The Text: John 14:1-14
A Place prepared
Clean sheets on the spare bed. check.
House clean and tidy. check.
Plenty of Food in the house. check
Yep ready for the visitors to arrive.
Is that something you do to prepare for visitors to come and stay with you? A special meal, the spare bed has clean fresh sheets, and the house is tidied?
It is special when children who have grown and left home, come home. For a
mother, it is a joyous occasion when all the family are together and are at peace with one another.
Depending on where the children are geographically, there may be different ways they can travel to come home. Even when we go to places there is generally more than one way to take to reach a destination. If there is a more scenic way to get to a destination, sometimes that is a better wat than to travel on a major highway.
We can’t do that at the moment. We aren’t allowed to travel. We can’t be with our mother’s today if they live away from us. But that’s okay we can still connect with, phone, Facebook, Skype, email. Once this pandemic is over, once again we can go to their place.
Jesus tells about a place for us to go to today. He calls it his Father’s house. It’s a place where there is not just one spare room, but there are many rooms. But as Jesus says to Thomas, you can’t get there on your own. Jesus says: “I am the way”.
To know Jesus is to know the Father. In the same way, the Father knows the ones who listen to the voice of Jesus, and follow him along the way. It’s interesting that before early believers were called Christians they were called people who followed ‘The Way’.
Jesus fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah spoke of, “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall
belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray”. (Isaiah 35:8).
How are we ever able to walk the way of holiness and be invited into our heavenly
room that is prepared for us? For we know that daily we struggle with our humanity and its sinful desires. Rather than daily concentrate on the Holy life God desires of us, we follow our own ambitions.
The way to God was completely closed, and sin was the roadblock. It was like when the Israelites had been rescued out of Egypt they were filled with fear because they thought the way to freedom was blocked by the Red Sea as the Egyptian chariots were closing in behind them. It’s the same in our lives. If we think our way to freedom depends on us, then we fail to trust that Jesus has provided away for our freedom.
The way was blocked because of sin, but God wanted to rescue us from this world in which sin entered and blocked the way to the place where our Heavenly Father has these many rooms prepared. God could not simply excuse or overlook our sin
and allow us to enter his place in our sinful state. Yes God is merciful, but He is also just. Justice requires that sin be paid for. At great cost, he himself paid that price. God offers salvation to everyone who accepts it through faith in Jesus. Jesus
describes this way as entering through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Perhaps the way through Jesus doesn’t look appealing enough or has too many restrictions. But in reality, the way through Jesus is bigger than you think, because God sent Jesus to save the world. It isn’t God’s fault that many don’t accept that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
We know the way to heaven by trusting in what Jesus has done for us and what he continues to do for us through his gifts to the Church. Our journey begins in Baptism.
Through God’s Word and water Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith. Faith receives the promises of God and clings to Jesus as the true and only way. Faith receives Jesus as the way and rejects all other ways that are contrary to what God’s word says. Just like a mother, God has a lot of love to give, even lots more. God’s love is an everlasting steadfast love that endures rejection, as he sees people go on a journey in other directions to fulfil their needs. However, through the Holy Spirit, God never stops trying to alert us if we go in the wrong direction. It’s like when your TomTom or Navman tells you perform a U-turn where possible.
What I really dislike about relying on GPS is when they try to take you down a road that isn’t there. It makes us end up feeling lost and not sure where I am. Then I need to back track to get on the right way.
Likewise, God gives us a conscience to alert us when we follow a way that leads away from his way. His ways are written on our hearts, and supported through his written word to show us his way.
When it comes to walking the way of holiness, it’s the way of repentance and forgiveness. Repentance because we fail to live holy lives and need to turn back and confess our failures to God. God hears our cries for mercy and forgives us for Jesus’ sake.
He is always waiting like a mother for her children to come home. One of the best images we have of this in the bible is the story of the prodigal son.
When Jesus says, “I am the Way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me” he is not meaning this to be a threat. Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, as a word of comfort.
They are a comfort for us as well, for we don’t need to panic and search for a
hidden map or look for clues, or guess if we are on the road to salvation. It’s clear and simple. As Jesus says “Do not let your heart be troubled. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going away to
make a place for you. After I go and make a place for you, I will come back and take you with me. Then you may be where I am.”
A mother’s desire is to protect her children. Have you felt the anxious wait to see your children safely arrive home? You hope they will not get lost, but will follow the way that leads to you, to the place you have prepared for them. Sometimes things occur where as parents, as a mother, you need to go and bring your child to the safety of home.
This is what Jesus did for all of us. He came down from heaven into the world, where we were lost and heading in all sorts of directions and he shows the way home. His desire is for us to be where he is. There is no other way than the way Jesus paved at a great cost to himself.
He calls us to follow him with hearts that forgive, and have compassion. With hearts that welcome home into the family a child who had lost their way. With hearts that even go looking when we notice we haven’t seen them for a while. It’s what a mother does for her child so she knows her child is safe.
It’s what Jesus does for us. There is only one true way to eternal life. That is the way of Jesus. Amen

