“Since you love me”

John 14:15-21



Pastor Tom Johnson, May 25, 2014

The Holy Spirit is with you. And you are with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is in the Father. We are in Jesus. He is in us. We are united with the Holy Trinity in ways that human language struggles to describe. To put it another way, we are so interwoven together—God, you, and me—that we cannot be completely separated.

This mystery is a lot like Jesus himself. He is a human being; he is God; he is one Person. It is like the mystery of Communion. We eat bread and wine at the Lord’s Table. We have a foretaste of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus. This is the mystery of our Baptism. We are united with God himself. We bear the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are now part of God’s holy Family. We are the Bride of Christ. And Jesus is our Groom. We are one with God.

This is pretty deep stuff. But Jesus’ goal here is not that we be merely informed but transformed. He wants our character and behavior to reflect who we are. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” A relationship with God makes a real difference in our lives. If we really believe that Jesus was born, taught us to live a God-pleasing life, died for our sins, and rose again to assure us of eternally life—if we really believe that and love him for first loving us, then we will do his will—we will keep his commandments.

Sadly, a lot of people have lost interest in being part of a Christian community. And often the reason for that is the hypocrisy they have heard about or experienced themselves. Jesus himself was bothered by this. He quotes Isaiah 29:13 where God the Father complains, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” We say we love God. We sing his praises. The truth of God’s love for us may come out of our mouths but they have not transformed our hearts or have been extended to others by our hands and feet.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Is this a command? Is this a mandate? [Command tone] “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”? Or is this a promise? [Promise tone]“If you love me, you will keep my commandments?” Yes, yes, and amen. It is what God prescribes, commands, and mandates—that we keep Jesus’ Word in our hearts and live his Word out in our daily lives. It also describes, predicts, and promises the transforming power of the Gospel.

That little word if is a mighty word! “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” It stares us in the face with unrelenting authority and anticipation. “If you love me…well, do you? Do you love Jesus? Do you love who he is? Does it put awe and wonder in your heart? Does it impress you that the eternal Son of God left his place of power and authority in heaven to become a human being? “Does it flip your lid that he is both God and human? Does it have any effect on our thinking and behavior that he first loved us? He took the initiative with us. ‘He suffered for sins one for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit’ our second reading says! If you love me, you will follow in the steps of Jesus.” And just what does Jesus command? He tells us, the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. And the new commandment Jesus gave was to love one another as he loved us. If we love him, we will follow in his steps.

That word if can also be translated since. I looked up the word in my trusty lectionary and it says that this word is used to “denote what is expected to occur, under certain circumstances” (BAGD, p. 211). “Since you love me, you will keep my commandments.” I would like to think the ambiguity is intentional. Jesus means to convict us of our falling short of loving him and living out his commands. But he also means to encourage us with the promise that faith in him will result in good works. “Since you love me, you will keep my commandments!” Look at the words that follow. “I am asking the Father” to carry this out. He will send you “another Advocate” to be with you, to help you, and to strengthen you. “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you.” “I may look absent,” Jesus says, “but I’m only invisible to the eyes of our physical bodies—I will be visible and present to the eyes of faith.” “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” This sounds like more of a since promise than an if command. It is a description of the life of God’s children. We who discover a love for Jesus will uncover a life of renewal and transformation. We will live out God’s new creation!

Since we love Jesus, we will grow into what he commands. He sends the Holy Spirit. We have an Advocate and helper. He is with us. Jesus is in our hearts. We are in Jesus’ heart. Jesus is in the Father. Love binds us together. Love propels us forward. We now get to live out a new life of love for God and one another.

“The Martyrdom of Stephen”

Acts 7:55-60

Pastor Tom Johnson, May 18, 2014

At the beginning of the book of Acts, Jesus, “You will be my witnesses beginning in Jerusalem, expanding into the whole region of Judea, then into Samaria, and finally to the end of the earth.” The two things I want to highlight is that Jesus calls his disciples witnesses and then predicts that their movement will radiate outward from Jerusalem as a starting point, into the rest of their homeland, then into foreign and very remote areas of the world. The first seven chapters of Acts are centered around Jerusalem. The stoning of Stephen is what suddenly causes Christians to move. They are trying to get away from persecution. And as they move, they continue to witness the power of the Gospel.

The word witness is an interesting one. It is where we get the word martyr. To be a witness means two things even in English; that we observe an event and that we speak about that event. Many of the early Christians witnessed the great events of the Gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. What they saw, heard, and experienced they spoke and wrote about. They are witnesses.

Stephen is a witness. Beginning with Abraham, the Patriarchs, Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt, and Moses leading them out of bondage, Stephen testifies to the religious authority that Jesus was at the end of a long chain of prophets persecuted for doing the work of God. Stephen is basically saying that we have all participated in the terrible injustice and death of Jesus, the true Messiah. This enrages them. And just as they begin to boil over in a rage, Stephen witnesses another truth.

The sky rolls back as a scroll and he sees Jesus standing in power and strength in heaven. Just for a moment, he is a witness to what human eyes normally cannot see but nevertheless is always true—that Jesus is King of Heaven and Earth—he is ruler of all creation. After he sees, he speaks; giving us the two sides of the same coin of witness. He experiences and then relates his experience to those around him. They are so enraged and angry that they literally throw Stephen outside of the city of Jerusalem in heart-breaking irony into the region of Judea, toward Samaria, and the end of the earth. Stephen is the first to be hurled into the direction Jesus predicted. And as Stephen has stones thrown at him and quickly dies from his injuries, he prays two prayers: “Lord, receive my spirit” and “Do not hold their sin against them.”

These prayers are wildly familiar. Those who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion would have remembered two almost identical prayers: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” and “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Stephen so identifies with Jesus that he dies a death like him. He is a witness to the power of the Gospel. Perhaps this is why the word martyr took on the idea of suffering and dying because of faith in Jesus. Stephen witnesses the horror of what Jesus does but also the power of the Gospel to assure us of eternal life and forgiveness for even those who perpetrate evil.

I cannot help but think of Meriam Yehya Ibrahim. She is a 27 year old wife of a Christian man. Both are Sudanese and expecting a child soon. Because Meriam’s father was Muslim she cannot consider herself Christian by Sharia law in Sudan. The whole family is suffering. The father is bound to a wheelchair and depends upon his wife. Their two year old son is in prison with her mother and needs constant medical care because of the conditions. And the court has now sentenced her to whipping and execution. But she will not recant her faith in Jesus. Though the sentence of death is not completely final, she is already a faithful martyr in the full meaning of the word. She has witnessed the love of Jesus in the Gospel and she will not stop confessing her faith in him. And because of people like Stephen and Meriam, we are now witnesses too.

I think that this story is ultimately about the power of prayer. Just think about who is there at the stoning: Saul of Tarsus. Stephen’s prayer is for him. “Lord, do not hold their sin against them.” Even though Saul continued to pursue Christians and arrest them afterward, God eventually answers Stephen’s prayer. On the road to Damascus, Saul the persecutor  becomes Paul the Apostle. He is the one at the end of the book of Acts under arrest and at the end of the earth in Rome.

“Lord, do not hold their sin against them.” “Lord, receive my spirit.”

Overcome our ignorance with the knowledge of your love, O God. Forgive our sins as you forgave those who crucified your Son Jesus and stoned your witness Stephen. Fill our hearts with empathy and compassion even for those who are against us. Deliver them and us from the evil of violence. Help us all to see that we are all your creatures and that your Son gave his life and rose again from the dead for all. Give to us that same assurance you gave to Jesus who commended his spirit to you on the cross and received Stephen. Give us that same confidence that Scripture gives, that ‘if we are united in a death like his we will certainly be united in a resurrection like his’” (Rom 6:5). Help us to witness your presence in our suffering. Enable us to hold on to the forgiveness and promise of eternal life like Jesus and Stephen did. Make us encouraging witnesses of the power of the Gospel to those around us. Amen.

