebody doesn't like the decision? What if I fail? These are all based in fear, not love. John said that perfect love casts our fear. If we love one another, then God lives in us; and if God is in us, what do we have to fear?

We follow Jesus, yes, but we are now the leaders of this movement we call Christianity. It is our job to make the decisions, set the example, and hope and pray that we are discerning the right path as led by the Holy Spirit. And understand this: we are not random followers who happened to join up one day. We have been chosen by God for this role, and we have been appointed to go into the world and bear lasting fruit.

Jesus has given us all we need to know. So go forth into the world in love, proclaiming the gospel in thought, word and deed.

And be not afraid.