The Text: John 10: 1-10
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. On this day we recognise that Jesus our
risen Lord is indeed our Good Shepherd. As Psalm 23 says, he leads us to
green pastures, and beside still waters. In our Gospel reading it cuts short of
the part where Jesus says, ‘I am the good shepherd’.
In this reading from beginning of John chapter 10, Jesus describes himself as
a door or a gate. The word for door can also mean opportunity.
Let’s look at what we know about doors and gates. What is their purpose?
Why do you have doors in your house? Obvious isn’t it? You want to keep out
those whom you don’t want in your house. The ones who you allow in your
house are the ones you invite into your house. Even within your house are
doors. You may close the door to your room for this may be your private
sanctuary, and the ones you allow into your room are the people who are
closest to you.
Jesus describes the people who try to get into your house by other means
than invited through the door, are thieves and robbers. That is why our doors
have locks on them, to prevent thieves and robbers from entering through
the door uninvited. Of course, as Jesus tells us what we already know, they
will try to find another way in.
It’s the same when you have a gate to your property, or a gate to the
paddocks on your farms. The gates are there for a reason, to keep safe what
is within, and to keep out that which is not allowed.
So, who is allowed through the door? Why is Jesus describing himself as the
door? Jesus may be alluding to the ways that shepherds would gather their
sheep into a pen by calling their names. They would follow the shepherd into
the pen and the shepherd would sleep in the opening as there was no gate.
Why is Jesus telling us this? What has bought him to this point where he
teaches about himself as the door or the gate?
You may recall the Gospel reading for the fourth Sunday in Lent, about the
man born blind. When Jesus healed this man born blind on the Sabbath, it
was the talk of the town. The man was bought before the Pharisees and they
interrogated him and his parents. During the interrogation the man said to the
Pharisees: “Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become one
of his disciples?” This led the Pharisees to cast him out of the temple where
2
Jesus came to the man and asked him: “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
The man replied: “Who is he sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus answered:
“You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.” What did the man do
then? He confessed his faith and worshipped Jesus.
Now today, Jesus says he is the door, he is the opportunity for all those who
hear his voice, to come to him, to worship him and say, ‘Lord I believe’.
Jesus calls you into the safety of his kingdom. There is no other way to enter.
The way is through Jesus. Anyone who tries otherwise to snatch you away
from the love and mercy of Jesus is a thief and a robber who tries to rob you
of the joy of being saved.
The Pharisees tried to rob the man born blind of the grace that Jesus had
shown to him, claiming it to be a sinful deed done on the Sabbath. They
denied the joy the parents should have felt of their son receiving his sight.
Even as we read further into John chapter 10 in verse 27, Jesus says: “My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has
given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of my
hand. I and the Father are one.”
It was that comment that stirred the pot for the Jews. When John speaks of
the Jews here, it is all those who opposed Jesus. Just as they rejected what
the man born blind said, they now rejected Jesus, accused him of
blasphemy, they picked up stones and tried to arrest him, but his time had
not yet come. Remember this happened before the events of Easter.
What does this mean for us? It means that there is life and salvation for all
who hear Jesus’ call to follow. Jesus has come to bring forgiveness and
healing. Jesus has come to make his voice known. How is it known? Through
his word. Through his word we hear that Jesus suffered greatly that we may
know him.
As 1 Peter 2: 22-25 says: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his
mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he
suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges
justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die
to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For
“you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the
Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
What more can we say than, ‘worthy is the lamb who was slain’? Despite our
sinfulness, Jesus still calls us by name, and invites us into his kingdom. He invites
us in and sets out a banqueting table of forgiveness, mercy, healing,
acceptance and compassion.
3
You are all welcome. Do you hear his voice? A voice that says: Come all you
who are weary and burdened. I will give you rest. Come, I will give you
abundant life. Come in, I will keep you safe from the evil one.
The Pharisee, the Jews, the crowd, Satan, all may have thought they had
silenced Jesus when he died on the Cross, but the Cross only showed to the
world that Jesus is worthy to follow, for he was willing to give his life for his
sheep.
Jesus is calling your name. Do you hear his voice? The blind man heard Jesus
ask: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He responded: “Lord I believe”.
Jesus is the door. Jesus is your opportunity to know the love of God and be
accepted into his family, simply by listening to his voice. Any other voices that
want to rob you of receiving this grace that Jesus offers to you are thieves
and robbers. You don’t need to listen to those voices, because Jesus is
calling your name. His is the voice that calls to you as you come and go in
this world. Just as you come and go from the safety of your home, Jesus tells
you to come and go knowing he is watching over as your good shepherd.
Jesus knows you by name. May that be your comfort and peace. Amen

The text: John 20:24-29
24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them
when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen
the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the
nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my
hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was
with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood
among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to
Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your
hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him,
“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those
who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Many people say: ‘seeing is believing’.
In fact, they don’t just say it, they live it. Perhaps you do too. This means if someone
told you something remarkable, you’d want to see it for yourself.
Perhaps this means we reckon the sense of sight (and perhaps also the sense of
touch) is the sense by which we judge truth. If we see it, or can touch it, we’ll
believe it.
But this may also mean we won’t always believe what we hear (unless we can
confirm by the senses of sight and touch that what we’ve heard is actually true).
But what if seeing is not believing? Or to put it another way: we often want to see
things because we don’t believe them.
For example, imagine you’re Thomas. For some reason you weren’t with the
apostles on that night when Jesus came. You meet up with them later and they
joyfully tell you of their experience of seeing the risen Lord Jesus among them. But
you weren’t there! You didn’t see what they saw. So instead of believing the words
of the apostles through your ears, you say you’re not going to believe unless you
see him for yourself. You don’t believe your ears and want your eyes to confirm this
truth.
In fact, you’re not going to believe your ears and eyes unless you put your fingers
on the nail marks on Jesus’ hands and thrust your hand into his speared side. Until
you see and touch this news you’ve heard, you’re not going to believe. After all,
don’t people say: ‘seeing is believing’!
But that’s the twist. You want to see because you don’t believe.
I wonder if you can relate to Thomas. Of the remaining apostles, he was the only
one not there. But you weren’t there either. You and I haven’t had the chance to
witness our risen Lord for ourselves and use our senses of sight and touch to confirm
the good news of his resurrection. None of us were in that locked room and saw
the risen Jesus standing among us.
This is why we have this story in St John’s gospel account, because we weren’t
there. This true story was written down for all who, like Thomas, weren’t in that
room. In some ways, Thomas was fortunate in so far as Jesus came to him so he
could confirm this truth of the resurrection eight days later, but what about us?
We still haven’t been given the opportunity to see Jesus in the flesh and place our
fingers into his wounds, and so we continue to struggle with our doubts and fears.
No matter what we hear in God’s Word, we still demand to see or experience
certain things before we believe.
In this way, you and I are Thomas in this story. We’re Thomas whenever say or think
such things like:
“Unless God answers my prayers the way I want him to, then I won’t believe.”
“Unless I get something special out of worship today, then I don’t think this church is
any good for me.”
“Unless I feel something when I’m baptised, confirmed, or when I receive the Lord’s
Supper, then I’ll question its validity.”
“Unless I get what I want or expect, and can confirm it with my own senses of sight
and sound and touch and taste and even with my emotions, then I won’t believe.”
But these types of questions or statements means we only want to meet God on
our own terms. It shows we’re struggling to believe. It shows we’re like Thomas. So,
while we may believe, we ask God to help our unbelief!
The strange thing about faith is it never stops in one place. While we’d like to think
our faith will always increase and get better during our life; it doesn’t. It often
wavers between faith and doubt; trust and suspicion. Some people expect that
once you’re baptised, once you’re confirmed, once you’ve made a decision for
Christ, or once you’ve received faith, then everything’s ok from that time on. But
this isn’t true. At times we’ll be strong in our faith, but there will be times of doubt.
For this reason we can also learn a lot from Thomas.
When he doubted or struggled to believe, he didn’t dismiss or ignore the fellowship
with his fellow disciples. He didn’t stay away, but came back into their little
congregation to hear, see, and touch.
We’re encouraged to do the same.
We’re encouraged to hear the Word of God read and explained. We use our
sense of hearing so we may listen for God speaking to us through the bible
readings and the sermon.
We’re also encouraged to attend the Lord’s Supper where we use our senses of
touch and taste as we receive our risen Lord’s body and blood on our fingers, on
our lips, and on our tongue. But, while our senses of sight and touch and taste will
tell us ‘this is simply bread and wine’, the Holy Spirit will ask our sense of hearing to
be the more powerful sense so we may believe what we hear: That this is Jesus’
body and blood, given and shed for you and me.
The fact is, a faith which doesn’t constantly look to our Lord Jesus Christ, and listen
to him, will slowly die. A faith which refuses to come into his presence and receive
his spiritual benefits will shrivel up. A faith which makes demands for proof of God’s
love outside of the written Word, the cross of Christ, and his holy Sacraments, is in
danger of leading to despair.
This means if we want to see and experience Jesus on our own terms, or if we want
to keep away from the place where his people meet, then we’re becoming an
unbeliever. Then, just like Jesus said to Thomas, he says to you and me, ‘Stop
doubting and believe’, or literally, ‘Stop becoming an unbeliever and become a
believer’.
This is why Thomas, in his time of doubt, went to the place where Jesus promised to
be – with his people.
In our own times of doubt we need to do the same, after all, we know Jesus
promises to be wherever his people gather in his name. We know his Holy Spirit is
present as we hear the Word of God read and proclaimed. We know Jesus
promises to wash, adopt, forgive, and give new life to those who are baptised. We
know Jesus promises his true body and blood is present on his holy Supper.
Seeing isn’t always believing, because the demand to see is a sign of unbelief. On
the other hand, believing is seeing. Faith instead gives us a greater sight so we may
believe what we hear, despite what we see and don’t see.
By believing what we hear, we see Jesus is our Lord and our God. We stand beside
Thomas and see Jesus is more than just a man. By faith, we see Jesus is also the Son
of God who came to suffer, die, and rise again for us so that, by believing, we may
have life in his name.
By believing what we hear, we can see God truly comes to us, hidden in times of
simple worship to grant forgiveness, peace, and hope. He comes to challenge our
unbelief and comfort us through his Spirit-filled words. He comes to wash us and
claim us as his own people who will live with him forever. He comes and wraps his
body and blood in humble bread and wine and offers them for us to eat and drink.
He comes, hidden in the people joined to him through faith to love and care for us.
He comes, sometimes despite our best efforts to lock him out.
Yes, Thomas was blessed to see his Lord and Saviour in the flesh and use his senses
of sight and touch. On the other hand, blessed are those who haven’t seen, yet still
believe because they trust their sense of hearing.
You and I are blessed because we believe what we’ve heard. Jesus is our Lord
and God even though we haven’t seen him with our own eyes or touched him
with our own fingers. And through faith in Jesus’ word our bodies will also be
resurrected and we will see Jesus in heavenly glory forever. Amen.

 6 Easter 2025

Revelation 21:10-17; 22-22:5

Last year’s list of the most livable cities in the world put Vienna at the top. It’s a nice city. A bit too spread out for getting around by foot, and a bit prone to flooding when the Danube burst its banks. But a nice place, nonetheless. In second place was Copenhagen. All I can say is that the committee must have visited it in summer. Zurich was third. Not a bad place, and some nice mountain views in the background. The fourth most livable city in the world was deemed to be Melbourne. 

The Melbourne city public relations team when into overdrive advertising their ranking as soon as the news came up. They were quick to point out that they were three places above Sydney, which usually is the top city in Australia in these rankings.

The rest of Australia was left scratching our heads. Melbourne? Really. Did the committee try to drive through the city during peak hour? Did they visit during covid, or one of the cities many protest marches? And again, they surely didn’t visit in winter, or on a windy day.

Some years ago the CSIRO did a study of the best and healthiest places to live in Australia looking simply at climate: temperature range, humidity, rainfall, hours of sunshine, etc. They put Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie in first place. Well, that seems more sensible to us. But we might have had a hard time convincing any visitors who were trapped in Port last week when we received 600 millimetres of rain, all access to the city via road, rail and air was blocked, and thousands of residents, including the manse, suddenly had waterfront properties.

So, the perfect city to live in is a matter of taste – and timing!

But in today’s second reading, from the book of Revelation, John tells us he has seen the most perfect city ever, and it is the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, that God will bring down to earth for all children to live it.

The Book of Revelation, for most of us, seems to be about weird images of a rather frightening future. But that is a misreading of the book. It is about hope in times of great trouble. It is a reminder that in the battle over evil, God wins in the end. And so the book appropriately finishes with a vision of the heavenly city where Jesus will rule and where we will all live with him forever. It is one of the greatest passages of hope in the Bible. 

John was shown this city in a vision. A vision is more concrete and real than a dream. In a dream we wake up and remember things vaguely. Visions are very vivid. More like watching a movie. God gave John a vision, and sent an angel to show him the city he has prepared for all of us to live in.

It has a number of striking features. It’s very, very big. About two hundred kilometres from one side to the next. Many of us who have tried to drive through Syndney or Melbourne, and in recent years Brisbane, have wondered if we will ever come to the end of it. Well, the heavenly city will dwarf them. The angel measured it out for John as he watched just to make the point of exactly how big it is. If one edge began in Port Macquarie the opposite side would be several kilometres on the other side of Coffs Harbour. But we imagine without the traffic somehow. The size shows the importance of the city. But it also shows that God is not planning a city for a handful of especially holy people, but for great masses of people.

And the city will be very tall. And the buildings all very bright and beautiful. To John it seems they were all made of gold and jewels. So the city will have an amazing wow factor. We will not tire of looking at it.

And there will be no night there. The city will be lit by the glory of God and the Lamb, that is Jesus. So every day will be a bright and cheerful day.

Another feature that stands out is that there will be a river flowing down the middle of the main street of the city. Now, many of you might say, that’s nothing special. We had rivers flowing down many of our streets here in Port last week.

But this is different. This is a river that is more like a giant median strip. And the river is not muddy flood water filled with debris. It is crystal clear water. For this river is the river of life, and it will flow from the heart of the city, from the throne of God, out through the city and to bring life to the surrounding land.

You might recall those with artistic ability were challenged to portray this theme, using this verse, in last year’s visual art challenge. We got some really beautiful paintings, drawings and photos. But all of them will dim in comparison to the real thing.

And on both sides of this river will be the tree of life. Again, I am not sure how this works, but several of our artists last year showed us some ways we might imagine this. But the important thing about the tree of life is that it is symbolic of the restoration of what was lost in the Garden of Eden. Remember, we ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and as a consequence, access to the tree of life was blocked. But now it will be restored. And it will not just be for the people living on side of the city or the other. It will be on both sides of the river and street. And it will bear fruit all year long. And even its leaves will be for the healing of nations. So life everlasting will be restored to us in this city where there will be no tears and no death, and the river of life and the tree of life will be a continual reminder of this.

And with a city that size, and one built by, powered by and illumined by God, there would certainly be some pretty large and spectacular churches or temples in it. But actually no. Not a single one. Not even a small chapel or prayer room.

What? We might ask. Not a single place of worship in the holy city of New Jerusalem?

How can that be?

Well, there is no need for a church or a temple to worship God because God will be dwelling there with us. Jesus will be enthroned in the city and we will not need to go to some special place to talk about him or worship him or see him. He will be present and available to all.

That’s pretty special.

So apart from some pretty spectacular urban features, this city that will one day be our home has some other special features as well.

As we saw, the presence of Christ will light the city and there will be no need for churches or temples because he will be immediately present to us, living, once again, among us.

And next, the river of life and tree of life will be restored to us and available to all, and at all times. So this a place without sickness and death.

There will be no night. The city has gates, but they are to go in and out of. They will not be shut for there is no need. No night. No crime. No wars.

John finishes his description by recapping what struck him as most important.

‘The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city and his people will worship him and see his face. … And there will be no more night; they will need no lamp or light from the sin, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign with him forever.

