Scripture Text (NRSV)
John 13:31-35
13:31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has
been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.
13:32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him
in himself and will glorify him at once.
13:33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will
look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, 'Where I
am going, you cannot come.'
13:34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just
as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another."
Comments:
Jesus speaks of his glorification on the cross. As Jesus loves, even
to death on the cross, so ought his disciples love one another.
Indeed, love will be the distinctive mark of Jesus' community.
On the cusp of betrayal by one of his disciples, Jesus gives his
disciples a new commandment, "love one another." The term
"commandment" deliberately recalls God's covenant with Moses. The new
world - the new covenant - that Jesus ushers in is marked by love and
serving rather than betrayal and violence.
In the reunified Germany, there is a poster: 1 + 1 = Eins. It
translates well into English: 1 + 1 = One. The sum of two digits makes
a new whole, qualitatively different from the old parts. A word is
different from a digit. The sum of the former two nations now reunited
is a new creation. Bringing this concept closer to home, the Great
Seal on the U.S. dollar bears the motto E Plurbus Unum--"of the many,
one." Gestalt Therapy puts it this way: The whole is greater than the
sum of its parts.
Unity of voice. Unity of purpose. Unity of mind. Complete at-one-ment
is evident in all of today's readings. Peter, criticized by the
circumcised for fraternizing with the unclean, explains how unity of
community is made by baptism with the Holy Spirit. His critics
rejoice, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that
leads to life." The psalmist gives us a glimpse of a cosmic chorus
that unites all beings--maidens and monsters, hills and hail, fire and
fruit trees, evne the fog!--to sing with one voice. In the Revelation
of John, all of time collapses into one as the one seated on the
throne announces a new creation in which "It is done!" The Alpha, the
Omega, the beginning, the end are joined into one heavenly being, God,
whose home is now among mortals.
Our prayer of the way reminds us of the purpose of this unity. As our
minds are formed into a single will, we are to "love what is commanded
and desire what is promised." Indeed, says our evangelist for the day,
it is our love for one another that will bear witness to the Son of
Man who has been glorified and in whom God has been glorified.
To Nancy and all who are dreading the Mother's Day Dilemma, I have a
thought to offer: In my church we have elected to celebrate the
festival of the Christian Home. For this church, that might mean a
celebration of families, but also of the church family, so that those
who are like mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters in the faith can
be celebrated also. This passage, to me, offers the opportunity to
talk about the importance of loving one another. The disciples are a
sort of "alternative family" in that they spend huge amounts of time
together. Surely they were not totally unaware of the bickering that
takes place in families, and our tendency to take for granted those
who mean the most to us. That happens in homes and churches. These are
a few of my disjointed ideas. Blessings! AJ in Arkansas
If we are going to deal with mother this year, let us bring her down
off the pedestal to living among us. Motherhood is a human quality. I
like to call it mamma-ing, because that best describes the woman who
raised me. She does not need to be deified. What is/was your mother
like? What is/were her good qualities, what is/was her growing edges?
Could we use more of the motherhood/mamma-ing gifts in our lives today
in these 21st century challenges? In these chapters of John where
Jesus Christ is preparing to leave the disciples, are we seeing some
of his "mother hen" gifts being shared with the disciples? Would it
matter whether those gifts are particular to mother, father, sister,
cousin, brother, uncle, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, or are
motherhood qualities just a part of the festival/celebration of the
Christian home.
Shalom
Bammamma (representing the grandmother part of motherhood)
Oprah Winfrey recently had a show that highlighted a young mother
dying of cancer. She had a very young daughter she was afraid would
forget her all too quickly. So, Mom made a video diary and a written
diary, telling her daughter all about herself, her likes, her
dislikes, her personal story, all the little "shared things" moms and
daughters have. She was preparing her daughter to let go of the
physical Mom and to embrace the spirit of Mom. The daughter was to be
shown parts of these videos and diaries as she grew up and to know the
truth about her mother - the entire truth, as she was able to absorb.
She was to take her mother's spirit with her throughout life.
I see Jesus did the same thing here, as Bammamamma points out. He was
leaving, but would really never leave them. They were asked to take
the Spirit of Jesus with them and to share it, use it, live with it
daily, lean on it, know they were, above all else, loved by their
Lord.
I am a silent reader each week. Thank-you for all your thoughts. This
week I ask for some prayers and inspiration...I am resigning my call
of 6 years because God has placed it on my heart that it is time to
move to the next parish. I am going to use the passage for John as the
text ...i would like the sermon to at the end move into my resignation
letter. Any suggestions?
K.Mc
How can we love as Christ loved? Are we able to give that much love?
What gets in our way? Am I selfish, self-centered or ? Love one
another as I have loved you. Giving of yourself and not counting the
cost. In our modern world we all think what is in it for me. Because
we think of ourselves before we think of someone else. A working out
of the home mother asked me if she was being selfish when she told her
husband that she needed to go out two nights a week just to get away
from the kids. I pulled the old pastor trick and said, "do you think
you are being selfish?" "I must or otherwise it wouldn't bother me so
much," was her reply. Can we love like Jesus loved? YES but it forces
us to see love as love given to the other not loved turned in on
ourselves.
Only as a community can we love like Jesus loved, not by ourselves.
Mothers (and I am one!) are supposed to be everything to our children,
when in tribal societies kids have many "mothers" to take care of
them...if they need different things they can go to different people.
We cannot individually love like Jesus, but we can love like Jesus as
a community with all of our different gifts.
