A Sermon Preached at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 5, 2013
John 14:23-29
Gracious, God, you are
our God and we love you. O God, we thank
you for those who came before us, who in their relationship with you wrote
their experience down and now it is Scripture for us. And we ask that you would speak to every
listening heart here today. May we walk
in obedience to your Word and remember that we are not alone. Amen.
Recently in
my Pastoral Care class my professor asked us to think about a time when we
learned something from the process of someone dying. My mind immediately went to my Grandfather,
Edwin, or as we grandchildren called him, Papaw. Papaw had heart problems for many years but
he lived to be 86. I was 29 when he died. To say that I had a longtime to know my
Grandfather, learn from him, and most importantly love him, would be an
understatement. I feel very blessed to
have known him so well. I also often say
that any bit of kindness that I have in my heart comes from my Papaw.
At the end
of Papaw’s life, he knew he was dying and so did we, his family. The 4th of July is a big occasion
for my family and I believe that Papaw was waiting until we could all be
together before he died. He asked that
we share communion together, he picked out his favorite hymn to be sung at his
funeral, and he reminded us that our relationship with him wasn’t ending, he
would always be there for us. Papaw was
preparing us for his death. On July 6,
2006, my Papaw died and went to heaven to be with Jesus and is now one of the
saints in glory.
I believe
that Jesus was doing for the disciples what Papaw did for us, preparing us for
his death. Assuring them that although
He would no longer physically be with them, the relationship would not
end. Isn’t that reassuring, that even in
death we carry on the relationships that mean so much to us, specifically our most
important relationship, our relationship with God.
It is not
hard to make a personal connection with today’s Gospel. We can understand completely what the
disciples must have felt.
They must have been
experiencing fear, grief, and anxiety.
Fear about what Jesus will soon be facing. Fear for themselves, how will they go on
without their teacher? Fear of
abandonment and anxiety of what will happen next. I think we have all experienced those
emotions at some point in our lives. We all have moments in life that we are
so beaten down and so unsure of ourselves that we think, what will become of
me? It is such a human response. My
guess is that it is exactly what was going through the minds of the disciples
on that day. But Jesus offered the disciples and us language of
assurance and love; these words are what carry us through our faith. These words are Jesus’ love language to us,
His family.
Jesus tells us, “Those
who love me will keep my word…" But what is His word? His word was the language He used and the life
that He led. Jesus spoke of the value of
a life lived in prayer and in response to God. The language of Jesus fills the promises of a
loving God. Words have power.
The words
we use can prepare us for death, bring others to Christ, and can convey God’s
love. If we use loving language we can see
and do our work together. It all starts
with words, but it will grow into every corner of our life if it is allowed to
take root, if we let Christ fully into our lives.
"Those
who love me will keep my word and my Father will love them, and we will come
and make our home with them." Those are powerful words that Jesus gave
us. They are strong enough to carry us
through any adversity, including the death of someone we love. I hope they brought comfort to the disciples
that day.
We are
created by God in love and for love. We
are created to be in a community of love with one another. God is love and that statement alone is what
binds us together as a community of Christians.
I have been on a number of emails that Stuart has sent to many of you,
his parishioners. Every one of his
e-mails ends with the words “much love.”
You never doubt that his love for you is present and that is exactly how
God’s love works. It is always there, it
is constant and you can see it though Stuart, or the person sitting right next
to you. You can see it when you buy a
tractor for those in need in Tanzania.
You can feel it when you raise $800 in a yard sale for women in
need. You can hold on to it when you
learn, live, and pray together all in the name of God’s love.
And if
you need more proof that God loves us than all you have to do is to remember
that God’s massive, abundant, amazing love was proven to us the day Jesus died
on he cross. Jesus gave up his life that we might have abundant and everlasting life
with God, a life of love and unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
forever.
Love
is stronger than loss, God does not leave us comfortless, and there is more
than one way to transmit the love of God to those who are ready to receive it. Jesus was preparing His disciples for the
coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was teaching
them about a new day. Jesus told them to
get ready.
Jesus then says, ”I have said these things to you while I am still
with you. But 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.”
The word advocate translated in Greek means the one who stands beside
you. The one that stands beside you when
you are sad or in trouble. The one who
stands beside you when you are having a hard time understanding the choices
your children are making. The one who
stands beside you when you are hurt by something that happened at your Church. The one who stands beside you when someone
says something that is cruel. The one
who stands beside you when you are watching someone you love die. So take a deep breath, God is not our
enemy. God is our advocate, our friend,
the one who stands beside us. Jesus was
giving that same assurance to the disciples that day, letting them know that
they would not be alone, that their advocate would stand beside them-ALWAYS!
Then, John tells us, Jesus says: “Peace 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.” What exactly is this peace that Jesus is
leaving with us? The disciples are
experiencing the end of something, yet Jesus is assuring them that this is not
the end, that they will not be abandoned, that they will have peace. He is telling them do not be afraid. He is telling them and us, that it is
alright. Because don’t forget we have the
one that stands besides us-ALWAYS!
The love
of God, the peace of Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit have all been
promised in today's Gospel. Jesus does
not describe exactly when, or even what this Holy Spirit will be like. But He gave His word and then told the
disciples to live it. And He promised
that love would be the proof of the God's presence. When our hearts beat with the love of God the
spirit is present among us. When we
allow God to move fully in our life, when our advocate is by our side, then we
can face anything, even the death of a Papaw, or someone that we love
dearly. The best part is the
relationship doesn’t die in death, it only grows in God’s love.
Jesus prepared his disciples for his upcoming death so that
their faith would be strengthened rather than shattered by it. The Good News is that Jesus is resurrected
and He is alive today. In John’s Gospel reading we are told this was always
God’s plan and Jesus needed to prepare the disciples and us by saying. “And now
I have told you this before it occurs so that when it does occur, you may
believe.”
Remember
we are never alone; we have an advocate standing beside us. Even at moments of deep loss and sadness
God’s peace surrounds us. Take comfort
in the knowledge that Jesus is holding our hand and remember the words are
always there when we need them. AMEN.