"I AM the Door"

John 10:1-10

Pastor Tom Johnson, May 11, 2014

Doors are useful for various reasons. They allow us to enter man-made structures. They allow us to exit. Doors provide security. They can be locked. They can discourage people from entering to steal our possessions or harm our lives. Doors should be accessible to those we want to enter. And they should be solid enough to make it difficult for those whose intentions are not good. And, of course, doors can be made to be pleasant to the eye and adorn our buildings as well.

The doors right here at First Saint Paul’s have been part of our conversation at Council meetings and among our trustees. We have collected bids, drawings, and plans for more accessible doors. Our doors have issues! The moving parts are breaking down. Some doors do not open properly. Some do not close properly. One door’s stabilizer cannot be fixed and slams shut in loud bang. The threshold about an inch off the ground and makes it difficult and dangerous for walkers, wheelchairs, and strollers to roll over. We don’t want any obstacles preventing people from entering our worshiping community. We want everyone to feel welcome. The doors should draw us in together and lead us to the many and wonderful gifts God has in store for us.

Jesus says, “I am the door….I am the door of the sheep.” Although, the word “gate” is used in our English version this morning. It is the same word used for the “doors” the disciples locked themselves behind in the room because of their fear of the religious authority. You’ll remember that Peter stood outside a locked “door” as Jesus was being tried. This is the same word Jesus uses for himself. It was on the other side of the door that Peter denied Jesus three times. The door was a physical barrier to Jesus just as Peter’s lack of faith was a spiritual barrier (Jn 18:17). Twice John tells us that in the days following the resurrection, the disciples barricaded themselves behind locked doors. Each time, Jesus bypasses the doors and simply appears in their midst speaking peace and hope (Jn 20:19,26). The second of the two times, Jesus appears to unlock Thomas’ doubting heart. This should remind us of how Jesus having risen from the dead, overcame the stone door over his tomb shut with a Roman seal, and opened by an angel—not to be let out—but to let the disciples in to see that he is risen indeed.

There may be times that we find ourselves feeling like we have been denied access to God’s grace and gifts. Or we feel that we are misfits or outcasts to the promises of God. Perhaps we feel the guilt and shame of our sin and feel that it is our place to be locked out. This is not the purpose of the door. We all need a way into the assurance of God’s grace. We all need to know where to find access to God’s gifts. And that door into the life of God is through Jesus.

“I Am the Door,” Jesus says. Even the “I AM” of that statement would shake the doors of the Temple off their hinges. “I AM” is to speak the divine Name. “I AM that I AM. Tell them that ‘I AM’ sent you” God says to Moses when he asks who he should say sent him. Jesus says, “I am the Divine Door.” “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). Jesus is there as the way into the fold. “For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Ps 95:7). We find shelter and protection behind the Door. We know who the imposters are because we know the voice of Jesus. Our ears recognize the timbre of the love of God spoken through his only begotten Son. The psalm writer says, “For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness” (Ps 84:10).

But the door is not just there to welcome us into God’s protective care. Jesus says, “Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” The door also leads us out into the world. As Psalm 23 says, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” We are under his protective care. But we are also on the move. The door leads us out to our mission to nurture the flock and to gather more sheep into the fold. The door is a double entrance. There is no exit door. We are either entering into God’s protective care or we are entering into the mission field. I know that by law we must put illuminated signs up in our church that say “Exit.” Some churches have put an additional sign above the doors as you leave the building: “You are now entering the mission field.”

This Door of the sheep is a double entrance. We go in and out freely. We enter into community to find nurture, refuge, strength, and encouragement. We enter to receive the Word, the washing of Holy Baptism, and the Body and Blood of Jesus for the assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. We enter the door to go out confidently and equipped to navigate an often confusing and dangerous world. But we do so with the promise that Jesus came that we will have life and have it abundantly.

“Were not our hearts burning within us?”

