Acts 10:44-48, 1 John 5:1-6, John 15:9-17, Psalm 98

Jesus said, “I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

This week’s lessons continue the themes of last week: obeying God by living in accordance to his commands – abiding in the love of Christ.  

John, in his first letter, continues his passionate explanation of what it is to live in the love of Christ.  Our Gospel lesson is a continuation of Jesus’ words to his disciples on the night before the Crucifixion.  Jesus was fully aware of the suffering he was to endure; yet he spends these last tender hours with his closest companions speaking of love – abiding in love, living into each day with joy, and bearing the fruits of that love and joy.  

Jesus was clear that the mission would not end with his earthly death.  How was this mission to continue?  How is it that the Christian mission has continued so vibrantly and passionately for over 2,000 years in spite of such enormous adversity?

We find all the answers in these last brief words of Jesus on the night before the Crucifixion as he describes what it means to “abide in him.”  Abiding in Christ means that God is visibly present in us, so that that presence is visible to others – so that even in times of crisis we are vessels of the peace of Christ; rash words and decisions are replaced by a non-anxious presence where God is our guide.  

Abiding in Christ means nurturing joy – joy into which we live each new day.  Among our first prayers each morning should be a prayer for God to replace any anxiety or melancholy with the joy of understanding what it is to be blessed children of God.  Joy is another theme of Jesus’ words on this fateful night, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” Our joy is complete in Jesus Christ and only in Jesus Christ – this is enough.

Further, Jesus reminds us that abiding in him means embracing our call to bear fruit.  Perhaps, we can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. As we abide in the love of Christ, our call to bear fruit is the instinctive manifestation of that love; we simply are unable to keep the good fruit to ourselves.

As we abide in the love of Christ, we obey God’s command.

Our commandments from God are solely based on love – for God, for ourselves, and for each other.  These exhortations to obey God should not be interpreted in a simplistic legalistic sense.  Abiding in Christ/obeying God is not accomplished by checking off a list of actions, as we would expect if applying for a building permit.  To obey God is to abide in love, which, as we learned last week, is to make our home in Jesus Christ and invite Jesus Christ to make his home in us.  We don’t turn the switch on and off – Jesus Christ abides in us as we in him.

“If you keep my commandments,” Jesus says, “you will abide in my love.”

 If we love, we obey God.  If we say we do not believe in God, and yet admit that we have experienced love, we are woefully lacking in understanding – for God is love; if we have experienced love, we have experienced God.  

I treasure the account by Phyllis O’Quinn of her frustrating conversation with an avowed non-believer.  Most of us cannot out-argue an atheist; we simply do not have our talking points so firmly ingrained, as do these so-called non-believers.  On this occasion, however, Phyllis credits divine wisdom. In her companion’s tiresome effort to shut down the conversation, he spouted, “I just don’t care about you and what you think!”  Phyllis paused in her frustration, breathed deeply, and then the divinely inspired words came from her mouth, “That’s the difference!” she said, “I do care about you and what you believe.”  

This is love; this is God.  

Go, and bear fruit, fruit that will last – the fruit of abiding in Christ.  Be the presence of Christ in this anxious world; be the complete joy of Christ in the lives of the grieving and the skeptical non-believers; glory in your call – your privilege – to bear the good fruit of the ongoing mission of Jesus Christ.  This is the mission that cannot and will not be stopped.