Dear friends,
So -- how DO we not only proclaim this wonderful message but find a
way to help people understand what it means to love one another???
It's a great message. It's the most difficult of Jesus' commandments
to carry out (at least I think so!). I mean, loving God is generally
easy. We know God loves us and forgives us. But loving each other
means we have to put up with human imperfection (our own, that of
others...).
How to encourage people? How to get them to see that it's not the
kind of love Jesus talked about when we only accept others on our
OWN terms? How to help people feel okay about the times when they
find it difficult (or impossible) to truly love one another? How to
make this Gospel commandment lively and not just a pie-in-the-sky
platitude...?
I love this reading from the Gospel According to John because of its
seeming simplicity. I also love it because that very simple-ness
challenges me in ways that make me pretty uncomfortable. I'd like to
find some ways to convey this in a sermon.
Any ideas? What do you all think????
Rev. Judith in NH
To Rev. Judith in NH: I am inspired by John 15:15. It's easier to
say I'm a servant (kind of like a distant relative who feels no
responsibility to help you when in need) rather than a friend who is
in your midst and feels the desire to take action right away.Our
actions communicate louder than words. Having a hard time loving
someone? Don't speak, but act on a love that is deeper than your
ability speak of love. In this way we can become friends of God and
knows the deeper things of God. Rev. Maggie
With this scripture coming on Memorial day weekend, it seems that
vs. 13 would be a good focus for a sermon. Just what does it mean to
"lay down one's life for one's friends" especially in today's world?
And how does that tie into vs. 16 which reminds us that we've been
appointed to "bear fruit that will last." I'll move from the secular
focus of the holiday weekend into the spiritual side of our lives
which calls us to love one another, to lay down our life for
another, and to do it for the purpose of something which will make a
difference to the future generations. As I reflect on the UMC
General Conference and the statement which was made by two bishops
and others through their arrest for standing up for their faith and
belief in God's love and embrace around all God's children, I think
that we have new images for what it means to "lay down one's life
for one's friends" and for bearing "fruit that will last." A
seminary profressor once told us that "reconciliation" means
something brand new coming out of seemingly irreconcilable
differences, with no one side "losing" or "winning" their own
viewpoint, but with God creating something new which will be a gift
of love for all. We need to continue to pray for reconciliation in
so many areas of emotional conflict and name calling, and listen for
God's still small voice to speak the words of calm. Beginning
wanderings of the Spirit-filled mind.... Rev.KAS
I have been following DPS for sometime now and I appreciate all that
you, the contributors have posted in the past. It has helped me in
my exegesis and get different perspectives on the texts. I couldn't
help but notice that this passage is the follow-up to last Sunday's
passage where we were to consider a couple of words. First: the word
prune, kathairei, katharoi, from kathairo which means everything is
clean or pruning by removing superfluous wood. It is in this vein
that we read in the first 8 verses that it is the withered,
fruitless branches which are thrown into the fire to be burned. It
is not that the Christian is not producing fruit and thus cut from
the vine. If you have ever observed a grape vine that has not been
pruned, it grows wildly and its crop is extremely small and
sometimes non-existent. This is because the vine is left to grow
without direction. Sometimes we meet Christians who cannot find
meaning in their lives because they have not submitted themselves to
be pruned by God. When a grape vine is pruned, the energy of the
plant is directed toward the fruit. It is in this way that pruned
vines produce the largest, sweetest, juiciest fruits. Incidentally,
this does not just hold true for grape vines, but for all kinds of
fruit trees and bushes. If you want large tomatoes, pluck several of
the blooms off your tomato plants and watch the fruit grow larger
than ever before. Nip the new growth and keep the plant smaller and
the fruit will grow larger because the energy is directed toward the
fruit. This brings us to the other word I looked at in last weeks
lesson: Abide. This word is used in this text as a present
infinitive, otherwise translated as something to do constantly or
continuously. When Jesus said "Abide in Me," He meant to say
constantly and continuously abide in Me. In verse 5 where Jesus says
"he who abides in Me and I in him," means that our walk is so close
to Christ everyday that we constantly and continuously seek His
presence in every situation. The result: we will produce or bear
much fruit. One other word that I found to be interesting was the
word: ask in verse 7. Jesus told the disciples to "ASK WHATEVER YOU
WISH AND IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU." This was not a request or
suggestion, it is emphatic in the Greek where it comes out as a
command. ASK. Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. Paul
encourages to "Pray without ceasing." These are just a couple
suggestions that lead us into this weeks passage, continuing on with
v. 9 we find that word "ABIDE" again. Constantly and Continuously
abide in My Love. Again in vs 10, "if you keep my commandments, you
will 'ABIDE"(constantly and continuously) in My love 'just as' I
have kept(and now still is) My Father's Commandments and 'ABIDE'(constantly
and continuously) in His love." Later in vs. 16, Jesus moves back to
the theme of last week's lesson on the fruit and how you will
produce fruit and that it would remain, and that whatevery we ask,
while we abide in Him, He will give to us abundantly. It is in
ABIDING in Jesus that we are even able to love one another and it is
through ABIDING in Jesus that the fruit we produce will draw others
to Jesus as well. As I said in my sermon this week, When others
notice the difference in your life and ask you what you have that is
so different from theirs, it is your answer that will be the fruit
of your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Incidentally, in chapter 14
we see that Jesus is talking to the disciples and not people who do
not know that Jesus is God's Son. These are the true followers of
Jesus and that is why in vs 14 Jesus says "You are my friends, if
you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves because
slaves do not know what their master is doing; but I call you
friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made
known unto you." The disciples knew what Jesus was about. Sometimes
they were dull minded and did not see clearly, just as we do.
