This week's sermon

 

Easter 6

        If you were here last Sunday, you know I talked about two words: “love” and “abide”.

        At the time, I thought I had talked out love and abide.

        Imagine my surprise when I read today’s lessons.

        The letter and the Gospel of John weren’t through with love and abide.

        “Everyone who loves the parent loves the child.”

        Then Jesus tells his disciples: “As the father loves me, so I have loved you; abide in my love”.

        But a new word stands out—commandment.

        “…we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments.”

        Then in the Gospel: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

        “This is my commandment, that you love one another….I do not call you servants anymore , because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my father.”

 

        Jesus also says that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends.

        And that is exactly what he is going to do for his friends.

 

        I don’t take well to be given commandments.

        Ask any bishop I’ve ever served with!

       

        But Jesus’ commandment is not like that. He commands us to love one another and to abide in his love.

 

        It is ‘agape’ love we are called to. Complete and total love—love that gives itself away and allows us to abide in love.

        One story from last week because we need to hear it again. I told you how, as a boy in Southern West Virginia people would say from their porches, “Jimmy, come up and ‘bide’ a spell.”

        It was an invitation to just ‘be’ with them, no expectations or requirements—just to ‘be’ on the rocking chairs on their porches.

        That’s what Jesus means by ‘abide’—to just ‘be’ with him, in his presence, on his front porch.

        So, a command to ‘just be’ is a commandment I don’t resist or object to.

        To just ‘be’ in the presence of love….

 

        We all know it isn’t easy to ‘love one another”.

        Some people don’t seem lovable. They can be harsh and vindictive and terribly wicked.

        So, we need the light to get in so we can see them in a different way.

        I’m reading a book by the Canadian novelist, Louise Penny. This one is called “How the Light Gets In”.

        The title is from a poem/song by Lenord Cohen that goes: “Ring the bells that still can ring./Forget your perfect offering./ There’s a crack in everything./ That’s how the light gets in.”

        It’s crack in our brains that lets the light get in and into our hearts.

        Let the light get in, beloved. Abide in the light. Vanquish darkness. And live into our love for each other.

        Let the Light of God flood your hearts.

Shalom and Amen.