Luke 23:13-35

Pastor Tom Johnson, May 4, 2014

Where are you headed on your journey? Do you have a companion? Do you have someone to talk to? Isn’t it a blessing to have someone who will listen, be a sounding board, or simply share your thoughts and questions? Have you ever noticed how quickly time flies on a long journey when you are engaged in a vibrant discussion? We are relational creatures, we humans. We are social beings who learn and grow through conversation. And so, Jesus enters in.

He does not intrude into their dialogue. He eases into their space. He draws near. He asks to be included in their conversation. He appears to not know what they are talking about. And so these pilgrims gather together. These two followers of Jesus do not recognize him. In fact, God keeps their eyes from recognizing him and their ears are prevented from hearing their Shepherd’s voice. His question—“What are you talking about?”—produces sadness. Retelling the story of the great promise and potential of Jesus, his arrest, and crucifixion means re-living the pain and grief of their loss. Jesus invites them to cast their cares, sorrows, and doubt upon him. Someone who appears as a complete stranger, draws out the true condition of their faith. Theirs is a struggling faith, a perplexing faith, a growing faith, a blossoming faith. When they speak to Jesus, they are praying—even though they may not be aware of it. They are doing what Jesus calls us all to do: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).

Jesus is not angry but happy to point out the slow growth of their faith. He is amused that they did not expect the promised Messiah to suffer or die. And beginning with Genesis, he takes them through the Hebrew Bible. He shows them how all that they witnessed was promised, prophesied, and foreshadowed long ago in the Scriptures. Our text says that Jesus exegeted the Scriptures to reveal the main character and protagonist of the Bible. That is to say, Jesus explained to them in meticulous detail how all of Scripture points to the good news of Jesus who is—the suffering Servant and King who gives his life for the world and rises again from the dead to assure us of forgiveness and eternal life.

Jesus acts as if he will slip away. He gives the appearance that he will not continue to journey with his disciples. It may seem that way to us at times. But Jesus is committed to stick with us to the end. “They urged him strongly, ‘stay with us for it is growing darker and the day is almost over.’” Isn’t this a wonderful prayer? “Stick around, mysterious Friend. Draw near to us for we want to draw near to you. Your presence brings comfort and assurance to our hearts and minds. The world grows darker. The day is almost over. Light seems to be losing ground. The shadows in the valleys threaten to put fear and doubt into our hearts.”

“Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day; Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”

And so the service of the Word transitions toward the Table. “Jesus takes the bread, blesses it and breaks it, and distributes it to them.” It is in this service of the Sacrament—through Holy Communion with their new acquaintance—their senses are able to identify who Jesus is. But before they can name him and rejoice in their wonderful reunion at the Table, he vanishes from their sight. That is one of the great ironies of this story, isn’t it: that Jesus wants to make sure they saw him in the Scripture with their eyes of faith before their physical eyes? It is in the breaking of bread that their journey ends in complete recognition.

Isn’t that what we are experiencing this morning: though we do not see him, we experience him through the ministry of the Word? …though we cannot touch or embrace him with our hands, we can receive him in his Body and Blood through the bread and wine? “Were not our hearts burning within us?” they say. It is a mini-Pentecost. God starts in a burning sensation in our gut, fills our minds with knowledge, and our mouths with heavenly food. Has not God ignited that same fire of grace in our lives this morning? Here God serves us and not merely intellectually. He meets us through all the senses: through hearing, seeing, touching, smelling, and tasting. The Holy Spirit fans to flame our faith in the innermost part of our being. We have visceral knowledge of God. We know in our gut, in our mind, and throughout our whole being that Jesus is Lord and Savior; he is the one who lives, heals, teaches, dies, and rises again for us.

This account of Jesus joining the two disciples on their way to Emmaus demonstrates how God infuses Easter joy into our lives, mouths, and hearts. Like the disciples, life is a brief journey where Jesus mysteriously accompanies his people. It ends at the close of the day when God will make all things new. He will spread before us a banquet table. There, he will not vanish but appear in great glory to welcome us to the marriage supper of the Lamb in his Kingdom which will have no end. Doesn’t that ignite a fire of joy in your heart?