Rev KAS mentioned that vs13 relates to the Memorial Day theme. I
would agree and go further. We are not only called to lay down our
lives for our country, but for our friends, neighbors, aquaintences,
enemies, strangers, widows and orphans. We are called to be little
Christs just as our name Christian identifies us so. It is in our
witness of Jesus Christ that we lay down our lives for our
friendsT˙í
I must have run out of room.: It is in our witness of Jesus Christ
that we lay down our lives for our friends and that is as a result
of ABIDING in Jesus Christ, constantly and continuously. Thank you
for listening. KVH in IN
Continued from above: It is in our witness of Jesus Christ that we
lay down our lives for our friends because we abide constantly and
continuously in Jesus Christ. Thanks for listening... KVH in IN
Yes, I am new. Please disregard two of the three previous posts.
Thanks KVH IN
So lets explore, how it is that we "abide." Essentially I relate
this word to remain, or settle with, or to persevere. How? How do
you persevere in love in the face of increasing opposition and
rejection? No wonder so much emphasis is made in the gospels
regarding Christ's passion. But how do we as Christians remain
attached to the true vine which stretches beyond this world into the
next?
For a long time, I have regarded this as the most crucial theology
of the church. We have so much theology, so much cliche and doctrine
about how to "make" Christians. How to introduce people to the
church. How to convert people from one belief structure to the next.
And yet we don't seem quite so informative in telling them how they
should remain Christian. And, might I add, sometimes we fail to
provide them with an adequate theology of the suffering that forms
much of the Christian life. Jesus, even got frustrated with his
disciples about this. "How long must I teach you these things?" Even
today with a declining church in the western world, I hear a lot of
sermons which fail to address the issue of persevering Christians.
Most of them, say you have to keep going back to your conversion
experience, sometimes even quoting hour and minute. Whist this is
true; I don't forget my first love of Christ, I also need to move
forward and encounter the myriad of experiences that God has
prepared for my future. I find that conversion experience
Christians, become rather tedious after a while.
To remain/persevere in Christ's love is the most difficult aspect of
Christianity. It's an everyday event, occurring in some very mundane
situations. Yet we are commanded to constantly risk our love, put
our faith on the line, and "remain" faithful. We are called to daily
take up our cross, to experience the pain of relationship, to bear
the sorrows of others, and still remain soft and pliable. To love
others with a love, where you are willing to lay down your life for
them. Being available to the movement of the Spirit at any point in
my life, is the quintessential trial. This is extremely difficult,
and yet absolutely essential. Loving people just doesn't happen when
I'm at my best, but often when I'm at my worst. Anyone who has
ministered for a long period of time, in strenous conditions will
soon tell you, about the accumulation of stress that hardens the
heart. Anyone who has ministered in parishes for any extended length
of time, will tell you, just how constant need, drains your ability
to show love and compassion. How criticism cuts into your
willingness to be vulnerable. Many new Christians just don't
understand this. I was once told by someone, that Christianity is
not a sprint, it is more akin to a marathon.
Into this equation comes the demand, by Christ, that we are to
remain loving, which means that we have to remain vulnerable. The
vulnerability that Christ exhibited on the cross, is a constant
reminder, of how Jesus remained loving to the very end. Trying to
imitate him, is and remains the hardest component of Christianity.
