Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Sixth Sunday of Easter/Mother's Day - 05/10/15 Sermon - “I have loved you” (The "I" series: Part 3 of 5)

Sunday 05/10/15 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “I have loved you”                      

(The “I” series: Part 3 of 5)

New Testament Lesson: Acts 10:44-48

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 John 5:1-6

Gospel Lesson: John 15:9-17                   

          Friends, brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this our Sixth Sunday of the Easter Season. This season of resurrection, of hope, of newness of life, and of God doing a new and a powerful thing in us, and through us.

          This morning, is also Mother’s Day. This is a special day not only in the life of the church, but all across this country. On this day, we honor mothers and all women, as all women care for someone or for something. Whether you are a mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother, or if you have no children, you are mother to someone or something, in your way. Due to this, on this day, we take time to thank the women of our lives, for their work, for their sacrifices, and for their great love for us, and for so many.

          In preparing to honor the women of our lives here this morning, I found a great video that I want to show you, which I think sums up well what Mother’s Day is.

~ Show Video Clip ~

          So as I said then, today we honor our mothers, our grandmothers, our great grandmothers, and all women, as all women are mothers in their own ways, even if they don’t have their own children.

          With those things said, I have been preaching a five-week series on five “I” statements that Jesus Christ made. These “I” statements, are statements about who Jesus Christ claimed himself to be, statements about the promises that he made to his disciples and to us, and statements about how Jesus challenges us to live for others and to love others.

In the first week of the “I” statements series, I preached on the first “I” statement of when Jesus said in the gospel according to John, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11a, CEB). The reality that Jesus is trustworthy, honest, and faithful, and that he will never deceive us.

Last week I preached on the “I” statement of when Jesus said, “I am the true vine” (John 15:1a, CEB). The reality, that if we stay connected to Jesus Christ, to his love, to God, then and only then, can we bear spiritual fruit for Jesus Christ.

This morning though, I want to talk about the third “I” statement that I chose, which like the first two “I” statements, comes from the gospel according to John. This “I” statement, is when Jesus said in John 15:12b, “I have loved you” (John 15:12b, CEB).

Now on the surface, it seems like a pretty basic statement that Jesus made, “I have loved you” (John 15:12b, CEB). In the same way, many of us that are here this morning can say of our mothers, our grandmothers, our great grandmothers, our aunts, and other women in our lives, that these women have loved us.

Some of us can remember the great love that the women of our lives showed us and that they continue to pour into us. They did this and do this still, because love is the most powerful force there is. You see in the Wesleyan or Methodist view of Christianity, we believe that at heart of the very universe itself, is the heart of God’s love. That the heart of God’s love beckons us all, calls to us all, and desires to have a transformative relationship with us.

For many of us then, we can say that some of or all of the women our lives, showed us great love like this. Perhaps our own faith and spiritual journeys have also been greatly enhanced because of the women that have been in our lives.

So with said, just what did Jesus mean this morning when he tells his disciples and his followers “I have loved you” (John 15:12b, CEB)?

Well, to prepare for my sermons, I always do a lot of research, and I read through some Bible commentaries that offer various perspectives on the scriptures in the Bible. I was particularly struck this week, by what one of my commentaries, the “Africa Bible Commentary,” said on today’s gospel reading.

To provide just a snipped of what this commentary said about this morning’s gospel, it said of what Jesus was telling his disciples, that, “Love is to be the disciples’ way of life. They are to love everyone, at all times. The type of love that Jesus is commanding is the same type of love that the Father has for Jesus (15:9), and that Jesus has for his disciples (15:12-13).”

I suppose for me, I had the pleasure of growing up with a strong and a deeply rooted Christian mother, and other women around me who had deep faith and love. They not only told me about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but in the various ways they acted and lived, and in the various ways they treated me and others, I knew that this gospel, that this Jesus, was far more than mere words on a page.

You see, while the women of my life sometimes debated theology, while they sometimes debated things like should we baptize babies, or wait until the child can make their own profession of faith, while they sometimes debated which church has it “right,” and while they might have debated over having different views of scripture, and different views of Jesus Christ, they all agreed that they loved Jesus. That they loved God’s people, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ was the most transformative thing that they had ever encountered.

When I was in seminary, as I was assembling both the spiritual and the theological tapestry of my Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic family, I realized how transformative the gospel of Jesus Christ is. How this gospel changed the women in my life, regardless of their Christian denominations. I then realized how these women used the love that they had, by staying connected to “the true vine,” to God, to Jesus Christ, and how they had poured that love into me (John 15:1a, CEB). As I was continuing to discern my call to ministry in seminary, I realized that the women of my life, did often what Jesus did, as Jesus said this morning, “I have loved you” (John 15:12b, CEB).

Once again, I believe that at the heart of the universe, is the heart of God’s love, and for many of us, that love was and is shown to us, by the women in our lives.

You see, as I said last week, the three words that the Bible uses to describe God are, light, love, and life. The women of my life, through the power of God and Jesus Christ, gave me light, love, and life.