I want my daughter to have a wealth of adults to whom she can turn if
I can't fulfill her needs at the moment, because I know I can't always
do that, as much as I think I "should" sometimes. I know her dad or
uncles or aunts (our friends) can sometimes be more "mothering" (or
"fathering, if you will) to her than I can, and in different ways.
Only in community can we truly love one another like Jesus loved us.
Peace, Beth in Ga.
What exactly is Jesus was saying in v.31-32? Jesus has been glorified
(how? by whom?) and God has been glorified in Jesus, and God will
glorify Jesus in God Himself and will glorify (Jesus?) at once? Huh?
The concept of God's glory is something I have the foggiest idea what
is it all about. It is hard to explain it adequately to prevent people
from thinking that God somehow was a glory-hog, trying to get all the
glory for Himself (and why would He need it any way? Wouldn't the
Godhead be sufficient before the creation of the universe without
needing some other type of creatures to give Him glory?)
(Lord, forgive my ignorant, seemingly blasphemous rambling; I was just
trying to wrap my mind around the Unknowable...)
In the immediate context, this glory may related to the Passion
account (for the preceding action was Judas had left to betray Him).
But it would also relate to other events as well as "the Son of Man"
(a prophetic identification for the Messiah from Daniel), "has been
glorified".
[After I took a short break and dug in a bit, there are some
interesting details emerged...]
The phrase "If God has been glorified in him" in v.32a could not be
found in a number of early manuscripts, (but it was there in many
majority text). If we de-emphasize that phrase, v.31-32 can been seen
as follow: Jesus was looking at Judas, who left the dinner table with
the intention of betraying Jesus. With that, the passion plan for
human salvation had passed the point of no return. "Has been
glorified" here is a dramatic-aorist verb, which started shining the
climatic spotlight on Jesus from that moment on, and revealed the
gracious love of the Father behind him. In v.32b the thought continued
on that the Mighty God Himself will be the person will take the action
to continue shining that spotlight on Jesus in his pending death and
resurrection.
How is this relevant in our life? Without an understanding of the
theology of glorification, I am suggesting that: 1) The ultimate
glorious moment of God is his redemption of humankind in the death and
resurrection of Jesus. 2) As we seek to immitate the example of Jesus,
we seek to glorify God by loving one another just as He had loved us
(even through His death). 3) The Father will take actions to glorify
(shine a spotlight?) on those who seek to glorify Him.
Lord God, may that truth become reality in my own life, that my every
actions will give glory to You.
Coho, Midway City.
(Just start thinking through the text...)
Dear K.Mc: I hope with all my heart that you have prepared your
congregation for your departure. There are tried and true methods of
leave taking and this, in my mind, it not one of them. I don't think
God is calling you to abandon your congregation without a little
pastoral care. Six years is a long time, you have shared much with
them, that needs to be affirmed, so that they will be able to say
goodbye to you and look expectantly to the future. If you have already
done all the prep work and your sermon this Sunday and your
resignation will not be unexpected. God's Speed NPSHB
Just some thoughts about connections for Mother Day:
- Jesus address them as "little children" (Julian of Norwich used
Jesus is our Mother imagery too).
- If anyone would come as close as "love, as Jesus love" I would say
the mother could. Who else would be willing to unconditionally die for
another, even a wayward child? When I was a prodigal son, my mom often
pray to God that she would gladly trade her place of salvation for my
own salvation. (And for that, God show her that Jesus had already did
trade place for her son...)
Coho, Midway City.
I think the "Love (Agape)" Theme fits nicely with Mother's Day. I will
reflect on different kinds of love. I found hard copy of "A mother's
version of 1 Cor. 13" (Author unknown). Anybody familiar with it?
Anyway, a mother's (parent's) love is a great model for the love God
has for us.
Germanpastor in CA
Dear DPS'rs, I think that German pastor is on to something with the
varied-love theme. I plan on using a mix of "God loves everyone" with
an exploration of what Christian love is for us. One illustration that
I am going to use is one that my friend John and I experienced on a
college vacation once. We were asked how good of friends that we were.
John answered that we were good friends. When asked to explain he said
that a friend will die for you, but a good friend will suffer for you.
I'm tying it in to our Christian way of life and, obviously, the
mission and crucifixion of xt. I will be preaching my 1st call sermon
this sunday before the congregational vote on my becoming a pastor at
that congregation(As is the ELCA way). A little study on love and
forgiveness probably won't hurt the process too much :-). holbee
just a thought about this week: "Love one another" is in all major
religions in one form or another. We so desparately need to have
reconciling words between religions these days. Perhaps it could
spring from the idea of a mother's love is the same around the world.
I try to speak to God's universal love for all as often as I can in
these days of war.Am I stretching it on this one? ha! Terry in
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Dear K MkC
Have you read Eugene Peterson's book, "Under the Unpredictable Plant",
based on Jonah's call? If there is any way that you can do so before
Sunday, please try to.
May God guide you to know what he wants you to do, and your Church to
grow deeper into love.
WPBW John.
Dear holbee, as an ELCA colleague (First Call also), I wish you the
best for this Sunday! Germanpastor
Coho, I can't get the image of Jesus speaking to Judas in 31-32. I
almost get the sense that Jesus is speaking to God about his humanity.
(Possibly a proleptic aorist? I don't have my references with me.)
Any thoughts?
John in IL
re: vs. 31
The Abingdon Bible Commentary suggests that Jesus was relieved at the
departure of Judas, moving from depression (anticipating his torture
and death) into exaltation (Resurrection) and spoke these words to the
rest of the disciples as a foretelling of his coming triumph in which
God and Christ would both be glorified.
