Gospel for May 19, 2024 Pentecost Sunday

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus prepares to depart from the disciples, but he reassures them that this is a actually a good thing for their sake. Contrary to what they may be feeling as they dread his departure, Jesus says:

because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

So, what is it that should comfort them?

First, he makes it clear who the Advocate is.  This is the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for Advocate is paraklesis, which means one who stands beside. It is particularly applied to one who is a counselor or attorney in court.  So, the Advocate would be one who stands beside the Apostles when they testify.  Through them, the Advocate testifies to the story of Jesus.

Second, the text picks up in John 16:4 with a warning.  Jesus is preparing the disciples for the inevitable persecution that is to come. Although he is returning to the Father, he is advising them that the Advocate will be with them through these tough times.

Although they are grieving, Jesus is instilling in them an anticipation for the coming of the Spirit.  It is for their good because the Holy Spirit will empower them to take the world by storm!

Third, Jesus instructs them about some of the aspects of the ministry of the Advocate. Specifically, the role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world about sin and righteousness and judgment.  This is in keeping with the role of the Advocate as an attorney, compatible with the metaphor of a courtroom.

For the disciples, the Advocate is a kind of defense attorney; but for the world, which is in rebellion against God, the Advocate is a prosecutor.

The Advocate:

will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment.

In each of these instances, the work of the Advocate is described in a judicial sense, as in a courtroom metaphor. The source of sin (the crime) is defined here as disbelief. Convincing the world about the requirement for righteousness is because Jesus, the source of righteousness, is no longer to be physically present.  And judgment is required:

because the prince of this world has been judged.

The message here requires some unpacking. Unbelief, or a lack of trust, equals a lack of reliance on the righteousness of Christ, and therefore a lack of relationship with God. The Advocate will convict the world about righteousness because Jesus is the “Righteous One” whose perfect life, death and resurrection validate his authority, and the Advocate will continue to point to him. And judgment will come because, quite frankly, this world is in rebellion against righteousness, and the prince of this world is Satan.

What Jesus is describing is an invasion by God into this enemy-occupied territory, first through his own life, death and resurrection, and then in the person of the Advocate.

Fourth and finally, Jesus makes it clear that there are many more truths that will be revealed in time, but he knows the capacity of the disciples is at its limit.  He tells them:

I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.

One more role of the Spirit is to guide the disciples into all truth in the time to come.  There will be other truths to be revealed to the disciples, but not yet. They will be able to discern that the Spirit is guiding them because:

he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming. He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.

In other words, the Spirit’s message won’t be “innovative” or “self-referential.”  He will bear witness only to the message established by God, and will prepare the disciples for the future.  And above all else, the Spirit will lift up Jesus and his message, and make known only that which is consistent with the message of Jesus.

APPLY:  

We can only imagine how confused and depressed the disciples must have been to learn that Jesus would no longer be physically with them, guiding them and teaching them.  How they must have shaken their heads in disbelief and disagreement when Jesus said:

It is to your advantage that I go away.

The truth is, Jesus’ departure prepares the way for his presence in a whole new way, and enables his new ministry on their behalf.  For example, as our high priest who is seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus continues to intercede for us. As Hebrews 7:25-26 says:

Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them. For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

And the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus on earth, convicting us of sin and turning us toward repentance; applying Jesus’ own righteousness to our sin so that we may be made righteous through faith in him; and drawing the sharp contrast between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world which is ruled by the prince of this world, i.e., Satan.

Had Jesus remained in the flesh in the world, there would still have been boundaries to his ministry and influence — a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth who was limited, as we are, by time and space.

But through the Advocate, who is present spiritually and supernaturally everywhere, the Spirit of Jesus can speak to every heart, in every language (check out Acts 2!), and is not limited by time or space.

In a very unique way, we owe the Scriptures that we read to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

All of the Apostolic teaching that has guided the church for two thousand years is revealed through the Scriptures. Therefore the Scriptures have been imparted by the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit continues to be vital and active in the lives of men and women today who are convicted of sin, and who turn to Christ for forgiveness and grace.  And it is through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that Christians continue to be empowered to testify to the life-changing work of Christ!

RESPOND: 

It is a little startling to realize that everything I know about God the Father or God the Son I know because of God the Holy Spirit!  The Scriptures that I read are God-breathed, which means that the Spirit, who is the very breath of God, has revealed them. (Ruach is the Hebrew word for spirit/breath, as pneuma is the Greek word for the same).

And the presence of the church, which has survived persecution, faults and failures like the crusades and the Inquisition, and religious wars, and yet continues to bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus — what else could keep such an institution in business if not the Spirit of God?

And then there is the inner witness of the Spirit in my own life.  Yes, something as personal as that dawning awareness that I am a sinner; that I need a righteousness that I can never achieve; that Jesus provides that righteousness; and that through this Spirit I have a power that comes from beyond me to do things I could never do on my own — all of that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in me.

Strange, that this Third Person of the Trinity, so mysterious to many Christians, is the very voice and vitality of God in the world today!

Come, Holy Spirit!  Guide us into all truth!  Convict this rebellious world of sin so that we may all turn to God in repentance!  Apply the righteousness of Christ to our broken souls!  Separate us and purify us from the so-called “prince of this world.” And empower us to have the courage and opportunity to testify about Christ to this lost world.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
Background photo for “Advocate”: “Chalk Board” by Dave Linscheid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 5, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:9-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Many of the Johannine themes are included in this passage (Johannine refers to the Gospel and the three letters written by John):

• The relationship of the Father with Jesus.
• The love commandment.
• The deep inner joy that is the consequence of that love.
• The sacrificial death of Jesus.
• His personal relationship with his disciples.
• The knowledge that Jesus has imparted to his disciples.
• Jesus’ choice to call the disciples so that they may bear fruit.

Here, as in 1 John, we have a fugue-like interweaving of these themes.

