John 17:6-19
“Set Apart For What?”
In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus is praying to God, the Father. It is part of Jesus' prayer that concludes his last meal with his followers before his arrest. In a way, these words are his last will and testament. He starts out by saying he has told his followers (the ones the Father has provided him) everything about the Father. He thanks the Father for them and testifies they have done what the Father wanted, they know “the truth” about the Son and the Father, and they believe. Then he asks, on their behalf, that the Father look after them so “they may be one as we are one.”
John seems to stress everything is from God: Jesus himself, his followers, and his words. In particular, the emphasis of this first part of his prayer, in speaking to the Father, is that "everything ... is from you." For John relationship - bonding, trusting, being loyal – is important and is to be honored.
Jesus is concerned for “his friends” because of what they have become and what might become of them. They have followed him and have turned their backs on the world and because of that, the world will seek to destroy them. So Jesus asks God to protect his followers from the evil and the hatred of the world.
His request is simple and to the point: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (sanctify them in me). And yet its implication is huge. The mission or purpose that Jesus had, of dedicating himself wholly for God's purpose of loving the world, is ours. And with it, we are sent into the world (because God so loves the world ...) (see John 3:16)
Wikipedia says to sanctify is literally “to set apart for special use or purpose,” figuratively “to make holy or sacred.” Jesus is asking that his followers be sanctified. He is not asking that they be hidden away somewhere, he is asking the Father to set them apart. Neither is he asking they be made special, but rather that the Father make them holy.
May I suggest then that the point of today’s lesson lies in how we answer the question: “Set apart for what?” What have you been set apart for? What have I? In her book, Unbinding the Gospel, Martha Grace Reese asks the question: What fills your pitcher and causes it to overflow? She says, “If you believe that hell or heaven is the consequence of a decision to become a Christian, that may fill your pitcher almost to the top! If you don’t believe that, you have to have your pitcher filled with many other reasons to get it to the top… What is filling your pitcher? Is it overflowing?”
If Wikipedia is correct, Jesus is asking that his followers be saved so God can use them in a special way and for a specific purpose. God then, by sanctifying Jesus’ followers, will use them to accomplish God’s purpose; and in doing so, will make them holy and blessed.
David Ewart, in his blog Holy Textures, writes: “Whenever we are offered a blessing in the Bible, we might be tempted to run and hide - because a blessing never comes without a God-sized mission. And God-sized missions never come without a cost.”
Jesus said, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them...” (19) I believe we have all been sent, me no more so than you. There is a reason for our being set apart, a reason for our sanctification. Just like the saints we recognize in our memorial service today, we too have a God-sized mission we are called to. These saints, who we remember today, were set apart for a purpose. Maybe some fulfilled that purpose more so than others, yet if we could have looked close enough we would have seen the Spirit working in each one of them to make them holy, just as the Spirit is working in us.
Let’s take time today to remember those whose mission and purpose during their lifetime in some way touched our lives. I remember…
Who do you remember?
I pray that the Spirit continue to work in me, and in you, that we might be truly sanctified in Christ. May we be set apart for God’s work to bring love to this world. May we know Christ and seek to do his will. And, may we always live in God’s truth.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
May 17, 2009 Message
John 15:9-17
“Friends”
Love is something, isn't it? We hear Jesus say, "As the Father has loved me so have I loved you," and then he says, "You are my friends – because I say you are.” It isn’t because his disciples have proven themselves or are such good guys. They are his friends – as we are – simply because he says so, and that’s the way it is! It may defy logic that this friendship doesn’t require something, but it doesn’t. Jesus calls us his friend anyway!
Today, "friends" are people with whom we share interests, we have fun, we enjoy the same things. But in Jesus’ time there was a different idea of friendship. A friend was somebody who helped you to be wise or to do the right thing. A friend could very easily have been someone who would help you to love God. Today, as friends, we are wrapped up in our common interests! Perhaps we need some help in today’s world in loving God. Jesus is our ultimate friend, helping us to be wise and good - to love God.