In the Old Testament times people believed that one could not look upon God and live. Moses and Elijah saw a glimpse of God. But God came to us in Jesus. We all looked upon him on the cross and have been giving life. And in the heavenly city, we are told that we will see God’s face! And we will have life. And this life will last ‘forever and ever.’

So why does God give John this vision? Why are we given this description in the Book of Revelation?

The vision came to John at a time of great persecution of the church. Many Christians thought surely the end must be near. And much of the book of Revelation reflects these hardships. But the overriding message of the Book of Revelation is one of hope. And that is how the book ends: with this description of the heavenly city.

In times of hardship, pain and suffering, God wants us to know what is coming. What awaits us.

Rember, Jeus told his disciples that they should not be troubled, because he was going to prepare a place for them (John 14). Well, here we are given a vivid picture of what kind of place he has prepared for us.

It is an image to think of in difficult and troubled times. It is a vision of hope, to remind us of who our God is, and of our true home with him forever.

Amen.
Pastor Mark Worthing

Text: John 14:27

Apparently there is an element of truth in this story. A plane landed after a long flight. The flight attendant explained that there was enough time for everyone to get off the aircraft and then reboard in 50 minutes.

Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman. The pilot had noticed him as he walked by. He could tell that the man was blind because his guide dog lay quietly underneath the seat next to him. “Sir”, the pilot said to the blind man, “we will be here for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?”

The blind man replied, “No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs.”

Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete stand still when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a guide dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses.

Fear took control. People scattered and queued at the airline desk trying to change planes!

Fear is a normal human response. It is a part of every person’s life – perhaps more so in some people than others – but still everyone has to deal with fear at some time. There are many things that can cause unexpected fear to grip our hearts.
The latest wave of flu strains makes us worry for our health.
The fear of terrorist attacks permeates public events.
The nuclear build up in North Korea has caused nations to fear the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons.
Mothers, fathers and children in Israel and Palestine live in constant fear of another bomb blast or being caught in crossfire.
Parents fear for the safety of their children with so many reports in the news of people who would want to harm them.
We are afraid to leave our homes unlocked, or to walk in the dark at night.
We fear failure so we scramble to meet our tight schedules, duties and obligations.

And where there is fear, there is no peace. Fear brings with it anxiety, worry, apprehension, dread, restlessness, panic and tension – none of which lead us to feel calm, peaceful, relaxed and stress-free.

One of the best newspaper cartoons is Calvin and Hobbes. One day Calvin comes marching into the living room early one morning. His mother is seated there in her favourite chair. She is sipping her morning coffee. She looks up at young Calvin. She is amused and amazed at how he is dressed. Calvin’s head is encased in a large space helmet. A cape is draped around his neck, across his shoulders, down his back and is dragging on the floor. One hand is holding a flashlight and the other a baseball bat.
“What’s up today?” asks his mum.
“Nothing, so far,” answers Calvin.
“So far?” she questions.
“Well, you never know,” Calvin says, “Something could happen today.” Then Calvin marches off, “And if anything does, by golly, I’m going to be ready for it!”

Calvin’s mum looks out at the reading audience and she says, “I need a suit like that!”

That’s the way many of us feel as we see the news and deal with life. Sometimes this world seems too violent and people seem to be at each other’s throats. A suit like that would help, so we can say along with Calvin, “Whatever may come my way, I’m going to be ready for it! Bring it on!”

Well, I don’t have a suit like Calvin’s to give you this morning, but I do have some important words from Jesus this morning to enable us to say, “Whatever may come my way, I’m going to be ready for it! Bring it on!”

It is the night of the Last Supper. Jesus has just spoken of his impending death. He tells the disciples that one of them will betray him and urges Judas to go and do quickly what he has planned to do.
Peter boldly claims that he would rather die than deny his Lord, but Jesus knows that before the rooster crows he will say three times that he does not know the man they are talking about.
Jesus talks about going where they cannot follow and they are confused about this. Haven’t they followed Jesus for the past 3 years? They have watched him heal the sick, they have seen him bring comfort to the afflicted and laughter to the faces of children. Not a day has past where Jesus has not been with them. Their sole thought and attention has been him since the day they were called. And now they are faced with the thought of life without him. Where is he going that they can’t continue to follow him in the future?
Jesus knows that what will happen – his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, his trial and tortuous death the next day – will upset them.

Like a child lost in a department store, these disciples are afraid, uncertain, confused and nervous. And so he continues saying, “Do not be worried and upset. Believe in God and believe also in me …. Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid” (John 14:1, 27).

In the New Testament, the peace Jesus gives is an unconditional, eternal gift to his followers in every time and place. That’s why he does not give peace to us as the world does – for the world, peace is often very conditional, fragile, temporary, and, is frequently reduced to mean only the absence of war and strife.

Worldly peace always has some kind of strings attached, some kind of conditions, and worldly peace lasts only as long as the conditions are kept. Two feuding neighbours can’t agree over the type of fence to be constructed between their properties. They come to an agreement about the cost, type of fence, what kind of materials are to be used and how high it should be but immediately one reneges on what was agreed, the feud starts again.

However, with Christ’s peace there are no strings attached; there is the wonderful promise that it will last forever. Peace, in the New Testament sense means: salvation, forgiveness and reconciliation between God and humanity. The sin that stands between God and us has been done away by the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection. We no longer fear God’s anger because of our rebelliousness. Jesus reconciles us with God – he restores the friendship between God and us.

Peace is also the Holy Spirit in our lives as friend, comforter, counsellor, teacher and healer.
Peace is knowing that no matter what troubles may come our way, God, our heavenly Father, has promised to never forget us and to always be our helper and strength. He sent his Son to go all the way and die for us in order to reclaim us as his own. He won’t give up on us now. We are his special and most loved children.
Peace is the flow on of God’s peace into the rest of our lives as we live and work with the people in our day to day relationships and activities.
This peace has a positive effect on our health and well-being. It is well documented that stress, tension, and fear have negative effects on our body.

What can we do when fear grips our hearts?

Firstly, get to know what kind of God we have. He is gracious, loving and faithful. We don’t deserve it but he loves us and will always stand by us. We see just how powerful his love for us is when we look at the cross and see what Jesus has done for us.
Get to know God as the king and ruler of the universe. There is nothing so great or too difficult for him to handle. Parting the sea to save the Israelites, saving Daniel from the lions or Jonah from the belly of the big fish, springing Peter from jail, or saving Paul from a shipwreck were all a piece of cake for him. Helping us when we are afraid is just as easy.

Secondly, get to know God’s promises and trust that he will stick by what he says. Memorise and trust words like these –
The Lord is my light and my salvation; I will fear no one. The Lord protects me from all danger; I will never be afraid. (Psalm 27:1,2).
God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid… (Psalm 45:1,2).
Or Jesus words of authority and power, “Don’t be afraid! I am the first and the last. I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead.” (Revelation 1:17).
Be assured that God keeps his promises; that he is with us, even in the worst possible situation imaginable on this earth.

Thirdly, realise that there are too many times when our human attempts to be bold are not sufficient. There will be times when even the texts of promise that we have learnt off by heart will do little to ease our anxiety. We may even feel that God has deserted us. It’s then we need the Holy Spirit to help us – to forgive us for our weakness of faith, to enable us to trust that God has not forsaken us, to support us while we tremble in fear and to help us get through. He even takes our cries of fear to God and pleads to him on our behalf (Rom 8:26-27).

Our strength, our mind, our skills are of no particular use. We just have to relax and wait patiently, trusting in the God who knows all of our needs and is willing to use his power to help us. The Holy Spirit reminds us – when fear is near, God is even nearer.

Fourthly, pray. Ask God to intervene in our troubles and the fear they bring. Pray for faith, for boldness and courage when we are afraid. Pray that we are able to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit who points us to the love and compassion of God, and pray that in the end God would take us from the troubles of this world into the eternal world where there will be no more fear.

When fears and worries create tension and upset your life, Jesus promises, “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.”

Text: John 13:33-34

It was Sunday morning and the choir was in the sanctuary and had just completed singing an anthem.  The pastor was already in the pulpit.  As the last notes of the choir faded he opened his mouth to speak, a teenage girl stepped down from the front row of the choir, walked around the choir conductor, down the steps of the sanctuary and with her choir robes gently flowing behind her, continued down the aisle.  Everyone, including the pastor stared.  They thought she was leaving and were beginning to feel a little awkward that a choir member should walk out straight after the choir had done its bit in the service.

But she wasn’t leaving.  She walked half way down the church and slid into a pew and sat next to her friend and put her arm around her.  She had seen her friend, Bethany, come in late and was sitting by herself.  Twelve hours earlier Bethany’s mother had died after suffering an illness.  As the teenager sat next to Bethany and gently hugged her, those in the congregation smiled and shed small tears of joy, of love for the friend who showed Christ’s love through a simple act of companionship.  She risked causing a distraction to serve a friend.

Then the pastor broke the silence saying, “I was going to preach on Jesus’ command to love one another as he has loved us, but that sermon has just been delivered in a much more powerful way” and he announced the next hymn.

Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples”.  I’m sure you’ve heard dozens of sermons and devotions and Bible studies on these words and yet what Jesus says here remains one of the most difficult things he asks his followers to do.

The English language has either trivialised the word ‘love’ when we say “I love chocolate” or sexualised it in literature and movies.

“Love as I have loved you”, Jesus says.  What did Jesus mean by love and how did Jesus love people?  It follows that if we can answer this and the better we understand Jesus’ love the more we will know what true love is all about. 

We need only look at how Jesus accepted and respected people regardless of their position in the community – whether the person was

• a learned scholar and Pharisee like Nicodemus,
• a foreign divorcee like the Samaritan woman at the well,
• a cheat and a traitor like Zaccheus,
• a grotesque and unsightly leper or
• those possessed by demons who behaved wildly and dangerously.

It made no difference to Jesus what kind of background the person had, that person was still a person who needed not to be put down, not to be looked down on, not to be ignored but was a unique and precious child of God.  No matter what their condition or what their sin, each person was of immeasurable value to their Creator and loved and respected by Jesus. 

Jesus’ love for these people was not simply a warm fuzzy feeling but he put himself out there for them.  He stood alongside, embraced, and welcomed those who were considered morally corrupt, outsiders and outcasts, those condemned for their shameful lives or for their seeming guilt because of the diseases they carried in their bodies.  He stood with these people, healing them and forgiving them.

Jesus didn’t care what others thought because all he could see were people who needed to know that someone cared; that God cared; that they were precious and dearly loved. 

The teenager who walked from the choir down to where her friend sat didn’t care that she was holding up the service and that people would glare and disapprove of the disruption.  I’m sure it took a great deal of courage but she didn’t care because all she could see at that moment was a person who needed to experience Jesus’ love in her grief and she was going to do something about it.

That leads me to say that the kind of love that Jesus had was sacrificial.  Throughout his ministry his own safety and comfort were always last.  And then there was the cross – the ultimate symbol of loving sacrifice.  He gave all that he had and that included his own life because of his love for all humanity, because of his love for you and me. 

That night in the Garden of Gethsemane the thought of the cross did not arouse warm fuzzy feelings of love in Jesus.  His love was more than that.
It was a love that valued people more than his own life.
It was a love that was determined to let nothing stand in the way of God’s love bringing salvation to all people.
It was a love that was prepared to give up everything even though it seemed that the recipients of that love didn’t deserve it.  Pauls says, “God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” (Rom 5:8 The Message).

“Love as I have loved you”, Jesus said.  We could talk about this a long time.  We haven’t even mentioned Jesus’ parables, like the Good Samaritan, that leave no doubt that love knows no boundaries.  What about Jesus’ love for his disciples when they tested his patience again and again.  His love changed this bunch of slow-minded losers into bold leaders of the church.

So what does it mean to love one another in the same way that Jesus has loved us? Let’s be clear who Jesus is talking to.  He is speaking to his disciples, “I give you a new commandment: love one another”.  He is saying this to us the people of the church, “Love one another as I have loved you”.

Paul emphasises this in his letter to the Philippian Christians saying, “Sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind … the attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had” (Phil 2:3,5). 

In the letters of the New Testament we find the words “one another” again and again.  Where we find the words “one another” we find a description of what it means to love as Christ has loved us; what it means to have the same attitude or the same mind as Christ.  We are told:

• let love make you serve one another (Gal 5:13) ;
• accept one another as Christ has accepted you (Rom 15:7);
• carry one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2);
• be tolerant of one another (Eph 4:2);
• be kind and tender-hearted toward one another (Eph 4:32);
• forgive one another (Eph 4:32);
• be subject to one another (Eph 5:21);
• be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves (Phil 2:3);
• look out for one another’s interests (Phil 2:4);
• encourage one another (1 Thess 4:18);
• help one another every day (Heb 3:13);
• share your belongings with one another (Acts 2:43);
• do good to one another and to all people (1 Thess 5:15);
• be at peace with one another (1Thess 5:13);
• pray for one another (James 5:16);
• open your homes to one another (1 Peter 4:9);
• show respect for one another (Rom 12:10);

and the do nots – don’t criticise one another, don’t judge one another, don’t complain against one another and so on.

As you can see the Bible describes love as action.  Often it’s an action that is the result of an act of the will because if we relied on the feeling of love we wouldn’t do anything.

Jesus is talking about rolling up our sleeves and doing what is the more difficult.
He is talking about doing good to one another even though that other person is awfully irritating or we just don’t like that person.
It might mean forgiving and making peace even though we feel as though we are the ones who have been wronged and that it’s the other person who should be saying sorry first.
It means going out of our way to give encouragement even though we don’t know the person very well or perhaps don’t particularly get on with them very well or we don’t have a clue what to say.
There may be people who don’t like us, hate us, and who disagree with us – some of them might be in the church and some might be in the community.  They may hold us and our faith in contempt, put us down, ignore us, make us feel bad.  There may be times when people in the congregation will upset us and our natural reaction would be to return as good as we are given and turn our backs on those we dislike and disagree with.
There may be times when we will want to be selfish and self-centred and say, “I want it my way and to hell with everyone else”. And if we don’t get our own way then it’s easy to walk away.