All of this stems from the relationship of Jesus with the Father.  The Father initiates love to the Son, and the Son includes his followers in that love.  And the Son implores them to remain in his love.

This is the great commandment that is given in the Gospel of John — that they love one another.  Love is the source of the deep joy that defines the life of a follower of Jesus.

So, it may seem paradoxical to us that Jesus follows these statements about love and joy with what we might interpret to be a “downer”:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

We must bear in mind the setting of this discourse. In John 13, as the Passover Feast approaches, Jesus and the disciples gather in the Upper Room.  They are together for the last time before Jesus is arrested, tried, and nailed to the cross.

So Jesus is essentially telling them, “If you want to know what my love looks like, watch my life — and my death — on your behalf. That’s love.”

Interestingly, Jesus elevates his disciples from servants to friends in this passage.  It is interesting in part because this passage is a section of that long discourse that is introduced when he washes the feet of his disciples.  There he shows them by example that to be his disciple is to be a servant:  

 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him. (John 13:14-16).

The basis of his friendship with the disciples is found in his sacrificial love, but also in his self-disclosure:

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

Jesus also returns to the subject of his decision to choose the disciples that he introduced earlier in John 6:70:

Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?

And again in this sermon that begins with the washing of feet, he has said in John 13:18:

I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’

It is important to note that Judas was without a doubt the devil to whom Jesus is referring in John 6:70. But note the timing of what Jesus says in John 15:16:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you…

Judas has already been singled out by Jesus as his betrayer, and has left the Upper Room (see John 13:30).  So those to whom Jesus is now speaking are the eleven who will form his core team for the task ahead.

Jesus is giving them his vision for their future ministry:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Jesus is authenticating their ministry, and promising that they will be productive, and that they will find their “credit” to be good as they ask for anything from the Father by invoking his name.

As we learn throughout Scripture, the name of the Lord is holy and powerful in that it represents the identity of the Lord. Likewise the name of Jesus is holy and powerful because he is identified with the Father.

And in this passage we are reminded of the bottom line in Christian doctrine and ethics:

I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

APPLY:  

Attempting to apply all that is included in this passage would require several chapters!

Once again, we are reminded that the love commandment is the law of the Kingdom of God.  All other obligations and precepts and duties flow from that.

And as we begin to apply these words to ourselves as followers of Jesus, we may rightly ask ourselves, “have I the love of the Father in my heart? Do I love other disciples? Do I love my neighbor? Do I love my enemy?”  That is the single most affirming or damning criterion that can be used to measure our discipleship.

From this love, and from our knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, comes our own friendship with Jesus.  Those who recognize that Jesus has laid down his life for us as well as for the disciples, and those who act on that love by responding in faith, are his friends.

And as always this is not only a vertical relationship with God but also a horizontal relationship with others. This is all good stuff.

However, there is one statement that Jesus makes that may raise our eyebrows a bit:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

The difficult part isn’t that we will bear fruit.  He has already established that promise in the earlier part of the same chapter:

I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

But what does it mean to be chosen? This concept has been called “election” by theologians.  Does it mean that some are chosen and others are not?  Actually, Jesus has already established that he chose all of the original twelve disciples, but one of them was to betray him.  Could it be that he chooses all of us, but that what we do about his choice is up to us?

This delicate and controversial debate has divided the church for a long time, summed up in the buzz words “predestination” and “free will.”  I won’t be able to resolve it here.  I will simply say that it seems to me an expression of his love for all the world, as John 3:16 says, to say that God has chosen to love all of us.  However, we may or may not accept his love.  And we may betray him or deny him.  God doesn’t condemn us.  We condemn ourselves if we refuse his love.

Then there is the matter of prayer in Jesus’ name.  Christians typically end a prayer with just this formula — “In Jesus’ name, amen.”

This is also a reiteration of what he has said earlier, and just as emphatically:

 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

It’s obvious that these words could be distorted to turn Jesus into a kind of Genii, who has to grant our wishes.  But as many devout Christians will attest, not all our requests are granted. Moreover, like the Garth Brooks song says, “Thank God for unanswered prayers.”

We are asking for Jesus to fulfill our requests according to his nature and his name the way we might ask for a reference or recommendation from a powerful and influential colleague or employer. But the question is, are our prayers consistent with his nature? Are they loving, serving, fruitful for the sake of God? Or are they self-loving, self-serving, and only for our own sake?  If the latter is true, is it not possible that we aren’t really praying “in Jesus’ name,” but instead are guilty of violating the Third of the Ten Commandments:

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name (Exodus 20:7, NRSV).

To make wrongful use of the name of the Lord is to try to use God’s name and nature to manipulate things to our own advantage, or to use God’s name as a kind of incantation or magic formula.  It is to try to make God into our servant instead of us serving God.

So, yes, we are to pray for whatever we need in Jesus’ name.  But that really means that we are to love Jesus, know his nature as his friends, and bear fruit for him.  In other words, we are to pray in his name in a way consistent with his will.  And his will is that we be filled with contagious joy that will touch the lives of others.

RESPOND: 

Phew! That’s a lot to pack in just a few sentences!  But overall it gives me a sense of wellbeing, knowing that Jesus’ love for me is intended to make me his friend, to be filled with joy, and to bear fruit that will last.  And as far as I know, the only thing that will last beyond this world are human beings who are given eternal life through Jesus.  So, my prayer is:

Lord, make me your friend! Fill me with your love and your joy, that comes from your friendship demonstrated in the way you laid down your life for me!  May I bear the fruit that you would have me bear — not the fruit that rots and doesn’t satisfy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Love...” by Daniel Lee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for April 28, 2024

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:1-8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is another of the powerful “I Am” statements of Jesus that identifies him as one with the Father, and yet distinct as the Son. On multiple occasions in the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the phrase I am in such a way that clearly connects to the encounter between God and Moses in Exodus 3:14, when God reveals his identity:

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

This image of the vine would have been familiar to Jesus’ Jewish disciples.  Israel was frequently described as a vine.  Jesus is declaring he is the true vine.   The Father cultivates and cares for the vine, and in this organic metaphor those who follow Jesus are incorporated into the vine as well.

Jesus shows familiarity with the husbandry of a vineyard.  It was said that for the Israelite true prosperity and peace (shalom) could be found when they were able to sit under their own vine (Micah 4:4).

However, Jesus understands that the unpruned vine will bear no fruit. The branch that bears no fruit is cut off, but even the branch that bore fruit last season must be cut back in order to bear grapes in the next season.  That seems paradoxical and counter-intuitive, but it is true.

Jesus tells the disciples that they have already been pruned clean, because they have listened to his teachings.  But he also tells them that in order for them to bear fruit they must remain connected to the vine, which is Jesus himself.  Jesus says:

Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

The disciple is to maintain connection with Jesus, and by doing so continues to receive the sustenance that comes from the vine.  The two become one.

Jesus reiterates this to make it perfectly clear:

 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

He then makes the astounding promise:

If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

Again, the premise is that they must remain connected to him, and then and only then will their requests be accomplished.

Finally, he tells the disciples that their productivity and fruitfulness will glorify God:

In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

This is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:16:

Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

APPLY:  

This is an encouraging picture for us as disciples. As we remain connected to Christ, the true vine, he abides in us and we abide in him.  Then our work cannot be in vain, because it is his work in us.

The converse of that is also true, however.  If we do not remain connected to him, we will not bear fruit.  Without him we can do nothing.

We do well to remember also that all will experience times of pruning, of being “cut back.”  Those who bear no fruit will be cut off.  But even those who are fruitful will experience times of pruning in order to bear more fruit later.

It may well be that when we consider the current “recession” in much of Western Christianity that what we are seeing is a kind pruning.  Perhaps this pruning of the branches will result in even more fruitful ministry for the sake of the Gospel.

And in our own lives as well, adversity may serve to prune away dead habits and unfruitful aspects of our lives so that we can be more productive.

RESPOND: 

When I think of remaining connected to Christ as the true vine, my mind turns naturally to what we call in my tradition the means of grace.  These are the spiritual disciplines that provide the channels for God to reach me — prayer, Bible study, corporate worship and Christian fellowship, fasting, the Lord’s Supper.

However, I’m also reminded that the power that flows toward me from staying attached to the vine is also to flow outward as I bear fruit.  That’s when I begin to wonder what that fruit is to be like — sharing my faith with someone; giving food to someone who is hungry; visiting a widow; reaching out to someone in jail; generosity.

It seems to me that the flow of this power is inward from the vine and then outward toward others.

Our Lord, my hope and my goal is to stay connected with you.  In you alone is found life and meaning and purpose.  May I be so connected to you that any fruit I bear is obviously your fruit, and you receive the glory.  And when the times of pruning come, help me bear that patiently and hopefully.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The photo in the “Pruning is NOT optional” poster:  “Vineyard Pruning” by Cortes de Cima is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 23, 2021 Pentecost Sunday

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus prepares to depart from the disciples, but he reassures them that this is a actually a good thing for their sake. Contrary to what they may be feeling as they dread his departure, Jesus says:

because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

So, what is it that should comfort them?

First, he makes it clear who the Advocate is.  This is the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for Advocate is paraklesis, which means one who stands beside. It is particularly applied to one who is a counselor or attorney in court.  So, the Advocate would be one who stands beside the Apostles when they testify.  Through them, the Advocate testifies to the story of Jesus.

Second, the text picks up in John 16:4 with a warning.  Jesus is preparing the disciples for the inevitable persecution that is to come. Although he is returning to the Father, he is advising them that the Advocate will be with them through these tough times.

Although they are grieving, Jesus is instilling in them an anticipation for the coming of the Spirit.  It is for their good because the Holy Spirit will empower them to take the world by storm!

Third, Jesus instructs them about some of the aspects of the ministry of the Advocate. Specifically, the role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world about sin and righteousness and judgment.  This is in keeping with the role of the Advocate as an attorney, compatible with the metaphor of a courtroom.

For the disciples, the Advocate is a kind of defense attorney; but for the world, which is in rebellion against God, the Advocate is a prosecutor.

The Advocate:

will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment.

In each of these instances, the work of the Advocate is described in a judicial sense, as in a courtroom metaphor. The source of sin (the crime) is defined here as disbelief. Convincing the world about the requirement for righteousness is because Jesus, the source of righteousness, is no longer to be physically present.  And judgment is required:

because the prince of this world has been judged.

The message here requires some unpacking. Unbelief, or a lack of trust, equals a lack of reliance on the righteousness of Christ, and therefore a lack of relationship with God. The Advocate will convict the world about righteousness because Jesus is the “Righteous One” whose perfect life, death and resurrection validate his authority, and the Advocate will continue to point to him. And judgment will come because, quite frankly, this world is in rebellion against righteousness, and the prince of this world is Satan.

What Jesus is describing is an invasion by God into this enemy-occupied territory, first through his own life, death and resurrection, and then in the person of the Advocate.

Fourth and finally, Jesus makes it clear that there are many more truths that will be revealed in time, but he knows the capacity of the disciples is at its limit.  He tells them:

I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.

One more role of the Spirit is to guide the disciples into all truth in the time to come.  There will be other truths to be revealed to the disciples, but not yet. They will be able to discern that the Spirit is guiding them because:

he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming. He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.

In other words, the Spirit’s message won’t be “innovative” or “self-referential.”  He will bear witness only to the message established by God, and will prepare the disciples for the future.  And above all else, the Spirit will lift up Jesus and his message, and make known only that which is consistent with the message of Jesus.

APPLY:  

We can only imagine how confused and depressed the disciples must have been to learn that Jesus would no longer be physically with them, guiding them and teaching them.  How they must have shaken their heads in disbelief and disagreement when Jesus said:

It is to your advantage that I go away.

The truth is, Jesus’ departure prepares the way for his presence in a whole new way, and enables his new ministry on their behalf.  For example, as our high priest who is seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus continues to intercede for us. As Hebrews 7:25-26 says:

Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them. For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

And the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus on earth, convicting us of sin and turning us toward repentance; applying Jesus’ own righteousness to our sin so that we may be made righteous through faith in him; and drawing the sharp contrast between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world which is ruled by the prince of this world, i.e., Satan.

Had Jesus remained in the flesh in the world, there would still have been boundaries to his ministry and influence — a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth who was limited, as we are, by time and space.

But through the Advocate, who is present spiritually and supernaturally everywhere, the Spirit of Jesus can speak to every heart, in every language (check out Acts 2!), and is not limited by time or space.

In a very unique way, we owe the Scriptures that we read to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

All of the Apostolic teaching that has guided the church for two thousand years is revealed through the Scriptures. Therefore the Scriptures have been imparted by the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit continues to be vital and active in the lives of men and women today who are convicted of sin, and who turn to Christ for forgiveness and grace.  And it is through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that Christians continue to be empowered to testify to the life-changing work of Christ!

RESPOND: 

It is a little startling to realize that everything I know about God the Father or God the Son I know because of God the Holy Spirit!  The Scriptures that I read are God-breathed, which means that the Spirit, who is the very breath of God, has revealed them. (Ruach is the Hebrew word for spirit/breath, as pneuma is the Greek word for the same).

And the presence of the church, which has survived persecution, faults and failures like the crusades and the Inquisition, and religious wars, and yet continues to bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus — what else could keep such an institution in business if not the Spirit of God?

And then there is the inner witness of the Spirit in my own life.  Yes, something as personal as that dawning awareness that I am a sinner; that I need a righteousness that I can never achieve; that Jesus provides that righteousness; and that through this Spirit I have a power that comes from beyond me to do things I could never do on my own — all of that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in me.

Strange, that this Third Person of the Trinity, so mysterious to many Christians, is the very voice and vitality of God in the world today!

Come, Holy Spirit!  Guide us into all truth!  Convict this rebellious world of sin so that we may all turn to God in repentance!  Apply the righteousness of Christ to our broken souls!  Separate us and purify us from the so-called “prince of this world.” And empower us to have the courage and opportunity to testify about Christ to this lost world.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
Background photo for “Advocate”: “Chalk Board” by Dave Linscheid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 9, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:9-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Many of the Johannine themes are included in this passage (Johannine refers to the Gospel and the three letters written by John):

• The relationship of the Father with Jesus.
• The love commandment.
• The deep inner joy that is the consequence of that love.
• The sacrificial death of Jesus.
• His personal relationship with his disciples.
• The knowledge that Jesus has imparted to his disciples.
• Jesus’ choice to call the disciples so that they may bear fruit.

Here, as in 1 John, we have a fugue-like interweaving of these themes.

All of this stems from the relationship of Jesus with the Father.  The Father initiates love to the Son, and the Son includes his followers in that love.  And the Son implores them to remain in his love.

This is the great commandment that is given in the Gospel of John — that they love one another.  Love is the source of the deep joy that defines the life of a follower of Jesus.

So, it may seem paradoxical to us that Jesus follows these statements about love and joy with what we might interpret to be a “downer”:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

We must bear in mind the setting of this discourse. In John 13, as the Passover Feast approaches, Jesus and the disciples gather in the Upper Room.  They are together for the last time before Jesus is arrested, tried, and nailed to the cross.

So Jesus is essentially telling them, “If you want to know what my love looks like, watch my life — and my death — on your behalf. That’s love.”

Interestingly, Jesus elevates his disciples from servants to friends in this passage.  It is interesting in part because this passage is a section of that long discourse that is introduced when he washes the feet of his disciples.  There he shows them by example that to be his disciple is to be a servant:  

 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him. (John 13:14-16).

The basis of his friendship with the disciples is found in his sacrificial love, but also in his self-disclosure:

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

Jesus also returns to the subject of his decision to choose the disciples that he introduced earlier in John 6:70:

Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?

And again in this sermon that begins with the washing of feet, he has said in John 13:18:

I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’

It is important to note that Judas was without a doubt the devil  to whom Jesus is referring in John 6:70.  But note the timing of what Jesus says in John 15:16:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you…

Judas has already been singled out by Jesus as his betrayer, and has left the Upper Room (see John 13:30).  So those to whom Jesus is now speaking are the eleven who will form his core team for the task ahead.

Jesus is giving them his vision for their future ministry:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Jesus is authenticating their ministry, and promising that they will be productive, and that they will find their “credit” to be good as they ask for anything from the Father by invoking his name.

As we learn throughout Scripture, the name of the Lord is holy and powerful in that it represents the identity of the Lord. Likewise the name of Jesus is holy and powerful because he is identified with the Father.

And in this passage we are reminded of the bottom line in Christian doctrine and ethics:

I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

APPLY:  

Attempting to apply all that is included in this passage would require several chapters!

Once again, we are reminded that the love commandment is the law of the Kingdom of God.  All other obligations and precepts and duties flow from that.

And as we begin to apply these words to ourselves as followers of Jesus, we may rightly ask ourselves, “have I the love of the Father in my heart? Do I love other disciples? Do I love my neighbor? Do I love my enemy?”  That is the single most affirming or damning criterion that can be used to measure our discipleship.

From this love, and from our knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, comes our own friendship with Jesus.  Those who recognize that Jesus has laid down his life for us as well as for the disciples,  and those who act on that love by responding in faith, are his friends.