To Holbee: God be with you this weekend! (I'm ELCA as well, now in my
second call.)
LaJo
Coho: In your ponderings about "glory" you may want to consider the
following.
Walter Brueggeman, in "Ichabod Towards Home" talks about glory (Heb. "kabod")
"I - kabod" (or Ichabod) literally translated from Hebrew means,
"Where is the glory?" and is a lament pressed into a name.
Brueggeman notes that the word "kabod" means something like "PRESENCE"
or even "HEAVINESS." God's presence is so overwhelming that it is more
than palpable. So glory isn't so much about light or shining or
radiance, although it's not hard to see the connection. Glory is about
the undeniable, overwhelming, "heavy" presence of God.
When you think about glory that way, it becomes much easier to
understand what Jesus is saying. By washing the disciples' feet, Jesus
has embodied God's love and presence, and that is the definitive
experience of glory. God's love will become most present on the cross
- the ultimate glory, in Johannine thought.
My shorthand way of thinking about glory: It ain't about "shining" -
it's about "presence with." That makes a lot of sense to me.
LF
K Mc, The only caution I would give you about preaching on this in the
light of your planned departure, is not to identify yourself too much
with Jesus!
My predecessor left around Easter. On Maundy Thursday, there was a
supper for him which was very personal. Then he led early worship on
Easter morning, but not for worship after that, for "he was gone." The
whole event that year seemed to be about him, not Jesus, or at the
very least the lines were blurred. Some people in the church felt that
he had been unfairly "crucified" into leaving, which blurred the
identities further.
Please think about the next pastor who will follow you. If you give
the impression that with your departure, Jesus has departed too, you
will make it all the harder for whoever comes next. Maybe the idea of
a broader community of disciples who love one another - in your
current parish, and in your next one - and who all follow Jesus'
teaching, will help to "depersonalize" this a bit.
My goal this sunday is to be sure that when one becomes the
glorification of God/Christ that each one becomes a visible image of
the love of God. What a heavy call and burden ... to be the vision of
God's love for the people in our lives!! Some mothers and parents can
do that for their children and those moments are truly unforgetable
and life forming events.
I want to be sure that all who hear this passage Sunday, hear it
knowing that the way they live their life is what they are showing
others about the incarnation of God! It is both a heavy burden and at
the same time a phenomenal privilege to take the cammand to heart and
then to live it faithfully!
The love of the community of faith is the love that teaches and helps
us (members of the community) to live that command...the community
does mission because the individuals need to learn that this is what
the love of God does!
To choose not to live this way is to walk steps that parallel those of
Judas and leave with us the burden of betrayal!
To K.Mc. Are you planning your resignation from the pulpit? I pray you
will not do that. Have you read the book "Running Through the
Thistles?" Alban Institute. It will be helpful and offers great
guidance for departing a congregation. PM
To the one who spoke of the reunified Germany:
I'm soooo glad you posted; that concept is PERFECT - absolutely
PERFECT - for our church as we prepare to merge with another!!!!!
There will be conflicts, I'm sure - not the least of which is the
issue of naming the church, plus a more engaged worship style from the
"other" church. Plus, they have more of a heart for reaching out,
bridging the racial gap we face here, and more of a concept of the
church being God's work rather than a service to its members.
I may just use a corny analogy of mothers loving their children
differently. I have 2 daughters, and one I understand like the back of
my hand - we're similar in nature. The other, just to think about her,
makes me smile! Her nature is like my husband's though she looks like
me. There is no difference for the love I feel for them, though.
Sally in GA
I don't see anywhere on the Liturgical Calendar the Feast of Mother's
Day. Holy Halmark created this day for themselves. Now I am not
suggesting that we ought not to take notice, after all most of our
mothers and grandmothers will be present in their very best. The
Readings themselves point us toward the unconditional and suffering
love (agape) of our Lord on the Cross. Staying with the Gospel theme
will inspire mothers and fathers. In the prayers, mothers and all
those who care for children will be held up.
tom in ga
I agree with tom in ga. I wish we had never started this silly
practice of honoring mothers in church, or fathers in June. It's to
the point now that if we don't follow that theme, there may just be
grumbling about it. It is expected, sadly. As much as I love Moms and
Dads, I'm not sure this is what we need to be doing.
My denomination has Rural Ministies Sunday and Urban Ministries
Sunday, Wills Emphasis Sunday, Small Church Emphasis Sunday, and a
variety of other special Sundays, so I guess they want us to make the
Scriptures speak to a particular theme more often than I'd like.
To Tom in GA: We can't blame Hallmark for Mother's Day. It came out of
the Methodist Episcopal Church through the initiative of a laywoman
named Anna Jarvis in 1907. She first wanted to honor her own mother
and then advocated that all mothers be honored. There are some
parallels with the old English Mothering Sunday in mid-Lent which
focused on returning home and paying homage to one's mother and with
Mother's Day for Peace, introduced in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe in
Boston as a day dedicated to peace.
No I'm not really that smart. This came out of the UMC BOok of
Worship, #438.
Certainly we can accuse Hallmark et al of making it so consumer
oriented--but then that happened to Christmas too. Make of Mother's
Day what you want to, but I like the "peace" idea of Julia Ward Howe.
KH
When I first read the texts for this week I, like Coho, recalled the
Showings of Julian of Norwich. Her Mothering Jesus images fit so well
with the John scripture and the Festival of the Christian Home.