Jesus declares his followers his friends, like it or not, regardless of whether we've been a good friend in return or not. Have you ever had a friend like that? Can you think of someone who knew you before you knew yourself, who could care less what you have or have not done, who has stuck by you and always will, no matter what? Is there someone who has been a friend like that? That’s the kind of friend Jesus is.
Jesus was about to lay down his life for his friends. He was about to sacrifice his life for his friends. Imagine being there with him and hearing him say, "As the Father has loved me so I love you," and then calling us – friends! What do we do now? What can we do?
Well, the answer is probably lots of things, all of them really hard and maybe a little bit scary. But to these friends, Jesus said, "Go and bear fruit." Go bear fruit. Where does one go to bear fruit? The apostle Paul talked about the “fruit” of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Sometimes we feel that being good and bearing fruit is up to us; I do it! I'm good. And then God is pleased. But that’s not it at all. There is something John Wesley called "Sanctification" that suggests that it is not really my doing, but the work of the Spirit in me. Jesus knew all along I couldn’t bear fruit, so he had a plan for his friends (remember he called us all to be his friends). The Holy Spirit - a gift from him - working through me, would bear good fruit.
The graduates all across the country this year probably think they are prepared for what lies ahead. They believe, and rightly so, that knowledge and determination will be the keys to their success at whatever they do. We thought that too, didn’t we? And it’s still true today. Knowledge and determination are very important!
But when Jesus spoke to his disciples about their success in “bearing fruit,” what did he say? He said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” And then he added, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” There it is. That’s what is important. Love.
We are the Body of Christ, Jesus’ friends because he says so. On our own, we would never be fit, and yet we are – because Jesus says so. We can go and bear fruit, only because his Spirit, his love, his friendship, makes it happen. We love because he first loved us.
From Dr. Seuss’, Oh the Places You’ll Go.
“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy (or gal)
Who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets.
Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say,
“I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains
And your shoes full of feet,
You’re too smart to go down
Any not-so-good street.”
“Simple it’s not,
I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper
to make up his mind.”
“You’ll get mixed up, of course,
As you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step,
Step with care and great tact
And remember that life’s
A great balancing act.
Just never forget
to be dexterous and deft
And never mix up
your right foot with your left.
You’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way.”
You’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way.”
Our Lord has great plans for each of us. He calls us his friends, whether we like it or not. He commands us to love, even when we can’t. And so we might “bear fruit,” the Spirit is at work in us all. May it continue to be at work in each of us. Amen.
“Friends”
Love is something, isn't it? We hear Jesus say, "As the Father has loved me so have I loved you," and then he says, "You are my friends – because I say you are.” It isn’t because his disciples have proven themselves or are such good guys. They are his friends – as we are – simply because he says so, and that’s the way it is! It may defy logic that this friendship doesn’t require something, but it doesn’t. Jesus calls us his friend anyway!
Today, "friends" are people with whom we share interests, we have fun, we enjoy the same things. But in Jesus’ time there was a different idea of friendship. A friend was somebody who helped you to be wise or to do the right thing. A friend could very easily have been someone who would help you to love God. Today, as friends, we are wrapped up in our common interests! Perhaps we need some help in today’s world in loving God. Jesus is our ultimate friend, helping us to be wise and good - to love God.
Jesus declares his followers his friends, like it or not, regardless of whether we've been a good friend in return or not. Have you ever had a friend like that? Can you think of someone who knew you before you knew yourself, who could care less what you have or have not done, who has stuck by you and always will, no matter what? Is there someone who has been a friend like that? That’s the kind of friend Jesus is.
Jesus was about to lay down his life for his friends. He was about to sacrifice his life for his friends. Imagine being there with him and hearing him say, "As the Father has loved me so I love you," and then calling us – friends! What do we do now? What can we do?