And as always this is not only a vertical relationship with God but also a horizontal relationship with others. This is all good stuff.

However, there is one statement that Jesus makes that may raise our eyebrows a bit:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

The difficult part isn’t that we will bear fruit.  He has already established that promise in the earlier part of the same chapter:

I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

But what does it mean to be chosen ? This concept has been called “election” by theologians.  Does it mean that some are chosen and others are not?  Actually, Jesus has already established that he chose all of the original twelve disciples, but one of them was to betray him.  Could it be that he chooses all of us, but that what we do about his choice is up to us?

This delicate and controversial debate has divided the church for a long time, summed up in the buzz words “predestination” and “free will.”  I won’t be able to resolve it here.  I will simply say that it seems to me an expression of his love for all the world, as John 3:16 says, to say that God has chosen to love all of us.  However, we may or may not accept his love.  And we may betray him or deny him.  God doesn’t condemn us.  We condemn ourselves if we refuse his love.

Then there is the matter of prayer in Jesus’ name.  Christians typically end a prayer with just this formula — “In Jesus’ name, amen.”

This is also a reiteration of what he has said earlier, and just as emphatically:

 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

It’s obvious that these words could be distorted to turn Jesus into a kind of Genii, who has to grant our wishes.  But as many devout Christians will attest, not all our requests are granted. Moreover, like the Garth Brooks song says, “Thank God for unanswered prayers.”

We are asking for Jesus to fulfill our requests according to his nature and his name the way we might ask for a reference or recommendation from a powerful and influential colleague or employer. But the question is, are our prayers consistent with his nature? Are they loving, serving, fruitful for the sake of God? Or are they self-loving, self-serving, and only for our own sake?  If the latter is true, is it not possible that we aren’t really praying “in Jesus’ name,” but instead are guilty of violating the Third of the Ten Commandments:

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name (Exodus 20:7, NRSV).

To make wrongful use of the name of the Lord is to try to use God’s name and nature to manipulate things to our own advantage, or to use God’s name as a kind of incantation or magic formula.  It is to try to make God into our servant instead of us serving God.

So, yes, we are to pray for whatever we need in Jesus’ name.  But that really means that we are to love Jesus, know his nature as his friends, and bear fruit for him.  In other words, we are to pray in his name in a way consistent with his will.  And his will is that we be filled with contagious joy that will touch the lives of others.

RESPOND: 

Phew! That’s a lot to pack in just a few sentences!  But overall it gives me a sense of well being, knowing that Jesus’ love for me is intended to make me his friend, to be filled with joy, and to bear fruit that will last.  And as far as I know, the only thing that will last beyond this world are human beings who are given eternal life through Jesus.  So, my prayer is:

Lord, make me your friend! Fill me with your love and your joy, that comes from your friendship demonstrated in the way you laid down your life for me!  May I bear the fruit that you would have me bear — not the fruit that rots and doesn’t satisfy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Love...” by Daniel Lee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 2, 2021

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:1-8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is another of the powerful “I Am” statements of Jesus that identifies him as one with the Father, and yet distinct as the Son. On multiple occasions in the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the phrase I am in such a way that clearly connects to the encounter between God and Moses in Exodus 3:14, when God reveals his identity:

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

This image of the vine would have been familiar to Jesus’ Jewish disciples.  Israel was frequently described as a vine.  Jesus is declaring he is the true vine.   The Father cultivates and cares for the vine, and in this organic metaphor those who follow Jesus are incorporated into the vine as well.

Jesus shows familiarity with the husbandry of a vineyard.  It was said that for the Israelite true prosperity and peace (shalom) could be found when they were able to sit under their own vine (Micah 4:4).

However, Jesus understands that the unpruned vine will bear no fruit. The branch that bears no fruit is cut off, but even the branch that bore fruit last season must be cut back in order to bear grapes in the next season.  That seems paradoxical and counter-intuitive, but it is true.

Jesus tells the disciples that they have already been pruned clean, because they have listened to his teachings.  But he also tells them that in order for them to bear fruit they must remain connected to the vine, which is Jesus himself.  Jesus says:

Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

The disciple is to maintain connection with Jesus, and by doing so continues to receive the sustenance that comes from the vine.  The two become one.

Jesus reiterates this to make it perfectly clear:

 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

He then makes the astounding promise:

If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

Again, the premise is that they must remain connected to him, and then and only then will their requests be accomplished.

Finally, he tells the disciples that their productivity and fruitfulness will glorify God:

In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

This is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:16:

Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

APPLY:  

This is an encouraging picture for us as disciples. As we remain connected to Christ, the true vine, he abides in us and we abide in him.  Then our work cannot be in vain, because it is his work in us.

The converse of that is also true, however.  If we do not remain connected to him, we will not bear fruit.  Without him we can do nothing.

We do well to remember also that all will experience times of pruning, of being “cut back.”  Those who bear no fruit will be cut off.  But even those who are fruitful will experience times of pruning in order to bear more fruit later.

It may well be that when we consider the current “recession” in much of Western Christianity that what we are seeing is a kind pruning.  Perhaps this pruning of the branches will result in even more fruitful ministry for the sake of the Gospel.

And in our own lives as well, adversity may serve to prune away dead habits and unfruitful aspects of our lives so that we can be more productive.

RESPOND: 

When I think of remaining connected to Christ as the true vine, my mind turns naturally to what we call in my tradition the means of grace.  These are the spiritual disciplines that provide the channels for God to reach me — prayer, Bible study, corporate worship and Christian fellowship, fasting, the Lord’s Supper.

However, I’m also reminded that the power that flows toward me from staying attached to the vine is also to flow outward as I bear fruit.  That’s when I begin to wonder what that fruit is to be like — sharing my faith with someone; giving food to someone who is hungry; visiting a widow; reaching out to someone in jail; generosity.