I have four churches and have to celebrate Communion on the first two
Sundays of each month. I might adopt the medeval concept that Christ
feeds his "little children" with his body similar to how a mother
nurses her baby at the breast. Of course, I would pull out other
nurturing attributes as well, especially the motivation behind it
all...love. It boggles the mind that our mandatum novum is to love our
brothers and sisters as the Mothering Christ loves us. What a charge
to keep!
RB in P
vs. 13:35 "" By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if
you have love for one another." I had the good fortune of having a
very loving and wise Grandmother. When she would leave to go to town
for the day, and leave us in the care my uncle, she would line us up
at the back door, and give us final instructions before getting in the
old truck to head out the lane. "Don't forget who you are. You are to
take care of each other until I get back. Make me proud," she would
say. I'm not sure that we always "made her proud," but I do remember
how wonderful it felt when she returned with something for each of us
in the brown paper bags...along with the groceries. When I went back
to my parent's home after my visits, Grandma would tell me again to
"remember who I was, and to make her proud." "Who am I, Grandma?"
"God's child...now go make Him proud." There have been a thousand
times when I have stood on the very edge of making a decision that
would have sent me down the wrong path. In those times and places
Grandma's words would whisper in my head. I'd remember that I am not
my own, and that wherever I am and whatever I do, I am God's child.
Others will know who I am by what I do and what I say. I desire to
live in a way that is pleasing to God, because of my abiding love for
the One who loves me I have learned through many mistakes, that I
really get homesick when I do wonder off and forget who I am. God's
grace strengthens me daily, and God's grace will eventually see me
home. I don't know what surprises await me, but my life is wonderfully
blessed because of "whose" I am, and I sure do want to make God proud.
I haven't quite got the "Loving" part right yet. I plan to keep
relying on God's grace to show me how to love God with all my heart,
soul and strength, and to love others as myself. Sometimes I think
reminding each other of "who we are" is part of loving each other. God
loves you, and I am striving in God's grace to love you, too. I hope
that you will say a prayer for me that I can fight the good fight and
finish the race with God's blessing of "well done." Jan from OH
John in IL
Sorry for my ESL, I wasn't clear on what I wrote. Jesus was speaking
to God (or others) in reference to Judas, who just walked out in v.31;
He wasn't talking to Judas. You were absolutely right.
Coho, Midway City.
RB in Pa-- Keep in mind I don't know if you're male, female, or have
ever nursed a baby, but as someone who is currently nursing, it takes
blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifice, as Jesus' feeding us with his body
did. Please don't idealize it as always being a sweet wonderful
thing...it's love made visible, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt
sometimes.
Thanks, maybe I'm a bit sensitive about this right now as a relatively
new mom! :) Peace, Beth in ga.
I appreciated the expressions about nursing. I identified with you
Beth, for I nursed all four of my babies. But the day my last turned
away, and prefered the cup to me, I began the mourning of that lost
between us. My babies grow up
I wonder about God's responseto us, when we mature in some part of our
life, from egotism to human responsibily forexample, does God mourn
the loss of our moving from milk to meat? I have not experience that
God does. Wow, if I can continue to grow in humility so that I don't
need to keep other people under my wings like a mother hen. Wow,
thanks God for the journey!
Shalom
Bammamma
K.Mc.: Be careful that you do not identify yourself too much with
Christ as "the one who will only be with you a little while."
Congregations tend not to like pastors deifying themselves, though it
happens a lot. You could, however, talk about how the spirit that has
grown within your congregation in your six years there will continue
on. You are not the Christ who is commanding the "little children" (a
pastor referring to him/herself as "Jesus" and then referring to
his/her congregation as "little children" sounds offensive), but you
can remind them that the spirit of love and grace will continue to
live within the Church (not just your congregation), regardless of the
way in which the world may change around it. That is, talk more about
the continuation of love throughout times of change, rather than
talking about yourself as the one who is leaving.
I hope this helps! And best of luck to you during this time of
transition.
Blessings and peace, California Preachin'
Beth in GA - where in GA are you?
I nursed both my babies and the first one was as easy as can be. I
never got sore, never had problems pumping milk, nothing! Once we
learned how, it was smooth sailing.
The next one - hoo, boy! Another story - not only did I get sore, but
everything seemed conspired to keep us from it! I knew I wasn't going
to take much maternity time (a decision I regret), so it was
extra-important to nurse. First, she got jaundice severely and quickly
and had to go to ICU -where they decided to not let us nurse becaue
there is a jaundice associated with breast milk. OK, the bilirubin
came down and we were back on track - or so I thought. Then, she had a
weird technique that raised blisters! Her nursery worker made a deal
about my insisting on coming in and nursing her in the middle of the
day, and told me my milk gave her gas and that she wasn't gaining
enough weight, and that maybe my milk wasn't strong enough for my baby
because that's what had happened to her. Almost every day I had to
listen to that. Then, I couldn't get that child weaned to save my
life!!! It was our thing, and the pediatrician advocated it as a
comfort time that boosts the baby's immune system. A month or so after
she turned 4 (yes, 4) I lied and told her I didn't have any more milk.
I mean, she'd developed this whole language around nursing and I was
tired of it.
It reminds me of a country saying: When do you wean your baby? When
they're old enough to invite their friends home for lunch!
More than you EVER wanted to know about me. Anyways, despite my
eventually being over it, I think it's interesting how many
circumstances (including my husband occasionally suggesting bottle
feeding) tried to drive a wedge between what Miss Boo and I were meant
to do. Rather than deifying myself because I was an insufferable
nursing mother, I choose to see it as a metaphor for the strong,
nurturing bond God offers us. God would certainly not up and lie to us
and say that God has no more sustenance for us, like I did my child!