What I have discovered is that most Christians, in order to combat
this unique request, hold back a level of their committment. That
is, they keep a part of themselves uncommitted to Christ. They are
the "clayton" (euphimism for not what they appear to be) Christians,
who exhibit all the right signals and symbols, but who's heart is
not abiding in Christ. This enables them to appear loving and
compassionate for most purposes, until one day, their hand is
forced. They are called to travel the extra mile, and they are
unable to go. They find excuses, for why they are not called to love
to that level. Remember Jesus's story about the banquet and all the
excuses that people made as to why they couldn't come. To me, these
people have not persevered in love, they have not abided in Christ.
My experience has shown that it is often those who appear non-interested,(don't
necessarily comply with all our requirements) that give more readily
of themselves, without thought of reward, and without seemingly
being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. Remember
the vine of Christ encompasses ALL people. They are the ones who put
aside their own lives, for the sake of others. These I have come to
regard as those who remain and abide in Christ's love.
I have experienced a number of occasions when it is the stranger,
who is most willing to lay down their life, while the professing
Christian justifies, why they shouldn't. I associate the parable of
the Good Samaritan here. Who produced the fruit which would last in
that story? In the musical "Les Miserables", it is the Bishop's
action, which lead to the incredible life of Jean Valjean.
What DOES it mean, to persevere in the Christian life.? Does it mean
simply attending worship? Does it mean professing with your lips,
Jesus as your Saviour. Does it mean, "doing unto others as you would
have them do unto you."? Or does it mean something far more
fundamental even?
It means for me, the need to regard every single relationship in
life as sacred, no matter how miniscule the association is, and it
means that every decision I make in life, has to be thoroughly
checked for its loving intent. Remaining attached to God and his
love for me, is the hardest thing I have even encountered and I
encounter it every day. I encounter it in the tri-fold love affair
which says, "If God loves Me, and God loves You, than I am required
to love You, and You, Me."
Thankfully God knows my difficulty in achieving this, and has given
me the beautiful glue of forgiveness, to keep me attached to the
eternal vine. May I strive to be better, and may God give me the
sweeter understanding of How!
Thanks be to Jesus, who treats me as a friend.
Have a great week everyone!
Regards,
KGB in Aussie
Greetings KGB in Aussie: You have hit the nail on the head! If
abiding in Christ is an easy thing, everyone would do it. Christ
would not have had to go to the cross because we who put Him there
would have seen who Christ was and recognized His importance. You
are right, that is the struggle. Daily, constantly, every moment,
remaining in Him. Turning over our every care and concern to Jesus.
These words make it sound easy. It is not. It is a struggle every
day and the harder we struggle to remain in Jesus, the more we are
attacked to look away. How do we show others the way to accomplish
this? We set the example ourselves. There will always be more work
to do, but if we do not take care of ourselves, we might find
ourselves lacking or unqualified. We must first show that we can be
used of God to bear fruit. When we do this, God will bring people
our way to explain that it is a daily process, not a formula or an
answer. I too, struggle daily with this. I too find myself lacking
the energy, time, committment and fortitude to remain in Jesus
daily. If we as ministers have that difficulty, imagine how others
who are only reminded of God's love for them on Sunday mornings
only! Your comments that sometimes it is the non-Christian who
exhibits the Good Samaritan habits and the religious who walk by.
That was the point of Jesus' story, that we as Christians find
ourselves wanting when it comes to loving others unconditionally as
this Good Samaritan did. Your question of how do we tell them, get
them to understand this concept? John 15:10 says it all! "If you
keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept
My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." It is so simple
that we make it complicated because we don't really want to love
everyone, even our enemies. We as ministers must share the good news
and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit to work His will and way in
the lives of others. Simple? Yes. Easy? No. Abide or remain in Me -
constantly and continuously. That is the secret to close fellowship
with God. He can do the rest! KVH in IN
YES to KGB in Aussie!