It seems to me that the flow of this power is inward from the vine and then outward toward others.

Our Lord, my hope and my goal is to stay connected with you.  In you alone is found life and meaning and purpose.  May I be so connected to you that any fruit I bear is obviously your fruit, and you receive the glory.  And when the times of pruning come, help me bear that patiently and hopefully.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The photo in the “Pruning is NOT optional” poster:  “Vineyard Pruning” by Cortes de Cima is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 20, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Jesus prepares to depart from the disciples, but he reassures them that this is a actually a good thing for their sake. Contrary to what they may be feeling as they dread his departure, Jesus says:

because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart.  Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

So, what is it that should comfort them?

First, he makes it clear who the Advocate is.  This is the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for Advocate is paraklesis, which means one who stands beside. It is particularly applied to one who is a counselor or attorney in court.  So, the Advocate would be one who stands beside the Apostles when they testify.  Through them, the Advocate testifies to the story of Jesus.

Second, the text picks up in John 16:4 with a warning.  Jesus is preparing the disciples for the inevitable persecution that is to come. Although he is returning to the Father,  he is advising them that the Advocate will be with them through these tough times.

Although they are grieving, Jesus is instilling in them an anticipation for the coming of the Spirit.  It is for their good because the Holy Spirit will empower them to take the world by storm!

Third, Jesus instructs them about some of the aspects of the ministry of the Advocate. Specifically, the role of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world about sin and righteousness and judgment.  This is in keeping with the role of the Advocate as an attorney, compatible with the metaphor of a courtroom.

For the disciples, the Advocate is a kind of defense attorney; but for the world, which is in rebellion against God, the Advocate is a prosecutor.

The Advocate:

will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment.

In each of these instances, the work of the Advocate is described in a judicial sense, as in a courtroom metaphor. The source of sin (the crime) is defined here as disbelief. Convincing the world about the requirement for righteousness is because Jesus, the source of righteousness, is no longer to be physically present.  And judgment is required:

because the prince of this world has been judged.

The message here requires some unpacking – unbelief, or a lack of trust, equals a lack of reliance on the righteousness of Christ, and therefore a lack of relationship with God. The Advocate will convict the world about righteousness because Jesus is the “Righteous One” whose perfect life, death and resurrection validate his authority, and the Advocate will continue to point to him. And judgment will come because, quite frankly, this world is in rebellion against righteousness, and the prince of this world is Satan.

What Jesus is describing is an invasion by God into this enemy-occupied territory, first through his own life, death and resurrection, and then in the person of the Advocate.

Fourth and finally, Jesus makes it clear that there are many more truths that will be revealed in time, but he knows the capacity of the disciples is at its limit.  He tells them:

I have yet many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.

One more role of the Spirit is to guide the disciples into all truth in the time to come.  There will be other truths to be revealed to the disciples, but not yet. They will be able to discern that the Spirit is guiding them because:

 he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming. He will glorify me, for he will take from what is mine, and will declare it to you.

In other words, the Spirit’s message won’t be “innovative” or “self-referential.”  He will bear witness only to the message established by God, and will prepare the disciples for the future.  And above all else, the Spirit will lift up Jesus and his message, and make known only that which is consistent with the message of Jesus.

APPLY:  

We can only imagine how confused and depressed the disciples must have been to learn that Jesus would no longer be physically with them, guiding them and teaching them.  How they must have shaken their heads in disbelief and disagreement when Jesus said:

It is to your advantage that I go away.

The truth is, Jesus’ departure prepares the way for his presence in a whole new way, and enables his new ministry on their behalf.  For example, as our high priest who is seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus continues to intercede for us. As Hebrews 7:25-26 says:

Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them. For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.

And the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus on earth, convicting  us of sin and turning us toward repentance; applying  Jesus’ own righteousness to our sin so that we may be made righteous through faith in him; and drawing the sharp contrast  between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world which is ruled by the prince of this world, i.e., Satan.

Had Jesus remained in the flesh in the world, there would still have been boundaries to his ministry and influence – a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth who was limited, as we are, by time and space.

But through the Advocate, who is present spiritually and supernaturally everywhere,  the Spirit of Jesus can speak to every heart, in every language (check out Acts 2!), and is not limited by time or space.

In a very unique way, we owe the Scriptures that we read to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

All of the Apostolic teaching that has guided the church for two thousand years is revealed through the Scriptures. Therefore the Scriptures have been imparted by the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit continues to be vital and active in the lives of men and women today who are convicted of sin, and who turn to Christ for forgiveness and grace.  And it is through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that Christians continue to be empowered to testify to the life-changing work of Christ!

RESPOND: 

It is a little startling to realize that everything I know about God the Father or God the Son I know because of God the Holy Spirit!  The Scriptures that I read are God-breathed, which means that the Spirit, who is the very breath of God, has revealed them. (Ruach is the Hebrew word for spirit/breath,  as pneuma is the Greek word for the same).

And the presence of the church, which has survived persecution, faults and failures like the crusades and the Inquisition, and religious wars, and yet continues to bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus — what else could keep such an institution in business if not the Spirit of God?

And then there is the inner witness of the Spirit in my own life.  Yes, something as personal as that dawning awareness that I am a sinner; that I need a righteousness that I can never achieve; that Jesus provides that righteousness; and that through this Spirit I have a power that comes from beyond me to do things I could never do on my own — all of that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in me.

Strange, that this Third Person of the Trinity, so mysterious to many Christians, is the very voice and vitality of God in the world today!