Rather, unlike human mothers, God never tires of providing for us
where we are.
True confessions from Sally in GA
But, Sally, you weren't just feeding your child milk. You were also
feeding meat, vegetables, fruit, bread and the occasional sweet,
right? You may not have been offering your body any longer, but you
were offering your hands, your love, your concern, your nurture, when
you fixed a peanut butter sandwich for your young child. And God
offers to be right beside us when we finally move from spiritual
pablum to spiritual food that has to be chewed. Sometimes it's hard to
wean ourselves from that, but it has to be done. Sometimes it takes
longer than God would like, but we finally get there!
The disciples were used to the easier part of discipleship at this
point. Go around and watch as Jesus preached and healed. It was
spiritual pablum. Now Jesus was saying that it was time to move on to
the gristle and the brussels sprouts that they didn't really want to
see put in front of them. They preferred the easy stuff that kept them
close to Jesus. So do we. We prefer to just keep close to him, not
reaching out to the new things that send us out into the world,
because we don't really realize that he is with us there, too,
providing what we need on a different level.
Jesus calls us forth into the main course of the Christian life.
v35 blends well with 13:35. It is through our acts of love that we are
identified as his sheep. That is how they will know us.
What better illustration of the Christian Mother do we need? Mothers,
love your children as the Good Shepherd loved his sheep. Children,
follow the wisdom of your Mothers as sheep follow the Good Shepherd.
John in IL
When our family would get together for holidays, we came from all over
the US and Canada. We had a blast together, and my parents would sit
at the opposite ends of the dining table and just smile at us while we
laughed, shared stories, listened intently and chatted away for hours
after the meal was over. At one of these fests, our Mother chimed in
with "I can't tell you what a blessing it is to your father and me
that the 4 of you get along so well. I am proud to be your mother." We
were shocked, but pleased. The greatest gift we could give our Mother
was for her children to love one another. Everything else paled by
comparison.
KHC
Tom in Ga. I agree that the Mother's Day theme doesn't really belong
in church. I have chosen to do a rather light-hearted recognition
during the announcement time which, for me, is before the call to
worship. It makes the mums happy and doesn't interfere with nor
complicate my sermon planning based on the lectionary. Pastor Rick in
Fl
Beth in GA...
Thanks for your effort to de-idealize the nursing Jesus thought. I was
planning on stressing the emotional bond more so than the physical
blood, sweat, and tears aspect. Although I am female, I have never
nursed a wee one. In fact, I have never experienced motherhood. I can
only imagine that the bond Christ has with us is replicated in a
mother's bond to her child. Do you think I'm way off on this one?
RB in PA
As I have considered this passage along with the Acts and Rev.
passages, something has emerged for a sermon. In Rev we are offered a
visual image/metaphor of a new reality based on the victory of God's
love. In Acts Peter understands a new personal and universal reality
in which the Gentiles are also loved/ accepted/ in-Spired by God.
So, in this John passage, I see Jesus proclaiming a new world, a new
understanding, a new reality based on his command (which is from the
Father) to love one another. This is the new condition for life and
our existence. Our "job" as the church is to convey it to the world -
this is how they will know we are Jesus' disciples ( a good hymn
selection - "They'll know we are Christians by our love").
We just don't often "see" it or perceive this new WAY. Maybe we are
like the little fish who swam all over asking "Can you show me the
ocean? I've heard about it, but I can't seem to find it anywhere." Ah,
the new reality, the new life, the new heaven and earth,however you
want to describe it, is right here, around is, between us, within us
whenever we follow the comand , "love one another." It is the
presence, the "undeniable heaviness" of love which is actually the
presence of God's Glory - thanks to LF for the Bruggeman quote.
As for the mother's day angle, on Sunday I'll wish all moms a happy
day and mention them in prayer, but I find that family relations and
mothers are a mixed bag of joy, pain, longing, sorrow, and
thankfulness for people, so I don't try to preach about ideal
mother-love (or father-love come June) or the like. I write here as
one who is a motherless son, and adoptive parent, and pastor who sat
with a family last week as they accompanied their beloved
70-something-year-old mother in her dying in a hospital. Jim in CT
I don't know exact how yet, but I'm tying one of the origins of
Mother's Day (with the peace emphasis) to this lesson and the one from
Revelation. With all the news from Iraq and the Middle East, we really
need to pray and to act for peace. Plus, everyone who has been killed,
injured and abused has a mother.
Any suggestions on how I can do this will be greatly appreciated!
Sybil from KS
I usually don't do Mothers day stuff and have occasionally gotten
nailed for it. Oh well. Yesterday something happened that gives me a
perfect Mother's day illustration.
This morning I discovered that there had been a war on our front
porch. Life long enemies had tangled over the night and the results
were three broken eggs, quite a lot of cat fur and a bunch of bird
feathers. It seems I was not the only one who had been watching the
activity in our porch ferns. A cat also found the new life of the
birds irresistible. The dead mother bird was practicing the kind of
love Jesus had for us and wants us to have for one another. Lots of
human mothers do too.
PBOB in SC
Just because I'm so talkative, I'm going to chime in on the Mother's
Day theme: I have very mixed feelings about it. My usual approach is
to not make it the main theme of worship - for many reasons it's not a
happy day for anyone, and whether or not we 'celebrate' it, those for
whom it IS a happy day wil STILL have a happy day regardless of what I
do or say. However, it gives an excellent opportunity to consider the
mother side of God - and a springboard to explore gender stereotypes
and anthropomorphism.