Well, the answer is probably lots of things, all of them really hard and maybe a little bit scary. But to these friends, Jesus said, "Go and bear fruit." Go bear fruit. Where does one go to bear fruit? The apostle Paul talked about the “fruit” of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Sometimes we feel that being good and bearing fruit is up to us; I do it! I'm good. And then God is pleased. But that’s not it at all. There is something John Wesley called "Sanctification" that suggests that it is not really my doing, but the work of the Spirit in me. Jesus knew all along I couldn’t bear fruit, so he had a plan for his friends (remember he called us all to be his friends). The Holy Spirit - a gift from him - working through me, would bear good fruit.
The graduates all across the country this year probably think they are prepared for what lies ahead. They believe, and rightly so, that knowledge and determination will be the keys to their success at whatever they do. We thought that too, didn’t we? And it’s still true today. Knowledge and determination are very important!
But when Jesus spoke to his disciples about their success in “bearing fruit,” what did he say? He said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” And then he added, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” There it is. That’s what is important. Love.
We are the Body of Christ, Jesus’ friends because he says so. On our own, we would never be fit, and yet we are – because Jesus says so. We can go and bear fruit, only because his Spirit, his love, his friendship, makes it happen. We love because he first loved us.
From Dr. Seuss’, Oh the Places You’ll Go.
“Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
Any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy (or gal)
Who’ll decide where to go.
You’ll look up and down streets.
Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say,
“I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains
And your shoes full of feet,
You’re too smart to go down
Any not-so-good street.”
“Simple it’s not,
I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper
to make up his mind.”
“You’ll get mixed up, of course,
As you already know.
You’ll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step,
Step with care and great tact
And remember that life’s
A great balancing act.
Just never forget
to be dexterous and deft
And never mix up
your right foot with your left.
You’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way.”
You’re off to great places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way.”
Our Lord has great plans for each of us. He calls us his friends, whether we like it or not. He commands us to love, even when we can’t. And so we might “bear fruit,” the Spirit is at work in us all. May it continue to be at work in each of us. Amen.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
May 10, 2009 Message
1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8
“Abide”
Last week, John used the image of a good shepherd to describe the close, caring relationship between God and Jesus, and between Jesus and us. Its message of ‘love’ reassured the disciples and the early Christian community, as it does us today. We all need, from time to time, words of assurance from the risen Christ, that we aren’t alone.
There is a saying: “God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.” In this week's Gospel, Jesus uses the image of a grapevine and its branches, to help his disciples understand what their relationship with him is to be like in order to bring about the right fruit. Jesus uses a key word in talking about this relationship, which is to be ours as well. He says we are to ABIDE in him as he abides in us. In Wiktionary (an online dictionary), abide means 1) to stay; 2) to continue in a place; 3) to live; 4) to dwell; 5) to sojourn. Later, we will explore what it might suggest to us, but first a couple questions about the grapevine.
1. What is our image of the vine and its branches and its meaning for us? Most of us know what a grapevine looks like – with its entwined branches, winding their way tightly around one another in ways that make it hard to tell where one branch starts or another one ends. What we may not know though is that it is the vine that provides nourishment to the branches and not the other way around; the branches are a conduit through which the fruit is nourished. The quality of the branches and the fruit they bear depends solely on the quality of their connectedness to the vine. The vine IS the life force of the plant, sharing with its branches the nutrients that sustain it – even closer than a shepherd to his sheep.
2. How does John's image of the vine challenge our values today concerning individual achievement and personal success? Paul, in I Corinthians 12, highlights the different gifts and roles within the community, pointing out that it is those differences that make it a body. However, John’s image of the vine and the branches – where it is hard to tell one branch apart from another, instead of highlighting our particular gifts and roles, downplays them, and challenges our understandings of personality, individualism, and self-expression. When it comes to discipleship, each “branch” or individual gives up his or her desire for individual achievement in order to become one of many encircling branches — a community that is rooted and nurtured by Christ, relying on his “life force” and not its own. Gail R. O'Day, author and professor at Candler School of Theology, says, "For John, the mark of the faithful community is how it loves, not who are its members."