What I tell candidates for baptism is this-Becoming a Christian is
the easiest thing in the world to do. Remaining one is the hardest
thing in the world to do. "Simple, but not easy" sums it up
nicely.Thank God it is not up to us to do it alone. tom in TN(USA)
God works miracles sometimes in our lives. Normally I do my bulletin
on Monday mornings because it is copied by 8:30AM on Monday by my
head of worship and then the rest of the week, I spend looking for
what I am going to say, check this site once or twice a week and on
Saturday I check back. Now on a good week that means sermon on
Saturday most weeks it is 4:00AM on Sunday and I am sitting down to
write. I am a storyteller so it works for me. But this week, God has
made me sit down and write. A week wher I have the least amount of
time in the beginning of the week. To get to the point, I will
discuss the different kinds of love, I will discuss the difference
between love and lust. and will discuss how the word abide to me is
a kind gentle feeling that happens when we invite God into our
hearts to live and he says to us, "my child I have been waiting for
you to invite me in." I will try to end it by tying in verse 13 and
Memorial day by the fact that Jesus gave up his life for those of us
yet to be born, as did those who went out to fight a war for those
who they did not know or were yet to be born. I wish to thank you
all for the great things I read here. I am a UMC local pastor who
will be ordained in June and I also struggle with what happens in
our church, but I also hope that there is a way that God's will can
happen and not split the church that I love so much.
Pastor Belle in NY
I think sometimes we do forget that we are given a helper. I know I
could not get to first base without that Spirit that indwells and
guides me. I know I had no chance until I met Jesus face to face
like Paul's experience. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” For
years I had the knowledge, (head knowledge) but we all need the
indwelling of that Spirit to produce the fruit that in the end helps
us to constantly abide in him. God’s grace leads us, guides us and
helps us to persever. I know when in my heart I am trying to obey it
starts becoming a works..... then I have to say, “ God here I go
again.... please take over ..... the I in me needs your help.” I
truly believe even He produces the humility in me to ask for the
help the I in me needs. I hope I am getting my point across. LPinPA
Thank you all for wonderful entries this week. Special thanks to KAS
for the words about the meaning of reconsiliation.
To KVH, welcome! You are a delightful addition to this discussion.
To KGB, a simple thanks does not seem enough. It felt like you were
pouring out your soul in a loving and careful way so let me simply
respond in saying that what you shared is a gift, and I (one among
many) recieve and appreciate it that way. Manzel
Dear Friends:
On this Memorial Day weekend, many of the families in my church will
be camping together and worshipping out among the cottonwood trees
and wind on the Mohave Desert. The service is informal, includes the
briefest of homilies, lots of singing, and communion together as
family.
I know that it is simplistic to use this scripture to talk about the
sacrifice made by those who gave their lives in war, but I will
likely do so. There are family members who willingly went to war,
seeing it as an extention of their life of faith, knowing that they
were risking life for their friends. And so, I'll look for a brief
story to tell that can demonstrate that kind of sacrifice (any
suggestions) and we will thank God for a Savior who modeled for us
that kind of love.
Peace be with you all this week.
Pam in San Bernardino peejaymo@prodigy.net
Greetings Pam in San Bernardino! My wife told me a story she heard
on the Radio Bible Class with Mr. Charlie. I don't know if it fits
in your situation, however, it might help others too. The story is
told a farmer who raised chickens on his farm. He was very proud of
his chickens and they were good laying hens. One night, the farmer
looked out the back door to see his barn on fire. He rushed out to
the barn and chased all the chickens he could find out of the barn,
saving their lives. He felt he accomplished a great thing even
though his barn burned to the ground. The next day, the farmer went
out to where the barn stood and came upon the place where the
chickens laid their eggs. To his horror, his best laying hen sat on
the nest with her wings spread out, but the hen was dead. Angry, the
farmer kicked the hen off its perch and in doing so, uncovered the
reason why his best hen was dead. There in the nest were four baby
chicks alive and chirping. The best hen the farmer had gave her life
to save her chicks from burning.
Having been in the military missing Viet Nam though being sent to
Desert Storm, there are lots of stories of brave men and women who
have given their lives to save those around them. Many of those who
survived the war(s) are hesitant to talk about their experiences,
partially because it was so horrific, partly because they feel
humbled that they even had the chance to come back when they knew
many who fell around them to give them the opportunity to live. We
don't understand why the hen in the story stayed on the nest and
gave her life for the chicks. Perhaps it was out of instinct to
protect her young? We really don't understand why God loves us so
much that He gave His only Son to die on a cross for our sins
either. We can only be humbled and appreciative that He did. I would
like to think that those who survived the war(s) stop and remember
and appreciate those who died for us. I don't just mean those who
came back from the war(s) but those who survived the war(s) because
young men and women went to distant shores to protect our shores
from being invaded. We all owe our lives to those who protect our
freedom. I salute the men and women who serve in the U.S. military
who continue to protect our freedom. SGT. KVH in IN
All of us tend, I think, to moralize the teachings of Jesus. Love
even comes out of our mouths as something we need to do! Yet we can
only love if we know we are loved, and the only way we will know
this unconditional love, outside of our intellectualizing, is
allowing ourselves to be with God in and through deep prayer. It is
here, in the silence of our own being that we know whose we are, and
once we have (re)discovered God's love for us we will be able to
reach beyond ourselves.