I like the metaphor of the bird and cat ... thank you, PBOB. I can
almost see the mother bird dive bombing the cat and pecking it with
all her might.
Sally in GA
oh - one more thing I'd meant to mention earlier.
there is a prayer for mother's day in the UM Book of Worship that, I
believe, is excellent. It acknowledges and prays for good AND bad
mothers - those who've never had chidlren, those who've lost children
... and I've had many express to me that they appreciated it. I'm at
my home computer, so I don't have my BOW, but if anyone wants it, tell
me and I'll post it on the discussion page.
Sally in gA
Sally, I'd LOVE to read the MD prayer from the BOW ...
Thanks in advance! ~Squeeze
I have chosen to reflect on failies this Sunday, largely because I am
used to a tradition that names the Second Sunday in May as Christian
Family Sunday (mainly as an extensions of Mother's Day).
For me then central question is "What makes a family?" Families are
not always happy places. Families are not defined by blood
relationships (eg. the adopted child is loved just as much as the
natural born child). Families are not defined by the gender of th
people involved (ask any committed same-gender couple). Families are
not defined by numbers (I have known some singles who call themselves,
or they and their pets, a family; is a couple without children any
less a family than the couple with grown children or the couple with
an infant). In the end, families are defined by the love they share.
Famililes are those places where we have the most opportunity to
practice loving each other. Family is where we learn that sometimes
loving "as I have loved you" is painful and difficult -- not just
roses and sunshine.
Gord in ON
Our church always has a Contata on Mother's Day, so I usually have
some kind of short reading, I've used the following at Funerals and
thought I might use it Sunday...
THought maybe you all could use it too...
I know I have a copy of it somewhere, but I just did a search and
found a copy at the link below....
Here it is...
01/01/2004: "Mothers" MOTHERS
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long
way?" she asked. The guide said: "Yes, and the way is hard, and you
will be old before you reach the end of it, but the end will be better
than the beginning."
But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that
anything could be better than these years. So she played with her
children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them
in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother
cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."
Then the night came, then the storm, and the path was dark, and the
children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and
covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are
not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children
climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she
said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the
children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we
would not have done it without you."
And the mother, when she lay down at night, looked up at the stars and
said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have
learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them
courage. Today, I have given them strength."
And with the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth,
clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled,
and the mother said: "Look up, lift your eyes to the light!"
The children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and
it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said,
"This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."
And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and
the mother grew old, and she was little and bent. But her children
were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was
rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather, and at last
they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and
golden gates flung wide.
And mother said: "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know
the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone,
and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even
when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her
as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her.
And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother
like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence!"
Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you
walk down the street, she's the smell of bleach in your freshly
laundered socks, she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not
well.
Your Mother lives inside your laughter, she's crystallized in every
tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's
the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and
your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not
time, not space...not even death!
Author Unknown
submitted by pulpitt in ND
Squeeze (and anyone else who's interested):
I've posted it on the discussion page under the very creative title,
"Mother's Day PRayer"
Sally
Thanks for that prayer Sally...I like it very much. I'm still not sure
I'll focus the sermon on Mother's Day.
I found a good sermon on the web that uses the Gospel and incorporates
the Mother's Day theme. She uses Robert Munsch's book "love you
forever". To see it, click on this URL, or paste the URL into your
browser and click "Go." If, for some reason, that doesn't work, try:
Wendy in Canada
I haven't had the time to read all the contributions but in talking
about mother's day I would like to hold up a resourse that is
wonderful. In the United Methodist Book of Worship there is a litany
for Mother's Day. In it there are prayers for mothers as well as those
who are like mothers to us. Also present is a prayer for those mothers
who have been unable to fulfill their roles as mothers in a manner
that is helpful and healthy. This litany/prayer uphold mother's day
without necesarally holding mothers upon a pedestal as one dps'r spoke
to. Just a few thaughts.
Shalom, Rev. Nancy in NE, USA
Hi All,
I haven't had the time to read all the contributions but in talking
about mother's day I would like to hold up a resourse that is
wonderful. In the United Methodist Book of Worship there is a litany
for Mother's Day. In it there are prayers for mothers as well as those
who are like mothers to us. Also present is a prayer for those mothers
who have been unable to fulfill their roles as mothers in a manner
that is helpful and healthy. This litany/prayer uphold mother's day
without necesarally holding mothers upon a pedestal as one dps'r spoke
to. Just a few thaughts.
Shalom, Rev. Nancy in NE, USA
Friends,
Thanks to the NIB, I've discovered that the "little children" who are
to love each other are the folks in the church. This makes an
interesting pairing with the Acts passage, where Peter is being
criticized by members of his own church for sharing the gospel with
Gentiles. Sometimes it's the other members of our church (liberals vs.
conservatives, etc.) who are the hardest to love.
JKS
Hello all
Interesting posts this week. I'm a little perplexed by the number
decrying the coupling of Mother's Day in worship. It seems that the
challenge we are always tasked to meet is the incorporation of
proclamation of God's word into a message that is relevant to the
needs and lives of our congregations. Mothers' Day offers an excellent
opportunity to do that.
I would also note that many Christian observances have roots in
secular festivals, Christmas being one of them.
The importance of our mothers in each of our lives makes for fertile
possibilities of connecting with our Gospel messages on this special
day.