How does that fit in with Jesus’ words, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another” or Paul’s instruction to have the same attitude as Christ.  There is no way around it.  There is no other alternative.  The only response that a Christian can give is to love in the same sacrificial, forgiving, accepting, generous way as Jesus did.  There are no exceptions;
there is no room for an eye for an eye;
no argument whatsoever for turning your back on a fellow-Christian;
no room for intolerance, impatience and rudeness;
no reason for walking away because you have been offended.

Love always calls for reconciliation.  Love always makes the first move toward breaking down walls regardless of who is right or wrong.  The more we know Christ and his love, the more we will reflect that love in our lives, especially in the church.

The kind of love that Jesus is talking about here, especially toward our fellow Christians, is very demanding.  As we reflect on our own lives it’s easy to see that it’s hard to love as Christ has loved us. It’s clear that we need a fresh start and a clean page.  We go back to the love of Jesus that led him to the cross and seek forgiveness and renewal.  We ask the Holy Spirit to guide us as we walk together as Christ’s Church, that we serve and encourage one another in love. 

“If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples”.
Amen.

Text: John 10: 27-28

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:27–28 ESV)

To hear, to know, to follow! These three little verbs sum up God’s interaction with each of us in one succinct little statement. If we ask ourselves, “What is my purpose in this life? Why did God put me here in this body, in this place?” The answer simply comes back, “hear and follow”!

However, humanity has gone and become confused in the chaos of this world. No longer is the simple call to hear, suffice. We have immersed ourselves in the complexities of ourselves and what’s seen around us. And in all the questions and searching we lose ourselves.

So what is the purpose of living? With all the science and technology, with all the advances in medicine and health, with the ever increasing knowledge of humanity’s social interaction and the plight of peoples around the world, why is it that we are further from a satisfactory answer than ever before? Why is our society more depressed and hopeless knowing the very things that are meant to get us into the secrets of our social fabric; the meaning of life?

Last week’s Gospel reading recounts Peter’s reinstatement where Jesus asks him three times if he loves him to, “Feed my lambs. Tend my sheep. Feed my sheep.” And here the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world, takes away the sins of Peter, and now raised to life as the glorified Shepherd in victory over sin, death and the devil, appoints Peter as the first under-shepherd, the first pastor, to feed his lambs.

Now lambs are helpless little creatures. They sit at the bottom of a merciless food chain, potential victims of foxes, eagles, crows, and other carnivorous characters. They’re also victims of themselves it seems. My grandfather often use to say after seeing a sheep flop down and sulk to death, “they die for practise”! And anyone who’s ever tried to yard weaner lambs will see just how frustrating it must be for God who seeks to keep us safe in his fold.

Yet the secret of our salvation is really no secret at all. It just we’re so much like a sullen sulking sheep most of the time, we don’t realise the Shepherd of our souls seeks us. But listening to our own hearts, we take flight from the safety of God and his salvation and run further into trouble. Surely it is me who’s the greatest hindrance to my Heavenly Father! Humanity certainly is helpless!

And so we are! Lambs and sheep that run amuck! We run away, running from the arms of safety into the sins of self. But our helplessness, your hopeless hunt for meaning in your life, that leaves you battered and bruised, unable to think straight anymore makes you …blessedly …helpless! But how can that be?

Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday! Jesus is that Shepherd! He has endured Good Friday to be our Good Shepherd. Jesus became the broken man on the cross, blessedly helpless, and now he is our help! The Blessedly Helpless Lamb of God is now the Good Shepherd tending us his blessedly helpless lambs.

You see this man, who proclaimed to be the Son of God, who is the Son of God – One with the Father from eternity, bore the eternity of death and now leads us and carries us through the valley of the shadow of death into the eternity of life forevermore. He lifts you out of the helplessness of yourself, your questions, your doubts, your tribulations and troubles in this life. How? The Good Shepherd washes you in his Good Friday blood so you stand in robes of white before the Father in the eternal house of the Lord.

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For in the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3–11 ESV)

And so we return to the text for today and the three verbs, “to hear, to know, to follow”. Our purpose, having been made his children, his lambs, is to follow him. We were created to glorify God, to worship him, to look to him and trust him. Heartache comes in every person’s life, both Christian and not, when we turn from this reality. So how do we follow the Good Shepherd when we in our very nature constantly return to our silly sheepish ways?

To follow him requires knowing! But it’s here there’s a subtle surprise in the text. We wrongly assume that it is us who need to know God by our own strength. But being blessedly helpless we know that’s just not possible. Rather it is not us who knows God but Jesus says, “I know them!” He knows you, his sheep!

“Knowing” is nothing short of being faithful, so Jesus is faithful to you. The Good Shepherd constantly leaves the ninety-nine to look for you, the blessedly helpless, lost one! You are his little lamb, he is the Good Friday Good Shepherd. You can trust the Lamb of God who was faithful even unto death, and now continues in faithfulness sending the Holy Spirit into your heart, willing you to believe he who believes in you.

So Jesus knows you and you’re now free to follow him. He sends the Holy Spirit to grow faith within, faith that hold fast to Jesus’ faithfulness towards you, demonstrated on the cross. As faithful sheep of the Faithful Shepherd, the Holy Spirit does in us who know we are blessedly helpless lambs that which we are called to do, namely, to glorify God. And that is listening to him; hearing his voice.

You hear the Shepherd’s voice when you hear the Word of God, the law and the gospel. This is God’s rod and staff. God’s Word is our comfort as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. It teaches us about ourselves and it guides us. It protects us from the self, and from the old evil foe. And it returns us to the loving embrace of Jesus coming down from the cross in victory over our sin.

…the Lamb in the midst of the throne is our Shepherd, and he guides us to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from your eyes.

Jesus says to you, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27–28 ESV)

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:12 ESV)

Text: John 20:20-21 Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. After saying this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you.”

Easter forgiveness

One of the strangest and perhaps most counter cultural aspects of the Good Friday are Jesus’ words from the cross just moments before he dies. He is in extreme agony as the nails bearing his weight tear at his flesh and he gasps to fill his lungs with air; the crowds gathered on Golgotha are mocking with loud laughter and taunting him to come down from the cross if he is truly the Son of God. The soldiers are laughing and joking at the foot of the cross as they gamble for his clothes as Jesus was dying. Most of his disciples – his closest friends – are nowhere to be seen; they are afraid and scatter to find somewhere to hide. In excruciating pain and in his dying moments Jesus says, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing”.

When Jesus says, “Father forgive them” – the ‘them’ are all those who have been involved in his crucifixion – leaders of the community and the church, government officials, soldiers, disciples and friends – those who were mocking, jeering, taunting, gambling, hiding. The ‘them’ Jesus is referring to is every person who has had a hand in causing such extreme pain and torture. He prays that they would be forgiven.

That’s not supposed to be how things work – forgiveness in the face of so much hatred and shame. That’s not normal. Anger, hatred, abusive language, shouts about his innocence, cursing his tormenters – that would be normal behaviour.