When Jesus speaks of "command" does he mean "torah" or "mitsvoh?" It
seems to me that he means more "word" than law. At the conclusion of
the lessons we say "The Word of the Lord." How do we hear this word,
do we see it as an invitation for deeper communion, or is the word
simply something to obey, objectively.
tom in ga
Thanks KVH for your story and your additional comments.
The story is one I've heard told in a variety of ways through recent
years, and may work for this occasion. We'll see.
My senior pastor and partner in ministry is a Chaplain for the Air
National Guard (Lt. Col.) and has recently returned from a 3 month
stint in Ramstein. He usually tells the military stories from our
pulpit, while my examples tend to be more homebound, and hence more
homey. I think I'd like to stretch a bit a turn to military things
myself this week, so your reflections will be very helpful.
Thanks and nice to meet you.
Pam in San Bernardino
Speaking of that love triangle (you, me, & God)....
I am loved, I am loved. I can risk loving you for the One who knows
me best loves me more.
You are loved, you are loved. Won't you please take my hand? We are
free to love each other. We are loved.
I THINK these are the words to a song I once heard on the radio. Can
anyone verify/correct the lyrics?
I appreciate the way Jesus here in John seems to flatten the
hierarchy by moving from master to mutual one, i.e. friend. For such
high christology, this is quite a come-down! Such humility.
Yell"Arose!"inTx
Am preaching my last series of sermons to a congregation before
taking on a new appointment. The lection texts from 1 John and the
Gospel of John have been quite helpful. John's Gospel as it issues
Jesus' farewell address offers great insight in beginning the
farewell process with a congregation. I would be interested in
stories and examples of how you have witnessed saying good-bye while
proclaiming and living the commandment to love. TN Mack
After reading the comments of others, the thought came to me of how
rebellous I am in obeying commands. It would be easy for me to
dismiss Jesus' command to love... if I did not feel God's love as
revealed in the life of Jesus Christ at work in my own life. If I
sense the goodness of the Savior's love, the command to love is a no
brainer. TN Mack
The fact that Jesus has to tell us to love one another implies that
love does not always come naturally. Sometimes we are called to love
when we are utterly unable to do so. There are times we simply run
dry of human love. The love Jesus wants us to have is not human
love, which is fragile and imperfect. Rather, when we ask for it,
God's love is poured into our hearts so we can love with divine
love. It is not our doing. In my own life I have been confronted
with my own inability to love. Only God can provide the love. revsjc
in PA
I recall the lection from a few weeks ago when Jesus entered a house
said "Peace be with you", showed the disciples his hands and feet,
ate a fish, and then "opened their minds to the scripture". While we
are here in the Easter Season I find something very personal in what
Jesus did in that lection, and in what he does in this one. I think
it comes across especially clearly when he calls his followers
"friends" and not "servants". He does not even call them "apostles"
or "disciples". I think that when he calls them friends it shows a
very personal side of Jesus and a very personal side of the gospel.
I also think in this day and age when we are all shopping on-line
and in gigantic stores that we are searching out for this personal
message from Christ.
Alex in Clyde.
A few opening thoughts:
This last week I had the congregation close their eyes (not too many
fell asleep!) and imagine themselves as branches on the vine of
Christ, with their roots deep down in the well of God, the sweet sap
of the Spirit flowing up through them, producing fruits to be
enjoyed by others. Their job was simply to "abide" on the vine, and
let the vine, the Spirit, and the resources that they brought from
the well do their natural work in them, to produce fruit. I also
reminded them that the purpose of the branch is not merely to
"abide" (no pew sitters!), but to produce fruit for others.
This text naturally flows from last week's. Abiding appears to be
both a gift and a command. Jesus has already made us "clean," so
that we already "abide" in him. Yet it is also a command, "abide in
me." We are to do what he has enabled us to do. But we do not do it
on our own power, for "apart from me you can do nothing."
Thank you all for the reflections on "giving (one's) life for
(one's) friends." Certainly apropos for Memorial Day. I think the
point is that we do not limit ourselves to seeing the "giving one's
life" as only pertaining to those who have died for the cause
(whether of faith or the nation), but the day-by-day giving of self
for the sake of the other. That is the true meaning of agape -
reflecting God's selfless love.
At the end of this passage, Jesus once again notes that the work is
all God's: "I chose you;" "I appointed you." We only need "abide" in
what he has already done!
