What a friend we have in Jesus

Sermon for Easter VI, 2024, delivered at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Louisville. KY
Text: John 15:9-17

Hearing this week’s Gospel reading, it is clear that we are not done with the word “abide.” It appeared in last week’s reading eight times, and we hear it three more times this morning for a total of eleven times. That’s a lot of abiding, or living in Jesus. And even though we have read these passages over two Sundays, they are part of one continuous thought. Last week, we heard that we are a branch of a vine, tended by God, supported by Jesus, with us producing the fruit. This fruit is not like any other fruit we may make because it comes from living in and being a part of Jesus. So, this is ultimately God’s fruit that we bear, nourishing others around us who are hungry for the good news that Jesus has brought. This concept of abiding, or living, continues this week and leads to a conclusion where we have been elevated beyond just being faithful followers or disciples of Jesus. We are his friends.

The disciples’ transformation from followers to friends began at the last supper that they had with Jesus, the supper we commemorate on Maundy Thursday. He elevated them when he humbled himself and raised them up as he washed their feet. That transformation continued after his death on the cross when he appeared to the disciples, showing them several times that he was indeed alive and resurrected from the dead. Jesus spoke of the disciples abiding in him and being part of the vine before he died, and now there is a realization that the vine is still present even if Jesus is not. If he was the vine while still on Earth, it is his love for his followers, now his friends, that has become the vine after his resurrection. This love was what drove the disciples’ transformation, love that said that they were not damaged or unredeemable, that they had a place in the world, and that they had a purpose, and that purpose was to bear the fruit that would spread his teachings.

Jesus also referred to keeping his commandments if the disciples abided, or loved him and the life he led. This was not to be a sign of righteousness, or moral purity, or earning his love, but of keeping his commandments because we live in his love, making it a part of our lives. The expression of loving Jesus had to shift from expressing it to him face-to-face to bringing that love to the world in a distinctive way, and that distinctive way was defined by his commandments. His love for his disciples, and for us, culminated in an ultimate act of love, a self-sacrifice on the cross. In return, we are called to serve because we love, not find love because we were called to serve someone. Jesus’ call to love others is the root of our desire to serve others, rather than us loving them because we are asked or commanded to love them. Our service is a natural, organic response to experiencing Jesus’ love for us. This is the fruit that we bear to the world, to bring hope and tend to the needs of anyone in the world. We are asked, called by God through Jesus to bring the glad tidings that the world is not lost, that there is hope for a better world.

I sometimes hear other Christians say that they have chosen Jesus to be their personal savior, and that this was a conscious choice. But what we hear him saying in the reading is no, I chose you. Let that sink in for a moment. Jesus chose his disciples and he chooses us today. He sees something in us that we may not be able to see ourselves, and that is part of our elevation to become his friends. We don’t have to win his favor, we don’t have to be perfect, we don’t have to say or do the “right” things whatever we think those “right” things are. He sees the potential in us to live in him and become part of him, part of the vine that is Jesus. Our transformation, like the disciples’ transformation, comes from the change in the relationship we have with Jesus, where he chooses us to be his friends, rather than us following him only because we are looking for salvation. And as his friends, we continue what he started, which is sharing the love he has filled us with, and leading the lives he showed us how to live.

What we give to others and share with the world is our authentic and honest self, not a caricature or who we think others expect us to be. The fruit of the vine that we give to others does not diminish us, or mean that we have to be careful not to give too much to one person. What we give of ourselves is Jesus’ love, not our own love, and Jesus’ love is God’s love, eternal and without end. It doesn’t run out. That love moves us to extend grace for slights, forgiveness for wrongs against us, or acceptance of what is different from us. It is not a love that we give at our own expense. It does not take away the responsibility of those who have wronged us, or acceptance of differences that hurt or destroy. What we give is a love that elevates, a love that chooses, a love that does not cost anyone anything.

Receiving and then giving this love is not always an easy thing to do. Finding that love is difficult to give does not mean that we are failed Christians, or that we don’t have faith, or that we have nothing to give at all. It means that we are human, living human lives, and are often confronted with anger and hostility that makes loving nearly impossible for even the most loving friends of Jesus. That is why we have to remember that it is not up to us to save the world through love or pursuing justice. That is for God to do, and what we can do is to deepen our friendship with Jesus, to become a branch of the vine so that we have God’s fruit to offer. Our work begins with us, preparing ourselves to receive that love, knowing that it is not ours to jealousy hold onto, and understanding that the fruit of love we give away as Jesus’ friends is replenished by God’s vine that we grow from. We gather here this morning not only to worship, but to be replenished through prayer, song, and receiving the sacraments. My hope is that you will leave here this morning ready to face the challenges that the world has for us, ready to love, ready to offer your fruit.