Today we hear of when Jesus comes into the room where his disciples were hiding. They had deserted him in the Garden of Gethsemane, one had denied that he ever knew Jesus three times, others had said they were prepared to give up their own life for Jesus but in the end fear overcame them, not one of them stood up to defend Jesus and declare his innocence. Jesus’ first words to them are, “Peace be with you”.

Jesus had come back from the dead and cannot resume talking with them until he says exactly what he said on the cross to his tormentors and his failed disciples, “Father forgive them.” He puts their guilt and their shame and their fear aside and says, “Peace be with you” – “The peace of God that brings forgiveness and reconciliation and calmness fill your hearts and quieten your fear”.

These first words of the risen Jesus to the disciples are so much at odds with the way the world thinks of forgiveness. The way forgiveness works for most of us is like this, “Let the person who has offended me, say that he or she is sorry, then I might be prepared to offer my forgiveness”.

When Jesus appeared the disciples didn’t say,
“Oops, I guess we really let you down;”
or “I’m sorry we ran away when you needed us the most;”
or “I beg your forgiveness for not supporting you in your greatest hour of need – in the garden I couldn’t even stay awake and pray for you;
or “I’m sorry that when Judas appeared my confidence disappeared”.
Neither do we hear any reprimand from Jesus for their betrayal; no criticism of their absence to encourage and support Jesus.

There is none of that. Only “Peace be with you. I forgive you, now let’s talk”. These words indicate more than just peace of mind and the absence of fear and guilt. The peace that Jesus offers heals the desolation, the hurt and sorrow that Jesus himself must have felt as saw no sign of his closest friends from the cross. The peace Jesus offers heals the guilt, the fear, the mistakes and misguided loyalties of the disciples.

The peace that Jesus gives puts all of that in the past; it is forgotten and it’s time to start again. We often think that Jesus’ work of forgiveness was confined to the cross but it’s clear from the Easter appearances of Jesus that Jesus’ work of forgiveness continues after Easter. The first words he says to his disciples are words of forgiveness.

Today we also have this whole incident with Thomas who missed seeing the resurrected Jesus the first time. He can’t believe that Jesus could be dead one day and alive the next. It is impossible. It is illogical. It is stupidity at its worst. He had heard Jesus talk about this kind of thing happening and he had heard the eye witness accounts of his friends but he states firmly, “Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later Jesus appears again and this time Thomas is there and what are Jesus first words? “Peace be with you”. These are words of forgiveness and grace and Jesus treats Thomas the same way he treated the disciples on his first appearance – with grace and love. That’s enough for Thomas. Jesus offers to let Thomas touch his scars but there is no need. All Thomas needed was to hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness and healing. Thomas’ faith is the result of nothing but grace, the grace of Jesus Christ who did not wait for Thomas to “come to faith” but who came to him.

One day Jesus told a story about a farmer who had a fig tree (Luke 13:6-9). The farmer came looking for fruit. For three years he’s been looking for fruit and there has been nothing. “Cut it down!” he says. His servant pleads, “Master, let it alone. I’ll dig around it, give it a good dose of manure, and then let’s see what happens”. The word Jesus used for “Let it alone” is the same as “forgive it”.

“Cut it down!” That would have been the logical and right thing to do. However, the story ends with, “Master, forgive”. And that’s what Jesus does with us. When we are up to our necks in the muck and manure of sin or we have not been bearing the fruit that comes as a result of the love Jesus has shown to us, he could quite rightly say “Cut it down!” but instead he permits us to begin again with forgiveness and a new start. He did that with the disciples the first Easter and he does that with us.

No matter how you have failed in your walk with God, no matter how you have betrayed Jesus, remember what he said to those who had let him down so badly – “Peace, I forgive you. Sisters and brothers, I still love you”.

But it is not only the nature of God to forgive but it is also the nature of the Christians to forgive. “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’” Jesus breathes on his disciples reminding them how God breathed into Adam and gave him life. Here Jesus is breathing over his new creation and giving the invigorating life-breath of the Holy Spirit to those who will continue Jesus’ work of forgiveness and reconciliation after he is gone.

Jesus says, “I am sending you on a mission to announce the gospel of forgiveness but not only to talk about it but to make forgiveness a part of your everyday life. It is through forgiveness that the Holy Spirit cleanses, makes new, restores relationships and give us the peace that only Jesus can give”. In other words, Jesus is passing on to us the ministry of sharing forgiveness; to deal with others with grace and mercy even though it’s hard work especially if we feel we are the people who have been wronged.

We live as if every day is Easter Day. Just as forgiveness was very much a part of Jesus’ Easter appearances likewise forgiveness is very much part of the life of the disciple as we live out the victory of Jesus’ death and resurrection every day.

Bruce Prewer tells this story. A friend of mine was touring in England.  Among his delights was visiting not just cathedrals, but village churches which were steeped in generations of the joy and sorrow of ordinary Christians. Arriving in one village, he headed for the parish church, opened the door and stepped into its secluded beauty.

Near the back of the building, a man was kneeling and weeping. Without saying a word, my friend knelt a few paces away. When with a heavy sigh the villager sat up, the visitor put his hand gently on the man’s shoulder and said, “My friend, you seem to be doing it tough. Can I be of any assistance?”  The stranger, recognising genuine compassion, blurted out his story. Ten years earlier when he was in his late teens, he had committed a crime, was arrested, tried and sentenced. He had been free for nine months. But he still felt terribly ashamed and came (not on Sunday with others) but alone during each week to pray for the Lord’s help.

The visitor said, “But God forgives you. Forgives you utterly. You know that, don’t you? You don’t need to pray alone, you should be here on Sunday with other Christians.”

The stranger commenced to sob again, and then whispered, “Yes, I know God forgives me, but the people in my church and village don’t. Until they do, I am trapped with a feeling of ongoing disgrace. I cannot face them on Sunday. That is why I come here alone to pray during the week.” 

This is precisely what Jesus was saying to his disciples, “If you forgive people’s sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” This is where the rubber hits the road and this whole business of forgiveness becomes very challenging. Christ has commissioned us to offer forgiveness when relationships go wrong. And there is no doubt that friendships do go pear-shaped more often than we care to admit. We have a choice – either we make real the forgiveness of Christ in our lives and offer it to those who have offended us or we withhold our forgiveness and so tie everyone involved in the bonds of guilt.

We might say, “I don’t care if he/she feels guilty – it serves them right after what has been done to me”. But is that what Jesus is telling us in his Easter appearances? It’s easier to be unforgiving than to reach out with kindness and mercy and be reconciled with another person. That’s why Jesus says, “Receive the Holy Spirit” before he commissions his disciples to forgive people’s sins. It is only under the power of the Holy Spirit that this kind of forgiveness is possible.

To conclude, I’m sure that there are many amongst us here today who have had issues with people in the past and it seems that as much as we would like to do something about it, it is too late to be reconciled with that person. If that is the case, then we need to listen to Jesus as he speaks to his disciples. He knows our hearts and he knows our guilt and he says, “Peace be with you. Your sins are forgiven.”

Easter 6

John 14:15-31 (15:9-17)

In 1992 Baptist pastor and relationship counsellor Gary Chapman published a book titled The Five Love Languages. His basic idea was that everyone shows and experiences love differently. It has had a phenomenal success and continues to influence the way people look at how love is expressed between parents and children, couples and friends. It turns out that if someone feels they are loved when they are given gifts, this is how they assume others experience love. So a mother might buy her child gifts, or a husband might buy his wife gifts, thinking this is how they will know that they are loved. But if the other person experiences love through spending quality time with them, the efforts will fall flat and both parties will be left frustrated.

For those unfamiliar with the love languages concept, the five love languages are:

• Words of Affirmation
• Acts of Service
• Receiving gifts
• Quality time
• Physical touch

Of course, everyone appreciates all of these things. But each one of us, according to this approach, has a particular way that someone can best show their love to us.

My wife is really big on the love languages concept. She has given much thought to what the love language of each of our children is. She has given me a copy of the book (on more than one occasion) to read. She said I should work out her love language. Well, I have made a start. For the past forty years I have bought her gifts to show her that I love her. She politely thanks me and the gift disappears into a drawer, is regifted to someone else, or if I am really lucky, ends up somewhere on her dresser top. So I think I can safely cross off ‘receiving gifts’ from the list as her primary love language. Now I’ve just got four more to work through to find the right one!

As you can see, finding someone’s love language can take some effort. It would be easier if she just told me!

But today’s text raises an even more basic question: What is God’s love language.

In other words, how does God show his love for us? And how do we show our love for God?

We find the answer to the first question, how does God show his love for us, in many places in the Bible. But perhaps no where more poignantly than in John 15, the very next chapter after the one we are reading this morning. In fact, for those who were paying close attention – and I know we all were, these were the words we opened our service with this morning: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (v. 13).

Simply put, God shows his love for us by giving his life for us. God shows his love for us by embracing all of our pain and loneliness and brokenness on the cross.

You have to admit, as gestures of love go, its big! And it was entirely unexpected. It’s not the sort of thing a self-respecting deity would do. The gods of the ancient world asked their followers to make sacrifices for them, to give to them. But in Jesus, God turns that idea upside down. God sacrifices himself for us. He gives his life for us. That’s how he showed his love for us.

But how do we respond to such love. How do we show our love to God? Which brings us back to the question: does God have a love language? A way in which we can show God that we love him?

Actually, it turns out that God does have a love language. And he doesn’t make us work it out ourselves. He tells us plainly. And it is described in today’s text.

Out Gospel text today begins with a line about how we show our love to Jesus. Jesus says to his disciples: ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’ Three more forms of this saying follow. Then the reading finishes with statement about Jesus’ love for the Father, to drive home the point.

If the lines are read out together, without the intervening material, they would form a very nice stanza of Hebrew poetry. In Hebrew poetry, for instance the Psalms, the poem is not built on rhyme or metre, but on the repetition of lines, but each time with a chance of words, reversing the order of the words, or in some other way making the same point in a different way.

So, if these key lines were all read together, like a piece of Hebrew poetry, the stanza would read like this.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (v. 15)

 ^“They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me.” (v. 21)

“Those who love me will keep my word.” (v. 23)

“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.” (v. 24)

“I do what the Father has commanded so the world knows that I love the Father” (v. 31)

We begin with the key statement. ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’

Then the same point is made, but the order of the thought is inverted. That is, it is turned inside out. ‘Those who keep my commandments are those who love me. Together, these two lines form what is called a chiasm. Those who love me keep my commands, those who keep my commands love me.

The third time the thought recurs the word commandment is replaced by ‘word’. ‘Those who love me will keep my word.’ What Jesus commands is what Jesus says, that is, his word. It is another way of saying the same thing, but using a different key word. It is a device any readers familiar with Hebrew thought and Hebrew poetry would have been very familiar with. And they disciples would have certainly understood it. And this line comes with a promise. Jesus says that those who love him, who keep his word, will be loved by the Father. And he and the Father will come and make their home with them. That’s a relationship built entirely on love. We love Jesus because Jesus loved us and gave his life for us. And when we show our love for Jesus, he and the Father come and make their home within us. So just as Jesus and the Father are one, as Jesus has explained earlier to his disciples, now he show how in love we also become one with God.

The fourth line of this sequence keeps the key words of love and word, but now the idea is stated in the negative. ‘The one who does not love me does not keep my words.’ Once again the same point is made, for the fourth time in succession, but in yet a different way.

And in case the disciples have missed the point Jesus is making, he finishes this part of his talk with yet a fifth in this series of parallel statements. And you might think by now he would be running out of ways to say the same thing differently. But Jesus drives home his point by going back to the key words of love and doing what is commanded. But this time he substitutes the Father for himself as the object of the obedience and he himself becomes the subject. Jesus say, ‘I do what the Father has commanded so that the world will see that I love the Father.’

So Jesus is asking us to do as he does. Jesus is asking us to be his disciples by imitating him. Because that’s what disciples do. They watch their teacher and do as he does. Once more in this final talk of Jesus with his disciples during the Last Supper he shows them (and us) the way to show our love for him. Just as he began his talk by setting the example of humility by washing their feet, now he is asking us all to follow his example of love.

So that is the answer to the question of how we show Jesus that we love him. We show our love for Jesus just as he showed his love for the Father, but doing what his Father asked, which was to give his life for us. Now Jesus asks us to show his love for him by doing what he asks.

Jesus’ love language, God’s own love language, is simply this. To do what Jesus has asked or commanded us to do.

Easy? Right?

Oh, but there is a question. And it is the obvious one. You will likely be wondering, just what does Jesus command us to do, in order to show that we love him?

We could try to work this out ourselves. What might God want us to do for him. The ancient world was full of gods and the all wanted the same thing: altars, temples, sacrifices. But Jesus doesn’t call us to show his love for him by building yet more altars and temples. The ancient world had more than enough of these. Jesus doesn’t ask us to show his love for him by building a 90 foot statue of him. He doesn’t ask us to show his love for him by going off on some unholy ‘holy’ war. Jesus doesn’t ask for any of these things.

When Jesus uses the word command repeatedly in this part of his talk, together with the word love, he is reminding his disciples of how he began this talk to them. Just after he washed their feet he asked them to serve one another by following his example. Then he said these well-known words: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. By this everyone know that you are by disciples, if you love one another.”

These words would have still been echoing in the disciples’ ears when Jesus repeatedly asks them to show their love for him by keeping his commandments, by keeping his word. And this is the one commandment Jesus singles out to say to his disciples before he goes to his death: love each other, just like I have loved you.

And again, in the very next chapter, in case we or the disciples are in any doubt about what Jesus asks of us, he says again: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. … I have given you these commands so that you love one another’ (15:13,17).

No altars. No temples. No 90 foot statues. And certainly no holy wars. These are not God’s love language.

God’s love language is simply that we love each other as God loved us in and through Jesus.

And when we love one another, we are reminded of the One who first loved us. Who showed his love for us by giving his life for us.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.