Peace & blessings as you share His word,
Rich in Bama
I just read an article in today's New York Times about the
conservatives offering to split with the liberals in the Methodist
church, over the issue of homosexuality. I am a Presbyterian, and we
have similar potential splits in our denomination. I'm a "liberal",
and wonder how we are to balance "love one another" as loving our
sisters and brothers in Christ who disagree with us, with loving our
sisters and brothers in Christ who are gay? Can we "love one another"
and still refuse to work together? "Love one another" is not always a
clear-cut path.
DGinNYC
Some more thoughts: We can love without having to agree with each
other. Maybe love is shown not as much by our warm feelings toward
each other, or whether or not we have a lot in common and enjoy each
other's company, as much as by the respect with which we treat each
other. DGinNYC
Rich in Bama noted: "I'm a little perplexed by the number decrying the
coupling of Mother's Day in worship."
I am too. I think Mother's Day gives us an opportunity to explore the
little-used metaphor of God as Mother. In particular, the closeness of
the day to the feast of Dame Julian of Norwich, the 15th Century
English mystic (who is celebrated on the Anglican Calendar on May 8)
gives us an opportunity to explore her writings -- she referred to
Jesus as "our Mother"....
I've done just that as a matter of fact, contrasting and comparing the
"mother" metaphor with the "good shepherd" metaphor from last week's
gospel lesson.
Blessings, Eric in OH
I called holding Mother's Day services a silly practice in an earlier
post. I have no problem with the use of Mother images, Good Shepherd
images, and all that. What I take issue with is that the congregation
expects roses to be given out for mothers, both living and dead, the
bulletin covers have to have flowers on them, the hymns have to be
ones that extol motherhood and homelife and the entire sermon is
expected to be about the wondrous and glorious state of motherhood.
Not God and Jesus, Mothers. It's on Mother's Day that I always wish I
was a Catholic so I could talk about Mary as Mother in the highest
terms and not feel I was skipping the Gospel for the day. We don't
have alternate family situations here. We don't have motherless
children. Everyone speaks of his or her own mother in glowing terms,
and means every word of it. So, they want a Mother's Day service that
glorifies Mother. Not God, Mothers. Nothing less will do. I say that's
a silly practice. We'll be doing the same thing for fathers in June.
Same story there. Everyone has his or her father either closely
involved in his/her life or lovingly remembered, and fatherhood is a
blessed thing to talk about. So, I will be expected to put fishing
themes or cars on the front of the bulletin and sing songs that
everyone's father likes. I'm not kidding here. I think it's a silly
practice.
The rest of the year these members are sane and reasonable. They
really don't ask too much from me when it comes to how I run the
worship service. So I give them their Mother's Day and Father's Day
and in September I give them Grandparents Day. Why? Because I love
them. But I still think it's a silly practice. I'd rather talk about
God.
last-minute post:
I think of Mother's Day much like I think of All Saints' Day. Just
because someone becomes a mother doesn't mean they're a better
person...
Just like just because someone dies doesn't mean they were a wonderful
person.
I usually say words to that effect, but still shy away from preaching
"mothers are the most wonderful people in the world" or "mothers job
is in the home,"
I'm in the middle of a book called "The Mommy Myth" it's interesting.
the coccooning of America (this is from me, not the book, but is
something I think about while reading the book) is encouraging women
not only to get married and have lots of babies, but to stay home -
not just to keep house, but to home school their children. That is the
new ideal of motherhood. They talk about the new ideal of motherhood,
but I'm the one who thinks it's this societal coccooning.
Further, the authors (I can't remember them - sorry) point out that
this ideal only holds true if you're white and wealthy. If you're poor
and black then you need to get off welfare and get your ass back to
work!!!!
Sally in GA
Sorry, I wasn't clear in my post ...
The authors point out that the very people advocating
stay-at-home-school-at-home-and-have-a-minimum-of-4-children people
are the very people who decry women on welfare.
Sally
DGinNYC Jesus didn't say we have to agree with each other. He said we
must love one another as he loves us. He modeled this for us in being
willing to give up his life for us. He modeled it in his inclusivity.
He modeled it for us in holding people in loving accountability for
their sins. He didn't tell the woman caught in sin to say "I'm okay
you're ok. Go and find your next trick." He told her to Go and sin no
more. I attended an Evangelical students seminary conference, and
spoke with a gay woman, who is married with children. He told me I
shouldn't be on the fence about homosexuality, because she is fighting
these urges. He needs folks to stand up and declare it for what it is,
sin. This doesn't mean we shouldn't love gay folks. We have a tough
time in our society admitting to sin. I don't limit this to
homosexuality. It applies to promiscuity among heterosexuals as well,
as well as a gamit of other sins. We're all sinners, but need to admit
our sin before God. Peace. PastoLaura in OH
Like Laura in OH, I agree that Jesus is the model for the love he
commands.
I can’t help but notice how Jesus reclined at table with one who was
betraying him. Eating with someone with a totally different political
idea --- i.e., fervently believing that that Jesus should do something
about the occupation of Israel. Heck, lots of people share that notion
today and believe that bloodshed and brutality is needed to assure the
promised land is firmly in Israel’s command. ---is generally out of
the question today. The model that Jesus gives is that liberals and
conservatives, instead of contemplating ‘gracious separation’ they
should be seated at the same table together, eating the same bread and
drinking the same wine. There is no doubt there would be some extreme
uncomfortability among a group such as this. The reason is that we
never relate to those on the other side, thus we harden our own
position and grow further apart from them. When extremes come together
as they did on the floor of Presbytery the other day, sparks will
indeed fly. The language used by a candidate sharing her faith (in
order to be accepted as a member) was language, no doubt, developed
among like-minded people. The opposition was the same, and it resulted
in a conversation between total foreigners. This person was barely
voted in when all was said and done. I have never in my life seen such
a thing at a Presbytery meeting.