Come, Holy Spirit!  Guide us into all truth!  Convict this rebellious world of sin so that we may all turn to God in repentance!  Apply the righteousness of Christ to our broken souls!  Separate us and purify us from the so-called “prince of this world.” And empower us to have the courage and opportunity to testify about Christ to this lost world.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
Background photo for “Advocate”: “Chalk Board” by Dave Linscheid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 6, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:9-17
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

Many of the Johannine themes are included in this passage (Johannine refers to the Gospel and the three letters written by John):

• The relationship of the Father with Jesus.
• The love commandment
• The deep inner joy that is the consequence of that love.
• The sacrificial death of Jesus
• His personal relationship with his disciples
• The knowledge that Jesus has imparted to his disciples
• Jesus’ choice to call the disciples so that they may bear fruit.

Here, as in 1 John, we have a fugue-like interweaving of these themes.

All of this stems from the relationship of Jesus with the Father.  The Father initiates love to the Son, and the Son includes his followers in that love.  And the Son implores them to remain in his love.

This is the great commandment that is given in the Gospel of John — that they love one another.  Love is the source of the deep joy that defines the life of a follower of Jesus.

So, it may seem paradoxical to us that Jesus follows these statements about love and joy with what we might interpret to be a “downer”:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

We must bear in mind the setting of this discourse. In John 13, as the Passover Feast approaches, Jesus and the disciples gather in the Upper Room.  They are together for the last time before Jesus is arrested, tried, and nailed to the cross.

So Jesus is essentially telling them, “If you want to know what my love looks like, watch my life — and my death — on your behalf. That’s love.”

Interestingly, Jesus elevates his disciples from servants to friends in this passage.  It is interesting in part because this passage is a section  of that long discourse that is introduced when he washes the feet of his disciples.  There he shows them by example that to be his disciple is to be a servant:  

 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Most certainly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, neither one who is sent greater than he who sent him. (John 13:14-16).

The basis of his friendship with the disciples is found in his sacrificial love, but also in his self-disclosure:

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

Jesus also returns to the subject of his decision to choose the disciples that he introduced earlier in John 6:70:

Didn’t I choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?

And again in this sermon that begins with the washing of feet, he has said in John 13:18:

I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen. But that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’

It is important to note that Judas was without a doubt the devil  to whom Jesus is referring in John 6:70.  But  note the timing of  what Jesus says in John 15:16:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you…

Judas has already been singled out by Jesus as his betrayer, and has left the Upper Room (see John 13:30).  So those to whom Jesus is now speaking are the eleven who will form his core team for the task ahead.

Jesus is giving them his vision for their future ministry:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Jesus is authenticating their ministry, and promising that they will be productive, and that they will find their “credit” to be good as they ask for anything from the Father by invoking his name.

As we learn throughout scripture, the name of the Lord is holy and powerful in that it represents the identity of the Lord — likewise the name of Jesus is holy and powerful because he is identified with the Father.

And in this passage we are reminded of the bottom line in Christian doctrine and ethics:

I command these things to you, that you may love one another.

APPLY:  

Attempting to apply all that is included in this passage would require several chapters!

Once again, we are reminded that the love commandment is the law of the Kingdom of God.  All other obligations and precepts and duties flow from that.

And as we begin to apply these words to ourselves as followers of Jesus, we may rightly ask ourselves, “have I the love of the Father in my heart? Do I love other disciples? Do I love my neighbor? Do I love my enemy?”  That is the single most affirming or damning criterion that can be used to measure our discipleship.

From this love, and from our knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, comes our own friendship with Jesus.  Those who recognize that Jesus has laid down his life for us as well as for the disciples,  and those who act on that love by responding in faith, are his friends.

And as always this is not only a vertical relationship with God but also a horizontal relationship with others. This is all good stuff.

However there is one statement that Jesus makes that may raise our eyebrows a bit:

You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

The difficult part isn’t that we will bear fruit.  He has already established that promise in the earlier part of the same chapter:

I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

But what does it mean to be chosen? This concept has been called “election” by theologians.  Does it mean that some are chosen and others are not?  Actually, Jesus has already established that he chose all of the original twelve disciples, but one of them was to betray him.  Could it be that he chooses all of us, but that what we do about his choice is up to us?

This delicate and controversial debate has divided the church for a long time, summed up in the buzz words “predestination” and “free will.”  I won’t be able to resolve it here.  I will simply say that it seems to me an expression of his love for all the world, as John 3:16 says, to say that God has chosen to love all of us.  However, we may or may not accept his love.  And we may betray him or deny him.  God doesn’t condemn us.  We condemn ourselves if we refuse his love.

Then there is the matter of prayer in Jesus’ name.  Christians typically end a prayer with just this formula — “In Jesus’ name, amen.”

This is also a reiteration of what he has said earlier, and just as emphatically:

 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).

It’s obvious that these words could be distorted to turn Jesus into a kind of Genii, who has to grant our wishes.  But as many devout Christians will attest, not all our requests are granted. Moreover, like the Garth Brooks song says, “Thank God for unanswered prayers.”

We are asking for Jesus to fulfill our requests according to his nature and his name the way we might ask for a reference or recommendation from a powerful and influential colleague or employer. But the question is, are our prayers consistent with his nature? Are they loving, serving, fruitful for the sake of God? Or are they self-loving, self-serving, and only for our own sake?  If the latter is true, is it not possible that we aren’t really praying “in Jesus’ name,” but instead are guilty of violating the Third of the Ten Commandments:

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name (Exodus 20:7, NRSV).

To make wrongful use of the name of the Lord is to try to use God’s name and nature to manipulate things to our own advantage, or to use God’s name as a kind of incantation or magic formula.  It is to try to make God into our servant instead of us serving God.

So, yes, we are to pray for whatever we need in Jesus’ name.  But that really means that we are to love Jesus, know his nature as his friends, and bear fruit for him.  In other words, we are to pray in his name in a way consistent with his will.  And his will is that we be filled with contagious joy that will touch the lives of others.

