John 14: 15-21 & John 15: 12-17
Roger Lynn
June 2, 2019
There is within each of us a deep longing to experience God’s presence in our lives. We hunger for a sense of the Holy through all of our days. The entire history of human beings is filled with efforts to discover paths which will lead us into the presence of the Sacred. Some of those efforts have been remarkably powerful and life-enhancing. Some of them have been remarkably destructive. So how do we know when we are truly on a path which leads to God and when we have taken an unhelpful detour into dangerous territory headed in the wrong direction?
In the Gospel of John, Jesus offers some thoughts which help us gain some perspective on this matter. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15: 12) He takes our tendency to think in terms of rules and checklists, and turns it upside down. “You want commandments. I’ll give you commandments. Here, try this one.” When all is said and done it comes down to love. Not the love of mushy feelings found in most Valentines cards. This is the love which calls us to actively work for the well-being of others. This is the love which reminds us we are bound together in the one common family of humanity. When the path we are on is defined by such love, then we are heading towards God. If such love is not a central quality of our path, then we are moving away from God. Jesus makes it very clear – it isn’t about believing the right things. It is about living in ways which lead to wholeness. We recognize God’s presence in our lives when we are living in loving relationship with those around us. And when such love is not present, all the God language in the world won’t help us be truly connected with God.
In the text from John’s Gospel we read this morning, it is remarkable how imprecise the language is with regards to God. It is very fluid – moving back and forth from God to Jesus to the Spirit. “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” It doesn’t seem to matter very much what specific language we use to talk about God. What matters is that we experience the powerful, transforming presence of God, however we want to talk about it – and that happens within the context of love and relationship.
Singer/songwriter Sting once wrote a song which he titled, “Love is the Seventh Wave.” It plays with the idea that every seventh ocean wave that hits the beach is more powerful than the six which preceded it. Note the contrast between all the things which so often overwhelm us, and that which is even more powerful. It is love which puts all the rest into a more hopeful perspective.
Every ripple on the ocean
Every leaf on every tree
Every sand dune in the desert
Every power we never see
There is a deeper wave than this
Swelling in the world
There is a deeper wave than this
Listen to me now
Feel it rising in the cities
Feel it sweeping over land
Over borders, over frontiers
Nothing will it’s power withstand
There is no deeper wave than this
Rising in the world
There is no deeper wave than this
Listen to me now
All the bloodshed, all the anger
All the weapons, all the greed
All the armies, all the missiles
All the symbols of our fear
There is a deeper wave than this
Rising in the world
There is a deeper wave than this
Listen to me now
At the still point of destruction
At the centre of the fury
All the angels, all the devils
All around us can’t you see
There is a deeper wave than this
Rising in the land
There is a deeper wave than this
Nothing will withstand
I say love is the seventh wave
Nothing is more powerful. Indeed nothing else is real. God is the ultimate reality and God is love. All the rest is deception and illusion which results from our unwillingness to open our eyes to that which is all around us all the time. There is, in fact, no separation. There is, in fact, no “us and them.” We are all a part of God and there is only “us.” When we practice love in our lives, really, truly, deeply, not just with our words but with our actions and our intentions, then we put ourselves in a position to recognize this ultimate truth. When we follow Jesus” advice and truly seek to love one another, to work for the wholeness and well-being of all who share this life with us, then we begin to see that God is already here. Indeed, God is always here, ready to transform us and through us to transform the world. All that is required is for us to cooperate with the process.
How do we know if we are on a path which leads to God? Is it a path paved with love? Is it a path where love is encouraged and supported and celebrated? Is it a path where all of God’s children are honored and cherished? Jesus makes it very clear – to find God, follow the love. May it be so for us. Let us love one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment