Sermon 5th May 2024 – 6th Sunday in Easter
Text: John 15:9-17 – What a
friend we have in Jesus
Wherever you go shopping
these days it seems that every shop wants you to join their membership scheme. Whether
it’s McDonalds, Myer, Woolworths – and you could name many more businesses –
they all want you to sign up and earn points and rewards. Or it could be a
loyalty program like Flybuys. I tend these days to buy my petrol from 7/11
because every 7th purchase they give you a free gift which might be something
like an iced coffee. And a lot of them, probably most of them, are free. Several
Bistros that I have lunch at sometimes have free memberships and you earn
points or discounts when you sign in and use your card to make purchases. I
often wonder why they do that. Why offer you a free membership and then give
you discounts and rewards. What they are trying to do is capture your business
and create a community or family of buyers and reward you for your loyalty and
commitment.
John today talks about the
Christian faith being a community that forms a family. He says: Everyone who
believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves
the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God,
when we love God and obey his commandments. It’s so amazing and comforting to
know that our relationship with God is one of father and child. That Jesus
Christ is our brother. Our relationship is not one of God being our master and
we’re his slave. In fact it’s the exact opposite. Jesus came as a servant to
serve us. And that’s exactly what Jesus said: I do not call you servants any
longer, 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 that I have
heard from my Father.
Some of you may recall when
church was referred to as Divine Service. What we need to understand is that
this is God serving us – not us serving God. It’s such a beautiful thing to see
God in this light. As a loving Father. For those of you who are parents you
know that you would do anything for your child. You would go without food if
that meant your child had something to eat. You would place yourself in danger
if it meant your child could be safe. I think of that mother in the Bondi
attacks a few weeks ago. She passed her baby over to a stranger knowing that
she was about to be attacked and saved her baby rather than trying to save both
of them. This is what Jesus has done for us – he laid down his life so that we
could be spared from eternal death. Which is what Jesus said: No one has
greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my
friends.
God’s family is a special
family as it shows to us that God wants every person to be part of his family. There
is no one that God would exclude – only we exclude ourselves. And so it becomes
important that we are not the reason for someone for someone being excluded or
feeling that they are excluded. In our first reading today, we see that
challenge with Peter and his companions. They have been invited to the house of a
person named Cornelius. Cornelius is a Gentile – a Roman Centurion – from the
same Roman community that sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion. And now
Jesus is sending Peter there to invite him into his family. And while they are
there they see something unbelievable happen. They see the Holy Spirit of God
given to Cornelius and his household. And
not just given – but “poured” out onto them. Peter and his companions were astonished that
the Holy Spirit was given “even to Gentiles” and they are now praising THEIR
God. But wasn’t he born, King of the Jews? Didn’t he tell the Canaanite woman
that he sent to the lost sheep of Israel? And now Peter wants them to be
baptised. But what do they know about
Jesus – what do they believe? Shouldn’t
we examine them first? Shouldn’t they do
classes with the Pastor for a few weeks first? Peter’s companions are probably
asking among themselves - are we letting just anyone in?
Who else will we let in
next? Maybe we should let that person
arresting Christians, burning down their churches and approving the killing of
Christians – what’s his name? Saul? Which
is exactly what happens next. Saul is converted by Jesus himself – the very one
he was persecuting is now concerned about him. Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me.
So we can see not just the
extent of God’s love and invitation but the desperation of God to not let one
person miss out even those who despised him. Ananias was confused and afraid
when God told him to go to Saul and Baptise him! But Lord I have heard terrible
things about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in
Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority to arrest all who call on your
name. But God said to Ananias, “Go!
Jesus’ entire mission was to
invite the outsider and excluded. Examples include the woman caught in adultery
whom the leaders wanted cast out by stoning her to death. Jesus casts them out
and invites her back with dignity. Or Zacchaeus who was an outcast but Jesus
went an at dinner at his place. The lepers who were cast out of the community
whom Jesus went to receive back. The woman of ill repute whom Jesus let wash
his feet. The Samaritan woman at the well. The parable of the Good Samaritan.
The relationship between us
and Jesus is not like a club filled with membership. Jesus and us are bound by
love. Our love is to be the same as the love he has for us: Love one another as
I have loved you. The love Jesus showed
us was a sacrificial love and so should ours be towards each other. Jesus’ love
for us cost him. And through that love Jesus is telling us of the privilege and
responsibilities we have. We have the
joy of knowing this friendship that will be with us in both good times and bad.
As Jesus said – his joy will be in us
and make us complete.
We will come to know that
Jesus will not leave us and we will continue to know God and Jesus’ love
forever. We have a savior who lived and
died for us and will stay with us – I am with you always. Jesus does not treat
us as a master talking to servants, but as a friend. Servants follow rules,
their lives are dictated by the one who holds authority over them. Jesus’ relationship with us is based on love.
We are assured we already have God’s love. It is not something we must earn
like reward points. We are his friends and he invites us to live like friends
with God and one another.
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