“Christ as Friend”

Text: John 15:9-17            Sixth Sunday in Easter - Mother's Day, May 13, 2012

A little boy watched his mother rub cold cream on her face, “Why are you doing that Mommy?” “To make myself beautiful” she said. A few minutes later she began removing the cream.  A little confused the boy said, “Are you giving up?” Mom’s give up? I don’t think so. I thought my mom could do anything! Combine not giving up with this idea of love from our gospel and you have a wonderful definition of a friend. A friend is one whose love never gives up.

How many friends do you have? That is an interesting question with our technology. You have friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter, and even with that you still have scores of people who feel deeply and utterly alone. Then I read this week about “Diet friendship”, compared to the real thing they have just some of the taste and little of the substance. Back to the question, “How many friends do you REALLY have?” Would you raise 130 fingers, or would you only need one hand. I am going to suggest to you this morning that you can add one more to your list and that would be Christ. Christ as Friend.

Jesus in the final hours of his ministry is preparing his disciples and you, for life as his followers after his death, Resurrection and Ascension. This is what he did for his friends. “You are my friends, he says, I do not call you servants any longer, but I have called you friends.” This is an amazing statement, think about it. Jesus Christ, the son of God and Savior of the world, refers to you and I, as friends. Wow, that is awesome! The reason is because of what he has shared, what he has revealed and what he has made known. He has shown us a love that never gives up, that is only something a friend would do, reconciling you to God through the work of Christ on the Cross and empty tomb. (Christ is risen.) Doing it free of charge, now that is a friend’s love that never gives up.

As a friend of Christ we too are commanded to love. Love is not a choice, it is the way of life for those who are friends with Christ. A young boy was given a grammar test in school on perfect tenses of verbs, which to review is to show action that is already completed. In the first column was the verb, the second column they were to put the perfect tense. For the verb ‘live’, he wrote the word ‘love’. He got it wrong on the test, but he was right on in God’s eyes, the perfect form of ‘to live’ is to love. Jesus isn’t giving a suggestion that we love one another, it’s a command, he expects this of his followers when he is gone.

“Connected”

John 15:1-8            Fifth Sunday of Easter            May 6, 2012

Every now and then I do some monkeying around with wood.  The current project is a trellis, and after finished and put in place, the theory is for various vines to grow on it.  Once again this week Jesus uses an image in teaching that the disciples would be familiar with, a vine and branches. Grape-growing and vineyard tending were prominent in that culture.

For years you have heard it said, “It’s not what you know, but WHO you know.” The unfortunate side of this is that it is then difficult for those who have no connections. Unfortunately it pays to be connected. Your connectedness as a branch is with the vine grower, God, who connects us with the vine, who is none other than Jesus. “I am the true vine, and my Father is a vine grower.” The repetitious word that describes this is ‘abide’, eight times, to remain, stay together, stick together on the vine, hang-in there together, connected. We don’t use this word.  The hotel sign does not say, “Abide with us”.  Branches don’t last long apart from the tree or vine. No matter how much you pay for those roses next week for Mother’s Day, they will eventually wither, although it does amaze me how long they do last. Jesus is about to leave his disciples, first on the cross, and then following the Resurrection, his Ascension. He wants them to be prepared, to remain in fellowship with each other and with him. If you push God’s love away, ignore, or cut yourself off you will wither. Don’t go it alone, don’t trust your little gods, small ‘g’, they are not strong enough to carry the weight of life. Instead, “Abide in Him”.

Now if you do lose connection, it won’t be God’s fault. You take a grapevine and try to break the branch off, it will not break where they are connected; the joint is the strongest point.  If you break a branch from a tree it will break at the trunk, with a tree that is the weakest point. Is it any wonder Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and its branches. The teaching point is this: you don’t need to worry that your connection to Christ will be broken, at least not from Christ’s side. I’m guessing you all know someone who needs to be connected to Christ and to others. I’m guessing they’re all around you. In a sense you can become the extension cord, you bridge the gap between the source, the vine and the need, those who are not connected, not abiding. This power source is equipped with love, mercy, grace, wisdom, kindness, compassion, and so on, for all we need and all they need.

“An Amazing Image”

Text: John 10:11-18            Fourth Sunday of Easter            April 29, 2012

Coming back from Iowa City earlier this week, I had been reading about the Good Shepherd and the sheep much of that morning and sure enough what do I pass but a field full of sheep, and not a shepherd to be found. For most of us that is about as close as we get to sheep. Maybe some of you go out to the county fair and go through the livestock barns, so you might get really close.

But as close as we don’t get, still this image of Jesus as the great shepherd has brought great comfort to believers. It has inspired art, stained glass windows and certainly a theme for music. The Old Testament echoes the promise that God would come as a shepherd to the people.  “He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms.”  Is. 40:11  “I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer.”  Jer. 23:4 “You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture and I am your God.”  Eze. 24:31  These comforting and reassuring promises, begun and carried out in the person of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd.

One common view of the church we find in Matthew 28, “Go therefore making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But our John 10 gospel gives us another view, the church is where Christ comes to us and loves us, bringing us into his sheepfold, keeping us safe in his arms as Isaiah said.

The image of the sheep/shepherd might not ring true to us but at that time it was a well known image to the disciples and others. The sheep will know him and recognize his voice.  The relationship was special between them and any of you who have had pets of any sort can understand how close and intimate the relationship can be. I was visiting with someone earlier this week with multiple animals and was amazed at how intimate and expensive those relationships were. Our shepherd looks for the sheep when they’re lost, and brings them back safely to the fold, he will handle any danger that confronts the sheep, refusing to flee, willing to give his life. The hired hands conversely don’t care for the sheep, and will run away at the first threat.

“It’s Not Over”

Text: Luke 24:36b-48            3^rd Sunday of Easter             April 22, 2012

Baseball season and you’ve heard me speak of that great theologian, Yogi Berra, who is notorious for many sayings that are just a little off or mixed up. Probably the most famous being, “It’s not over until it’s over.” The disciples thought it was over, Jesus had died. Even when they saw the risen Christ they still had trouble believing that it was not over. It must be a ghost.

Just prior to our story, two of the disciples were on the road to Emmaus, still confused by the women’s report of an empty tomb. They encounter Jesus, initially not recognizing him. They discuss this supposed empty tomb.  Jesus tries to help them understand, but it wasn’t until they later sat down to eat together that their eyes were opened and they recognize him and they realize they have been speaking with their risen teacher.

Jesus exits and the two hurry off to Jerusalem, about 20 miles. They are excited to tell the rest what had happened and while they were talking, Jesus shows up again and greets them just as we heard last week, “Peace be with you.” He tries to assure them that he had not come to punish them for their lack of faith. Another meaning was, “The presence of God be with you; God be present to you now.” He was not just calming their fears, but also assuring them that God is present among them. Jesus appearing to them was not just to prove that he rose from the dead, but also that God is in charge and is present with his followers. It’s not over.

They are filled with confusion and doubt, he’s a ghost. Jesus tries to explain, “Look at my hands and feet, touch me.”  “It’s really him.”

They want to get excited, but Jesus still senses their confusion. “How about if I eat something, a piece of broiled fish, not what I would have asked for. Eating, just like he did at Emmaus, after all, ghosts don’t eat, do they? Then things started to make sense to them.  It set in motion their understanding of what scripture had been saying all these years, the suffering and rising three days later.