How can we love each other if we never see each other and relate?
I am struck also by the way Society has strict norms about how one
should live, and usually this results in clear boundaries that love
should never cross -- like showing love by healing someone on the
Sabbath, touching someone who is unclean, talking with a person of the
opposite sex in public, relating to sinners…. Communities cross people
and nations off the list of love all the time, and if a person doesn’t
obey these boundaries, they get crushed like an ant under the foot of
an elephant, or rolled over by the momentum of a glacier. The
community in charge at Abu Gruaid (sp) is a case in point. Not until
60 minutes aired the horrid pictures last week, of what was happening
to Iraqi prisoners, did something start happening. Before that,
reports were being made by the International Red Cross, and some
military personal months ago that went all the way up the chain of
command, and nothing was done about it. Now we are in a real mess.
Jesus stood firmly in the path of society’s rules about love. Loving
meant coming into conflict with Temple practices, a
political/religious institution that was as solid as a rock in the way
things were done. The purity issue was more important than justice,
and people were being overly charged to pay the Temple tax. Also,
gentiles were not able to worship also because of banking and business
ventures. Loving meant getting involved in politics. For Jesus, people
were more important than the institution. Susan Andrews, Moderator of
the Presbyterian General Assembly, quoted Roger Nisheoka when he said
the church in the 21st Century must be a “liquid church“, not the
solid church of the past. Instead of fixed ways that we have been
doing things, we must instead adapt to present needs of people (the
loving thing to do). Instead of going by ‘script’ in our worship
services, there needs to be a more free flowing worship, remembering
as we go what we are trying to accomplish.
Steve from KS
Thank you, Steve from KS, for your contribution. My question was not
about the merits of homosexuality, but whether or how Christians who
disagree on important issues can work together. DGinNYC
Hello from Saskatchewan,
Why are some people afraid to apply the (lectionary) Biblical truth of
God's Love for all people also to families (and Mothers on Mother's
Day or Fathers on Father's Day in particular)? After all, isn't God's
Love incarnational in Jesus. And further --- isn't God's Love to be
incarnational in and through us?! Aren't we also to bring God's Good
News to others incarnationally? You bet! Doesn't that mean that not
only are we as human beings to carry God's Love to others but also
that we are to incarnate that Love to current situations and
happenings for our people? Surely at a funeral --- hopefully, at least
--- we don't insist on using the daily lectionary whether or not it
connects to the situation at hand?!
Don't get me wrong --- I'm not saying that "Mothers" are be uplifted
above God or Jesus. Nor are we to give a bunch of sweet nothings about
"Mothers" instead of the Gospel. But surely we should be able to meet
the issue much the same as when 9/11 took place our sermons may have
met the concerns of people. Or is war and peace above family concerns?
We should not be gushy(sp.?) or dreamy but real and forthright by
bringing in the Gospel to meet the human condition of the day --- The
issue on everyone's mind that day is obviously "Mothers"!
Why is the only "correct" thing to speak on what liturgist have
determined by their prior selection of texts?
I think the "love one another" theme sounds like a good one!
Further, I believe the lectionary is a good tool --- not the other way
around! Let's not make it another levitical law we all should
subscribe to! Though the lectionary and other suggested texts are very
good tools, let's use them for the Gospel's sake , but let us not turn
those tools into doctrines for us to live or die by.
Let's us especially keep the GOSPEL central to our proclamation.
Also, let us remember that the Gospel always speaks to our current
needs --- that it is INCARNATIONAL! That is, it comes to us in the
midst of our life as it is --- not just into our clean cut "perfect"
and unstained world.
Actually, I've been doing a series on the Acts readings; hence, this
Sunday I'm tying in Acts 11 with John 13 with the theme --- "God Loves
Us All" or "God Loves Everyone". I hope to tie it together with some
Mother's Day thoughts as well --- that is, that The Fact that God
calls us all to love one another includes all of us in families as
well! A much needed reminder for all of us! Peace and Shalom!
- Carlyle J in Saskatchewan
Any night owls out there? I can't sleep... we have a very contentions
situation in the churches I serve (I have a problem calling them "my
churches") and I am going to tie Mother's Day in with Jesus' love like
many of you. I am going to open with a story about what my Mother said
to my brother and I one year when we had been fighting a lot and were
trying to out-do eath other on our Mother's Day gifts.
When we asked her what she wanted most for MD, she said "For you guys
to get along and love each other as much as I love you." Well, if that
doesn't fit the lectionary readings, I don't know what does!
I am also going to discuss the idea that love is not a feeling, it is
how we regard and act towards on another. My sermon title is "Love is
a Verb." I think that is what Jesus is getting at - if he can just get
us to love one another as much as he loves each of us, we will have a
much easier time spreading the Good News in a faithful manner.
Chris in Limbo
My sermon is "Learning from the Pros" and it will deal with what tough
lessons of life we have learned from our mothers. We're not talking
about the mushy love stuff, but about what love calls you to do, the
hard decisions, the I-don't-wanna's that we go do anyway because we
learned from our mothers that we have to push through our own agendas
to get to the agendas of others.
Sort of what Jesus was talking about - love each other in the hard
times ahead, and remember what I have taught you.