3. What does the word "abide" suggest to us? John uses the word, "love," a lot. For him, love is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It is the measure of faithfulness. Love is a state of being, of living, of abiding. Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you.” I think it means we are to remain very close and connected. What do you think it means? Fred Craddock calls abide "the central verb" in today’s passage, and "one of the most significant words in the Gospel." Eugene Peterson (The Message) translates "abide" a little differently, but with the same meaning; verse 4 is translated, "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you" We need air to breathe; we need food and water to live. We need a home and community to live. And for life as God intended, we need to abide in Christ, who is love.
4. What are the implications of this passage to the church and to us? First, it encourages us to look more closely at ourselves and consider what we are doing as a community engaged in discipleship, service and mission. Are we involved in works that bear witness and bear fruit at the same time; and are the things we do dependent on abiding in Jesus, the real vine," for their success? It causes us to look at ourselves as branches and to remember that branches are fruit-bearing, not fruit-making. The closer we are to the vine, the more fruitful we will be. The “life force” of anything we do comes from “the Vine.”
Next, it provides reassurance for the church seeking new life that there is fruit to bear and causes us to think about what "bearing fruit” actually means for the church. In its image of the vine, branches, and fruitfulness, are found the idea of connectedness, permanency, and vitality, as well as the concept of growth, usefulness, and nourishment. There is an image of connectedness and of “the communal nature of this life,” as O’Day would say. It may even cause us to ask questions like, “What would happen if our congregations spent less time talking about and working on our survival and more time on becoming “connected” to the vine, and abiding in Christ?
And finally, on the personal note, it reassures us that living close to the vine, we will be sustained and will find "shalom, which speaks of wholeness, completeness, and health. Here, we will find nourishment. We will find hope and joy. And here, close to the vine, we will find peace concerning everything we face, and all the things that we pray for. Abiding in Jesus Christ, we live wanting what God wants, we live a life centered on God.
5. What is its challenge for us? The challenge for us is both personal and communal. How do we do it? How do we stay close and connected? How do we ABIDE in the Risen Christ? Spiritual disciplines are helpful: reading, meditating and praying through the Scriptures are important, as are our involvement in acts of piety and mercy. Yet, it isn’t about what we do, but where we find ourselves to be when fully trusting Him. We cannot do it alone! Trusting in our own strength to get things done does not bear good fruit. Abiding in him means relying on him for the “life force,” the strength, and the grace needed. Then there will be fruit that blesses the world and reveals us as the followers of Jesus, a community of love. As branches, connected to and “abiding in” the source of God’s love and grace, we are conduits and not the end product. God’s grace and love always come to us on their way to someone else; someone who will be able to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) because we have been faithful branches.
1 John says it is in our love for one another we “see” evidence of this abiding, both us in Christ and Christ in us – all because of the Holy Spirit. What we do is “confess that Jesus is the Son of God” – and in doing so, we live in Christ, we abide in him. In this we experience the “love God has for us.” 1 John says, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” That is good news indeed! Let us pray…
“Abide”
Last week, John used the image of a good shepherd to describe the close, caring relationship between God and Jesus, and between Jesus and us. Its message of ‘love’ reassured the disciples and the early Christian community, as it does us today. We all need, from time to time, words of assurance from the risen Christ, that we aren’t alone.
There is a saying: “God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.” In this week's Gospel, Jesus uses the image of a grapevine and its branches, to help his disciples understand what their relationship with him is to be like in order to bring about the right fruit. Jesus uses a key word in talking about this relationship, which is to be ours as well. He says we are to ABIDE in him as he abides in us. In Wiktionary (an online dictionary), abide means 1) to stay; 2) to continue in a place; 3) to live; 4) to dwell; 5) to sojourn. Later, we will explore what it might suggest to us, but first a couple questions about the grapevine.