Gary in New Bern Where it's summer already!
TN Mack: Have you heard the song, "Will You Love Jesus More?" It is
a perfect 'saying goodbye' theme: "WIll you love Jesus more, when we
go our different ways? When this moment is a memory, will you
remember His face? Will you look back and realize that you felt His
love more than you did before? I pray for nothing less than for you
to love Jesus more." It blends nicely with the text.
Rev Janet in CNY
TN Mack, I know it's gotten a little dated, but for saying
"goodbye," how about Michael W. Smith's song, "Friends"? The theme
even seems to go with this lection. MTSOfan
Tying the text into Memorial Day is fine, but the appeal to me this
week is that Jesus is speaking to the Christian community itself.
This isn't a call to show love to the world -- it's to do so within
the community of faith, the church, to the annoying people we have
to put up with every Sunday! I believe that if you can be a
Christian in the church, you can do it almost anywhere. Often the
closer we get to each other, the more appealing the "humble poor"
somewhere else appear to be. Or if I'm among the "cultured despisers
of religion" I usually know where I'm standing. But to love those
who profess to be of one heart and mind, sharing the unity of the
spirit in the bonds of peace, and to be the recipient of the things
they (we) say and do -- that's a difficult matter. To be a Christian
means we have to deal with halitosis, and off-key singing, clammy
hands and people who stand too close, kids dropping pencils and
teenagers getting the giggles at the Communion rail. It's easy to
say (with Charlie Brown), "I love humankind. It's PEOPLE I can't
stand." But to the church Jesus says, "Love one another." Christian
community is less about Paul's second missionary journey to Rome --
and more about our own journey to decency. Grace and peace, Larry in
VA
How true, Larry in VA!!! It is always easier to "love" someone with
who you are in limited contact with. You do not have to invest much
time in shaking hands on Sunday morning or doling out supper in soup
kitchen. Jesus is talking about God's love shared among friends.
Servants do have great respect at times for their master, but their
relationship to the Master is limited to the tasks they are to
perform. Jesus up the ante by calling his disciples friends. By
doing this he implies a relationship that is more serious,
committed, and time consuming.
It is alarmingly easy to figure out what we WON'T abide, rather than
what (in WHOM!) we will abide. This text seems like a call to
continually identify ourselves by we are FOR rather than AGAINST. We
easily list what we can't stand, what we hate, what is wrong. Jesus
calls us to remember what we CAN stand for, what (and whom!!) we
love and what we are choosing and re-choosing every day. We need to
lay down our lives like a path others can follow... DL in ME
I appreciate the theology of Country Music - some say that it is my
worst vice - oh, well! Anyhow, 2 current hits are "Love's the Only
House Big Enough for All the Pain in the World," by Mindy McCready,
and "Don't Let the Chain of Love End with You," by Brian Paisley, I
think. Both sum up well the interconnectedness of the community of
faith without saying anything about religion. They also impress upon
the hearer that this love we know doesn't stop with us - it has to
grow and be shared sacrificially with the world so that all may
know. As we abide in his love, allowing it to produce good fruits in
and through us, we are compelled to share those same fruits and
source of love with others. It is the gospel imperitive - lest we,
as last week's text indicated, be pruned for our faithlessness.
Pastor Mary Beth, Sandusky, Ohio
As I was preparing for this Sunday I was looking in an old (older
than I am anyway) commentary by the great Archbishop of Canterbury,
William Temple. About the commandement to love one another he said,
"This is not a command to all the world, as will appear very soon
(18); nor is it a command concerning the relation of Christians to
non-Christians. It is the command to the Christian fellowship. That
fellowship owes its existence and quality to the love of Christ. He
has drawn us, each one to Himself; our discipleship is His doing,
not ours (16); in the fellowship which we have, each one, with Him
we are in fellowship with one another; and this latter fellowship
must be the sphere or arena of a love such as created it. The life
of the Vine must be in the branches, making of them a single
organism; the Spirit of Christ must be in the members, making them
all one body, and that body His." This is the direction I think I am
going to go this Sunday, allowing of course for the Spirit of Christ
who flows through me to suggest other possibilities.
RG in Ontario
Rose, here are the lyrics to that chorus, which is a Bill Gaither
number btw. (he does have a gift, eh?) "I am loved, your are loved.
I can risk loving you for the one who knows me best, loves me most.
I am loved, you are loved. Won't you please take my hand? We are
free to love each other...we are loved!" Rev She in NC
