Unfailing Spirit of Love

An Unfailing Spirit of Love

Psalm 66:8-20; John 14:15-24

Pentecost is coming: The gospel reading today is preparing us for the outpouring of the Spirit. But before the Spirit is unleashed, Jesus has to leave, a second time. So, today, the passage is taken from the part of John's Gospel just before Jesus is arrested and crucified. Jesus is preparing the disciples for his departure. His words are as meaningful, perhaps more meaningful, in anticipation of his Ascension.

Reading: John 14:15-26

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Recently, I met a man in a nursing home. He was, by all accounts, rather brilliant. His mind is still sharp and clear, even though his body is failing, terribly. He had been an intellectual and a scientist. For him, there was little room for superstitious things like religion. In life, in general, and particularly in the nursing home, he observed people around him who wore their religion like a badge. They would greet you with words of blessing, but if you didn’t do things their way, they could also “bless you out.” We see it, all the time. People who are quick to publicly profess their faith, who speak pious platitudes, but whose lives betray priorities that are quite different from what Jesus taught. For this scientist who is now in a nursing home and dependent on the good will of others, the absence of good will from those who profess Jesus simply reinforces his notion that it is nothing more than superstition.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

We often think of love as an emotion. Several years ago I fell in love. It had been quite a few years since I had experienced such emotions. Then one day I began talking with Melissa, and I felt my heart start beating a little faster. I had all the symptoms of being smitten. Elevated heart rate, lite spirit (or was I just light headed?). When we were apart, I couldn’t wait to hear from her. Melissa was on my mind through out the day, every day. And part of being in love is wanting to do what is pleasing to the one I love. And it’s not just true with romantic love that we want to do what is pleasing for the other. Anytime we truly care about a person, we want to do what is good for him or her, what pleases them.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” A little later, during the same evening, Jesus said, “THIS is my commandment, that you love one another. In the same way that I have loved you, you are also to love others.”

One day when Jesus was in a crowded house, teaching, a man was dropped down from the roof. He was paralyzed, on a cot. His friends carried him to the top of the house, cut a hole in the roof, and lowered their friend down, at Jesus’ feet. Jesus had compassion for the man, and he was moved by the love of his friends. Jesus reached out to help.

Another day, Jesus was walking with a crowd when he felt something. Some power or energy flowed from his body. He stopped and looked around and asked, “Who touched me?” A woman came forward. She had a flow of blood that made her unclean. For her to have touched Jesus was a gross violation of religious and social laws. Jesus had compassion for the woman.

Lepers were also a group of people who were cut off. When they might come into contact with people they had to warn people not to get too close. Jesus regularly touched lepers with compassion.

Zacchaeus, remember Zacchaeus? A tax collector who used his position for personal gain at other people’s expense. He was as a leper to most people in his village. When Jesus was going to be passing by, Zacchaeus climb up into a sycamore tree so he could get a better view and not have to worry about the abusive crowds. Jesus looks up in the tree and calls him down, “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I'm going to your house today.”

One day, Jesus had been teaching. The crowds had gotten quite large and they were a distance away from town. The disciples told Jesus it was getting late and they needed to tell people to go home, they’ll be getting hungry. Jesus has compassion for the crowds and 5 thousand people were fed.

I suspect that each of the followers who were with Jesus on the night of his arrest could tell their own story of how Jesus showed him or her love and compassion. “If you love me, you will want to do what is pleasing to me. What is pleasing to me is that you show compassion for those in need.”

I would like to take a moment for us to watch a short video. The song is most likely one that is familiar to you. Listen to the song. Pay attention to the images.

***Video – They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love ***

“They will know we are Christians by our love.” How else could they possibly understand. If what we do does not match with what we say, the world will pay more attention to what we do and our words will be empty. But turn this around with a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. “Preach the Gospel, always. When necessary, use words.”

I would like to share a couple ideas about demonstrating the love that we proclaim:

Rachel Evans has begun a movement of sorts. Using social media like an on-line web-log, or blog, along with Facebook and Twitter, Rachel Evans has launched an effort she calls Rally to Restore Unity. Like many of us, Rachel has become wearied with the way Christians will be so ugly to other Christians when we disagree about theology or politics. She invites people, through her web site and social networking, to express our unity rather than our divisions. Essentially, she is reminding us to love one another. And to help focus our unity she is promoting a charity. This charity is as a place to rally, a charity to provide safe, clean, accessible drinking water for people in under-developed areas of our world. As Rachel states it, “Water changes everything.” What a novel concept: love one another and channel our energies to show love to others with concrete, life changing, help.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

We are at the beginning of Hurricane Season. Consider this: it is an act of loving others to create your own emergency preparedness plan. We have seen the devastations of hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. We know it can happen, and it can happen to us. But we have become complacent in our area. No disaster has hit us in a very long time, other than the occasional wild fire that is little more than an inconvenience to most of us. But when a disaster does hit an area, and people are not prepared, and people who are able don't make provisions, then the more able people are also able to move up in line to get the assistance ahead of others who are less able, that is, when help is eventually made available. So you may resist doing your hurricane preparations believing that you don't need to worry, whatever happens, you'll be ok. But consider this, if you DO set aside drinking water for you and your family, fill up your propane tank for the grill and maybe get a spare filled, if you do collect non-parishable foods in a large plastic container, then if there is a devastating hurricane, when emergency responders bring in supplies, then your neighbor will have more help. If there is no hurricane, this season, you have an abundance of food you could donate to the local food pantry. Being responsible for yourself can actually be a good way to show love for others.

They will know we are Christians by our love.

The opportunities are truly endless. And it begins by simply pausing to consider how what we do or don't do impacts other people. How do our reactions and responses, make life a little better or a little more difficult for someone else? The opportunities are endless, and sometimes it seems overwhelming. And I am reminded of something I learned from Helen Keller. You remember her story, being blind and deaf from a young age, she learned through the patience of her teacher to be able to connect with the world and to learn and grow. Helen Keller is quoted as saying: "I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

What is the something you can do? What is some concrete, visible way you can demonstrate love for someone who needs compassion, kindness, care? They will know we are Christians by or love.

Let us pray:
Loving God, you never stop loving because it is your nature to love. Help us to allow your Spirit of love to live and grow in us, that what we do, the choices we make, the reactions we have may reflect compassion for those that we know and those that we do not know. And may the world recognize who we are by the love that they see. Amen.

Jess McCrosky
Orange Park Presbyterian Church
May 29, 2011