1. What is our image of the vine and its branches and its meaning for us? Most of us know what a grapevine looks like – with its entwined branches, winding their way tightly around one another in ways that make it hard to tell where one branch starts or another one ends. What we may not know though is that it is the vine that provides nourishment to the branches and not the other way around; the branches are a conduit through which the fruit is nourished. The quality of the branches and the fruit they bear depends solely on the quality of their connectedness to the vine. The vine IS the life force of the plant, sharing with its branches the nutrients that sustain it – even closer than a shepherd to his sheep.
2. How does John's image of the vine challenge our values today concerning individual achievement and personal success? Paul, in I Corinthians 12, highlights the different gifts and roles within the community, pointing out that it is those differences that make it a body. However, John’s image of the vine and the branches – where it is hard to tell one branch apart from another, instead of highlighting our particular gifts and roles, downplays them, and challenges our understandings of personality, individualism, and self-expression. When it comes to discipleship, each “branch” or individual gives up his or her desire for individual achievement in order to become one of many encircling branches — a community that is rooted and nurtured by Christ, relying on his “life force” and not its own. Gail R. O'Day, author and professor at Candler School of Theology, says, "For John, the mark of the faithful community is how it loves, not who are its members."
3. What does the word "abide" suggest to us? John uses the word, "love," a lot. For him, love is at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. It is the measure of faithfulness. Love is a state of being, of living, of abiding. Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you.” I think it means we are to remain very close and connected. What do you think it means? Fred Craddock calls abide "the central verb" in today’s passage, and "one of the most significant words in the Gospel." Eugene Peterson (The Message) translates "abide" a little differently, but with the same meaning; verse 4 is translated, "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you" We need air to breathe; we need food and water to live. We need a home and community to live. And for life as God intended, we need to abide in Christ, who is love.
4. What are the implications of this passage to the church and to us? First, it encourages us to look more closely at ourselves and consider what we are doing as a community engaged in discipleship, service and mission. Are we involved in works that bear witness and bear fruit at the same time; and are the things we do dependent on abiding in Jesus, the real vine," for their success? It causes us to look at ourselves as branches and to remember that branches are fruit-bearing, not fruit-making. The closer we are to the vine, the more fruitful we will be. The “life force” of anything we do comes from “the Vine.”
Next, it provides reassurance for the church seeking new life that there is fruit to bear and causes us to think about what "bearing fruit” actually means for the church. In its image of the vine, branches, and fruitfulness, are found the idea of connectedness, permanency, and vitality, as well as the concept of growth, usefulness, and nourishment. There is an image of connectedness and of “the communal nature of this life,” as O’Day would say. It may even cause us to ask questions like, “What would happen if our congregations spent less time talking about and working on our survival and more time on becoming “connected” to the vine, and abiding in Christ?
And finally, on the personal note, it reassures us that living close to the vine, we will be sustained and will find "shalom, which speaks of wholeness, completeness, and health. Here, we will find nourishment. We will find hope and joy. And here, close to the vine, we will find peace concerning everything we face, and all the things that we pray for. Abiding in Jesus Christ, we live wanting what God wants, we live a life centered on God.
5. What is its challenge for us? The challenge for us is both personal and communal. How do we do it? How do we stay close and connected? How do we ABIDE in the Risen Christ? Spiritual disciplines are helpful: reading, meditating and praying through the Scriptures are important, as are our involvement in acts of piety and mercy. Yet, it isn’t about what we do, but where we find ourselves to be when fully trusting Him. We cannot do it alone! Trusting in our own strength to get things done does not bear good fruit. Abiding in him means relying on him for the “life force,” the strength, and the grace needed. Then there will be fruit that blesses the world and reveals us as the followers of Jesus, a community of love. As branches, connected to and “abiding in” the source of God’s love and grace, we are conduits and not the end product. God’s grace and love always come to us on their way to someone else; someone who will be able to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) because we have been faithful branches.
