Easter 6B
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lakeland, FL
May 9, 2021
Acts 10:44-48
Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6
John 15:9-17
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
Mother’s Day. A highly commercialized day in our country. It started in the early 1900’s by a woman, Anna Jarvis, who wanted to honor her mother who cared for the wounded on both sides of the Civil War and who, along with Juliet Ward Howe, the noted suffragette, urged the creation of a Mother’s Day dedicated to the cause of peace. And just a few years later, Hallmark started selling Mother’s Day cards. Yes, Mother’s Day – even more people dine out today than on Valentine’s Day. According to the National Retail Federation, the average person will spend $152 on Mother’s Day this year. Yes, Mother’s Day is a very important day in our society – in fact, one commentator -- with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek – said that liturgically speaking, Easter might better be known as the 5th Sunday before Mother’s Day. And, today’s Gospel reading is about love – quite fitting perhaps for Mother’s Day.
Listen to what some kids had to say about love --
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." Rebecca - age 8
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." Billy - age 4
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." Lauren - age 4
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." Karen - age 7
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget," Jessica - age 8
Love. Today’s Gospel reading has something to say about this. In fact, if you count up the number of times that Jesus says the word “love”, you will see that it’s there 9 times, 9 times in 9 verses.
Over these past few weeks of Easter, we have moved progressively farther away from the tomb. On Easter Sunday we stood outside looking in, seeing it empty, marveling at the power of God to destroy even death. Then we gathered with the disciples behind locked doors in Jerusalem watching Jesus show himself – his wounded hands and feet, his pierced side – to Thomas. Next we sat with the disciples as they were with Jesus sharing a meal.
But since then we have been moving away from the tomb and out into the world just as Jesus told his disciples that they too would move from the tomb to bear witness to him in Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the world. Like they, we move out into the world – the world where we live, out into the world where others live, out into the world where even our enemies live, out into the world where the stranger lives. And we bear witness to the resurrection power of Christ, we speak in his name, we act girded up with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can keep Jesus’ commandment to love one another.
What is this “love” anyhow? Too often we think of love as that cozy and warm and soft feeling we have in our hearts when we feel safe and secure and just plain good. And that may well be love.
But, that’s not all that love is. Jesus said in today’s Gospel, that “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for another.” Lay down – to relinquish what rightfully might be one’s own. Lay down – to place at the disposal of another. Lay down – to offer up. To lay down one’s life. And this does not mean only or even primarily our physical life – our breathing. What Jesus is speaking of here is that which may even be most important to us. Being willing to yield, to put our perceived rights and entitlements to the side for a greater good, a common good, the good of another person.
“What Lord??!! That’s easy for you to say” we might think. And then we think back to the Garden and to Calvary and we remember that it wasn’t easy at all.
No. Laying down one’s life can run counter to every instinct that we have. But, the love that we are called to is the supernatural love of God in Christ. The supernatural love that flowed over us in our baptisms. The water that marked us as God’s own people – chosen unmistakably by Jesus. Chosen so that we would bear fruit – and not just any fruit – but fruit that will last. Fruit that will endure. Love.
Yes, we gather together every Sunday whether in person or online because of love – the love that Jesus has for us and the love that we have for one another. Love that mourns with the grieving, that visits the sick and the dying. Love that waters our plants and prunes our trees. Love that calls one who’s been on your mind or heart recently. Love that cleans an apartment of one who is sick, serves a plate of food, offers a place of rest. Love that prays for another. Love that lays down our very self for the sake of another.
For over two thousand years, the mark of the Christian community is this love. “See these Christians – see how they love one another.” And that love is not always easy. When a decision is facing us, the question is “what is the loving thing to do?” When a response must be made, and before we utter words that we will regret, the question is “how can I speak love into this situation?” And my friends, I know that this is not easy and I know that I fail more times than likely I even realize. By God’s good grace and love, I am forgiven.
Yes, we love one another here. But, my friends, we love one another SO THAT, having been fed and nourished and strengthened, we can go and do likewise in a world that needs the witness, the resurrection power of Jesus’ love.
Thanks be to God.