The mission of Jesus Christ then, was to radically transform human hearts, from hearts of stone, to hearts of flesh. From hearts of hatred and violence, to hearts of light, love, and life. I believe that there is nothing else on this earth that can so change a human heart like the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that the love, the light, and the life, that I was shown by many of the women in my life, to me, confirmed this reality. That it further confirmed to me the realities of the great God we have, of the great love that Jesus Christ has for us all, and the power we are given every day to transform the world for Jesus Christ.

An example of this transformation can be seen in this morning’s reading from the Book of Acts. For those who have watching the show “AD, the Bible Continues” on NBC, this show is about the Book of Acts, which is the book of the New Testament that talks about the first Christians, or the early Christian Church.

In this reading from the Book of Acts from this morning, it says, “While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles” (Acts 10:44-45, CEB). The very first Christian Church, at first, consisted of just converted Jews, but then Greeks and other none Jews became Christians. God’s power, Jesus’s love extended to all people, not just some, as I remember the women of my life teaching me to love all people, not just some people. That God created all persons, that we are all God’s children, and that we are all of sacred worth.

In our reading from the Apostle John’s first epistle or letter from this morning, he says in 5:1, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God. Whoever loves someone who is a parent loves the child born to the parent” (1 John 5:1, CEB). So as Jesus loved, we are to love. Many of us can say that we have and still feel that love from many of the women who are in our lives.

John then goes on to say, “This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep God’s commandments. This is the love of God: we keep God’s commandments. God’s commandments are not difficult, because everyone who is born from God defeats the world. And this is the victory that has defeated the world: our faith.” (1 John 5:3-4, CEB).

At the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ then, and the heart of the universe, is the heart of God’s love. When I say then, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior, I am saying that in part, because the women of my life showed me what the gospel is, showed me who Jesus is, and showed me how Jesus Christ taught us to love each other. As a result of this, I was changed, I was transformed, and this transformation has led me to you, in part, because some of the women of my life who said yes to the love of Jesus Christ.

To me then, the gospel is not hard. In fact, I couldn’t be any easier if we tried. For when we love and care for each other that radically, the communities that we live in, and the world itself can be changed. This is the gospel of life, light, and love.

When looking more closely at our gospel of John reading from this morning, Jesus begins by saying to his disciples, “As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love” (John 15:9-10, CEB).

The women in my life made great sacrifices to show me this love, and if I were to get angry, if I were to reject this love, if I were to do harm to others, then I would lose God. Then I would lose the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I would dishonor the love and the work that the women of my life did to help shepherd me to this point that I am at today. This is why Jesus says, “Remain in my love” (John 15:9b, CEB). This is why Jesus says, “I have loved you” (John 15:12b, CEB).

Jesus then says to the disciples, “I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. This is my commandment: love each other just as I have love you” (John 15:11-12, CEB). My brothers and sisters, friends, the living God who was on earth, commands us, all of us, to love each other, with no exceptions.

Even further than this, Jesus then says, “No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:13-14, CEB). How many of you women here this morning would lay down your lives to protect your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren? Further how many of your mothers, grandmothers, and great mothers would have done the same exact thing for you? The gospel of Jesus Christ is not hard.

Jesus then tells his disciples and us, to “go and produce fruit,” meaning love each other, make disciples, and transform the world (John 15:16b, CEB). As we know from last week, the way to produce fruit, is to stay connected to “the true vine” (John 15:1a, CEB). To God, to Jesus Christ.

In closing this message this morning, I would like to share with you a story about motherhood. This story is called “In His Mother’s Footsteps,” By: Davida Dalton, as told to Jo-Ellen Johnson. Here is how it goes: “It was a busy day in our Costa Mesa, California, home. But then, with ten children and one on the way, every day was a bit hectic. On this particular day, however, I was having trouble doing even routine chores-all because of one little boy.”

“Len, who was three at the time, was on my heels no matter where I went. Whenever I stopped to do something and turned back around, I would trip over him. Several times I patiently suggested fun activities to keep him occupied.”

“Wouldn’t you like to play on the swing set?” I asked again. But he simply smiled an innocent smile and said, “Oh, that’s all right, Mommy. I’d rather be in here with you.” Then he continued to bounce happily along behind me.”

“After stepping on his toes for the fifth time, I began to lose my patience and insisted that he go outside and play with the other children. When I asked him why he was acting this way, he looked up at me with sweet green eyes and said, “Well, Mommy, in pre-school my teacher told me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps. But I can’t see him, so I I’m walking in yours.”

“I gathered Len in my arms and held him close. Tears of love and humility spilled over from the prayer that grew in my heart, a prayer of thanks for the simple yet beautiful perspective of a three-year-old boy. This experience has served as a reminder to me of the vital role of a mother. While it is sobering to realize that I am a crucial link between my children and the Savior, I need to remember that since a mother is a co-partner with God, I am in a position to receive guidance from one who truly cares and wants all of us to walk in Heavenly footsteps.”

Today Jesus tells us all “I have loved you” (John 15:12b, CEB). Jesus then commands us all to love each other, as he has loved us. I thank God that women in my life, who took this commandment so seriously. For if they had not, I don’t know if would be standing here before you today. For that matter, if the women in your life hadn’t done the same, how many of you might not be here in this church this morning? Amen.