1 John says it is in our love for one another we “see” evidence of this abiding, both us in Christ and Christ in us – all because of the Holy Spirit. What we do is “confess that Jesus is the Son of God” – and in doing so, we live in Christ, we abide in him. In this we experience the “love God has for us.” 1 John says, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” That is good news indeed! Let us pray…
Sunday, May 3, 2009
May 3, 2009 Message
1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18
“Life Laid Down” or “Church Camp and Shepherds”
What does church camp and the Good Shepherd have in common? And how are our images of camp like those of the Good Shepherd? Is it that both are rather “up close” and personal – and that in both we are able to discover God’s love first hand and learn we are never in this – whatever this is – alone.
1 John says, “(Jesus) laid down his life for us… (and we should do the same). Verse 23 is the ‘kicker’ – we “should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ AND love one another.” The author of of this letter doesn’t make it easy for its readers, does he? We learned last week we are to be like Christ and now this week he says we are to love one another. In 1 John 3:16-24 the measure of love is sacrificing oneself for another. It isn’t necessarily a literal death, but self-sacrifice in a much different way. Who is it we say we “love” but then live in a way that proves us liars and hypocrites? Is it strangers we sacrifice for or is it those we know best, our family and perhaps, our friends. Does that really make us like Christ who gave his life for all people, even those yet to be ‘brothers and sisters?’ When we follow God’s example we need to remember that what we do is not just for us but for others - even those who are not yet our brothers and sisters.
Both church camp and the Good Shepherd help us to find direction when our lives are in transition, when things seems to be changing, and the future appears uncertain. When you are younger, uncertain of where you are going – it’s good to be guided in the right direction, whether it’s at camp or under the watchful eyes of a ‘Good Shepherd.’ And we need to be able to trust that the One who started us on the pathway in the first place is with us on the journey, and can be relied upon to complete in us his good purposes for our lives. In that sense our experience at church camp and the Good Shepherd are very much alike. Christ’s love is experienced in both.
Both church camp and the Good Shepherd teach us what it means to be a Christian community. (“I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”) His voice, Christ’s voice - the Good Shepherd’s voice, is the one we listen to, right? Anyway it’s the one that should lead us… if we are truly his. It is his way of living that becomes our way of living, right? It’s what we do then that defines us as Christians.
The readings today also challenge us to consider: What does it mean to be a Christian community? How do we know we're heading in the right direction? What's important and what's not? 1 John 3: 18 says, “…let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” “All who obey (Jesus’) commandments (to love one another)… abide in him, and he abides in them.”
The author of 1 John is telling us to claim the gospel and apply it to our situation. He says, “Don't be afraid. Listen, little children, we know what love is, because Jesus defined it for us by laying down his life for us. That's the standard Jesus sets for us, that's where we find life.” It’s in the giving of our selves (self-sacrifice) for others – for our family and friends, and yes even for those yet to become our brothers and sisters.
And when we can do that - to actually go beyond talking about love to doing it. And when we do that we will be on the right track, won’t we? We will be living the way of Christ, following the lead of the Good Shepherd when our love puts others first. When that becomes our way to life, we become God's people.
Some would say that is what actually matters about being the Church - the connection between loving God and our caring for one another. We do it by being involved, by being, not just a collection of individuals looking out for ourselves but a community together looking out for one another. Nothing teaches that better, I think, than church camp.
