St. John 15:9-17
Dearly beloved,
The Old Testament sets the scene for everything concerning Jesus.
Abraham is shown love by God when the promise is made that Abraham shall
have a son when his wife is old and beyond child-bearing. The books of
Genesis demonstrates the love of God when Joseph is sent away in slavery to
a lost and pagan land, only to rescue his own family from famine. God's
love is shown throughout the Old Testament Scriptures when they sin and fall
away. God, rather than letting them all be destroyed, always saves a
remnant.
It is the same with us. You just have to look for it. The problem that
we face as a people isn't really any different from other time periods. We
just aren't all that spiritual. Our sin is that we become complacent. We
don't look for God's hand in our lives. This is our biggest problem. And
if we do look for God's hand at work in our lives, its always in the wrong
ways.
We, like many people in other centuries, are living in very uncertain
times. Nearly all of us have been affected by the economy. This, then,
affects peoples' attitudes and dispositions. It influences friend
relationships, family relationships, it affects the way you deal with your
spouse. External influences in the world will affect the aspect of love, of
which Jesus speaks in the gospel.
No, the love Jesus is talking about is not an emotional love. Its not
even a conditional love. The love that Jesus is talking about is an
apostolic love. Jesus is preaching a sermon to the twelve disciples in the
upper room just before He institutes the Lord's Supper. He is talking to
them about the apostolic task. Jesus is comparing His own love for the
Father. Jesus is telling the apostles to love Him just as Jesus loves the
Father. This implies living in that One that you love.
This love implies that your life is not your own. This charge that
Jesus gives to the apostles is meant to flow into the whole apostolic
church. But how? "Remain in my love," Jesus says. "Keep my commands." But
how? If our sins keep us from even having great relationships with others,
then how are we ever to love and obey our Lord whom we do not see? How can
we do this if we have difficulty just being spiritual people? How do you
turn it around in your life? Most of you would readily admit that you need
to do more in your life lived in Christ. But its difficult.
We must come to an understanding of what loving Christ is. To "remain
in Christ's love" as Christ remains in His Father's love" is to be one with
Him. This happens through Holy Baptism. You must become a part of Jesus.
You have to be grafted into His body, and this happens when you become God's
redeemed child through those baptismal waters of life. This is important
because your sins are washed away and you receive the Holy Spirit.
The second understanding we must approach is the keeping of Christ's
command. What is that? If it means keeping the Ten Commandments ourselves,
then we are in trouble. Jesus says, "This is my command that you love one
another just as I loved you." We see in these few verses the entire life of
the church. Its all there. First, you are to love God above all things,
even more than your own life. To remain in His love is to live a new way.
Then, we are to love one another.
How does one love others as Christ loved us? How did Christ love us? By
not considering Himself. Jesus did the greatest thing of all. He humbled
Himself and set aside His glory and majesty in order to become a lowly
servant. Jesus reversed roles and took our places and died for our sins.
This is the love which Jesus is speaking of. So, what does the church do
with it? What do you do with it? Does this mean we walk around thinking how
we can be like Jesus?
Well, that would be very difficult considering that He is God and we are
sinful people. Rather, the closing words in our gospel leave us a hint in
the Greek text: "This I command you, in order that you love one another."
What is Jesus telling the apostles to do? Is Jesus telling them to play
nice. Get along? Don't fight? Certainly, the church would be a better
place. But if it were only to deal with their getting along with one
another, then the apostles didn't keep the command very well. The book of
Acts gives us ample evidence of these guys not agreeing and separating over
different issues. Of course, loving each other and getting along might be
implied in these words, but there is something more foundational for the
church in these words.
To love one another and abide in Christ is a baptismal statement. Jesus
is giving the apostles their apostolic orders. It is high time. Jesus is
about to be arrested and beaten. He is leaving His apostles. Jesus wants
the love He has with the Father to continue in this world. This love
continues and is passed down from the Father and Jesus to the apostles and
to the world through Christ's death and resurrection, which is poured into
holy baptism. Jesus is telling the apostles to spread the love of Christ's
atonement to others. Jesus is telling the church to breathe out its
sacramental existence.
So, you have become a part of this Divine love in the waters of
baptism. To be sure, this has many implications for your life. It does
mean that you are no longer your own person any longer, but you are
Christ's. It means that the love of Christ characterizes your life. And
most fundamentally, it means that your sins are forgiven, you are holy, you
are a part of something substantive, and you are loved by Jesus Christ who
is your life now and forever. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