Do you know what makes it all happen at church camp, when it does happen – campers experiencing and practicing God’s love for one another? It isn’t the campers. It isn’t the counselors. And it isn’t the food! God provides us with the Holy Spirit to make it all happen. And the Holy Spirit is a camper at heart! When people go to camp and get away from all the other things that fill up their lives, they often discover prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit to make us into different people – even people who can love one another… to be there for one another… to set aside the fears… and to trust in the Lord, the Good Shepherd who leads us in paths of righteousness where we can become a decent person, always, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Church camp and the Good Shepherd are where God’s love can be found, where selfless community is found, and where the power of the Holy Spirit is ever working to transform us. “And by this we know that God is with us.” Let us pray…
“Life Laid Down” or “Church Camp and Shepherds”
What does church camp and the Good Shepherd have in common? And how are our images of camp like those of the Good Shepherd? Is it that both are rather “up close” and personal – and that in both we are able to discover God’s love first hand and learn we are never in this – whatever this is – alone.
1 John says, “(Jesus) laid down his life for us… (and we should do the same). Verse 23 is the ‘kicker’ – we “should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ AND love one another.” The author of of this letter doesn’t make it easy for its readers, does he? We learned last week we are to be like Christ and now this week he says we are to love one another. In 1 John 3:16-24 the measure of love is sacrificing oneself for another. It isn’t necessarily a literal death, but self-sacrifice in a much different way. Who is it we say we “love” but then live in a way that proves us liars and hypocrites? Is it strangers we sacrifice for or is it those we know best, our family and perhaps, our friends. Does that really make us like Christ who gave his life for all people, even those yet to be ‘brothers and sisters?’ When we follow God’s example we need to remember that what we do is not just for us but for others - even those who are not yet our brothers and sisters.
Both church camp and the Good Shepherd help us to find direction when our lives are in transition, when things seems to be changing, and the future appears uncertain. When you are younger, uncertain of where you are going – it’s good to be guided in the right direction, whether it’s at camp or under the watchful eyes of a ‘Good Shepherd.’ And we need to be able to trust that the One who started us on the pathway in the first place is with us on the journey, and can be relied upon to complete in us his good purposes for our lives. In that sense our experience at church camp and the Good Shepherd are very much alike. Christ’s love is experienced in both.
Both church camp and the Good Shepherd teach us what it means to be a Christian community. (“I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”) His voice, Christ’s voice - the Good Shepherd’s voice, is the one we listen to, right? Anyway it’s the one that should lead us… if we are truly his. It is his way of living that becomes our way of living, right? It’s what we do then that defines us as Christians.
The readings today also challenge us to consider: What does it mean to be a Christian community? How do we know we're heading in the right direction? What's important and what's not? 1 John 3: 18 says, “…let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” “All who obey (Jesus’) commandments (to love one another)… abide in him, and he abides in them.”
The author of 1 John is telling us to claim the gospel and apply it to our situation. He says, “Don't be afraid. Listen, little children, we know what love is, because Jesus defined it for us by laying down his life for us. That's the standard Jesus sets for us, that's where we find life.” It’s in the giving of our selves (self-sacrifice) for others – for our family and friends, and yes even for those yet to become our brothers and sisters.
And when we can do that - to actually go beyond talking about love to doing it. And when we do that we will be on the right track, won’t we? We will be living the way of Christ, following the lead of the Good Shepherd when our love puts others first. When that becomes our way to life, we become God's people.
Some would say that is what actually matters about being the Church - the connection between loving God and our caring for one another. We do it by being involved, by being, not just a collection of individuals looking out for ourselves but a community together looking out for one another. Nothing teaches that better, I think, than church camp.
Do you know what makes it all happen at church camp, when it does happen – campers experiencing and practicing God’s love for one another? It isn’t the campers. It isn’t the counselors. And it isn’t the food! God provides us with the Holy Spirit to make it all happen. And the Holy Spirit is a camper at heart! When people go to camp and get away from all the other things that fill up their lives, they often discover prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit to make us into different people – even people who can love one another… to be there for one another… to set aside the fears… and to trust in the Lord, the Good Shepherd who leads us in paths of righteousness where we can become a decent person, always, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Church camp and the Good Shepherd are where God’s love can be found, where selfless community is found, and where the power of the Holy Spirit is ever working to transform us. “And by this we know that God is with us.” Let us pray…
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