RESPOND: 

Phew! That’s a lot to pack in just a few sentences!  But overall it gives me a sense of well being, knowing that Jesus’ love for me is intended to make me his friend, to be filled with joy, and to bear fruit that will last.  And as far as I know, the only thing that will last beyond this world are human beings who are given eternal life through Jesus.  So, my prayer is:

Lord, make me your friend! Fill me with your love and your joy, that comes from your friendship demonstrated in the way you laid down your life for me!  May I bear the fruit that you would have me bear — not the fruit that rots and doesn’t satisfy.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
“Love...” by Daniel Lee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for April 29, 2018

START WITH SCRIPTURE:
John 15:1-8
CLICK HERE TO READ SCRIPTURE ON BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

OBSERVE:

This is another of the powerful “I Am” statements of Jesus that identifies him as one with the Father, and yet distinct as the Son. On multiple occasions in the Gospel of John, Jesus uses the phrase I am in such a way that clearly connects to the encounter between God and Moses in Exodus 3:14, when God reveals his identity:

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM,” and he said, “You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

This image of the vine would have been familiar to Jesus’ Jewish disciples.  Israel was frequently described as a vine.  Jesus is declaring he is the true vine.   The Father cultivates and cares for the vine, and in this organic metaphor those who follow Jesus are incorporated into the vine as well.

Jesus shows familiarity with the husbandry of a vineyard.  It was said that for the Israelite true prosperity and peace (shalom) could be found when they were able to sit under their own vine (Micah 4:4).

However, Jesus understands that the unpruned vine will bear no fruit. The branch that bears no fruit is cut off, but even the branch that bore fruit last season must be cut back in order to bear grapes in the next season.  That seems paradoxical and counter-intuitive, but it is true.

Jesus tells the disciples that they have already been pruned clean, because they have listened to his teachings.  But he also tells them that in order for them to bear fruit they must remain connected to the vine, which is Jesus himself.  Jesus says:

Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.

The disciple is to maintain connection with Jesus, and by doing so continues to receive the sustenance that comes from the vine.  The two become one.

Jesus reiterates this to make it perfectly clear:

 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

He then makes the astounding promise:

If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.

Again, the premise is that they must remain connected to him, and then and only then will their requests be accomplished.

Finally, he tells the disciples that their productivity and fruitfulness will glorify God:

In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.

This is reminiscent of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:16:

Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

APPLY:  

This is an encouraging picture for us as disciples. As we remain connected to Christ, the true vine, he abides in us and we abide in him.  Then our work cannot be in vain, because it is his work in us.

The converse of that is also true, however.  If we do not remain connected to him, we will not bear fruit.  Without him we can do nothing.

We do well to remember also that all will experience times of pruning, of being “cut back.”  Those who bear no fruit will be cut off.  But even those who are fruitful will experience times of pruning in order to bear more fruit later.

It may well be that when we consider the current “recession” in much of Western Christianity that what we are seeing is a kind pruning.  Perhaps this pruning of the branches will result in even more fruitful ministry for the sake of the Gospel.

And in our own lives as well, adversity may serve to prune away dead habits and unfruitful aspects of our lives so that we can be more productive.

RESPOND: 

When I think of remaining connected to Christ as the true vine, my mind turns naturally to what we call in my tradition the means of grace.  These are the spiritual disciplines that provide the channels for God to reach me — prayer, Bible study, corporate worship and Christian fellowship, fasting, the Lord’s Supper.

However, I’m also reminded that the power that flows toward me from staying attached to the vine is also to flow outward as I bear fruit.  That’s when I begin to wonder what that fruit is to be like: sharing my faith with someone; giving food to someone who is hungry; visiting a widow; reaching out to someone in jail; generosity.

It seems to me that the flow of this power is inward from the vine and then outward toward others.

Our Lord, my hope and my goal is to stay connected with you.  In you alone is found life and meaning and purpose.  May I be so connected to you that any fruit I bear is obviously your fruit, and you receive the glory.  And when the times of pruning come, help me bear that patiently and hopefully.  Amen. 

PHOTOS:
The photo in the “Pruning is NOT optional” poster:  “Vineyard Pruning” by Cortes de Cima is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Gospel for May 24, 2015

START WITH SCRIPTURE:

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

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OBSERVE:

Jesus is preparing to depart from the disciples, but he is reassuring them that this is a good thing for their sake. Contrary to what they may be feeling as they dread his departure, Jesus says you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 

So, what does he focus on in this part of his farewell discourse that should comfort them?

First, he makes it clear who this Advocate is that is coming.  This is the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for Advocate is paraklesis, which means one who “stands beside.”It is particularly applied to one who is a counselor or attorney in court.  So, the Advocate would be one who “stands with” the Apostles when they testify.  Through them, the Advocate would be testifying to the story of Jesus.

Second, the text picks up in John 16:4 with a warning.  Jesus is preparing the disciples for the inevitable persecution that is to come. Although he is returning to the Father,  He is advising them that the Advocate will be with them through these tough times.

Although they are grieving, Jesus is instilling in them an anticipation for the coming of the Spirit.  It is for their good because the Holy Spirit will empower them to take the world by storm!

Third, Jesus instructs them as to a part of the ministry of the Advocate. Specifically, the role of the Holy Spirit in testifying about Jesus is to convict the world about sin and righteousness and judgment.  This is in keeping with the role of the Advocate as an attorney, and with the metaphor of a courtroom.

With the disciples, the Advocate is a kind of defense attorney; but with the world, which is in rebellion against God, the Advocate is a prosecutor.

The Advocate will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin (because of disbelief) and righteousness (because Jesus will no longer be physically present to make his own case concerning himself as the source of righteousness) and judgment (because the prince of this world now stands condemned).

The message here requires some unpacking – unbelief, or a lack of trust, equals a lack of reliance on the righteousness of Christ, and therefore a lack of relationship with God. The Advocate will convict the world about righteousness because Jesus is the “Righteous One” whose perfect life, death and resurrection validate his authority, and the Advocate will continue to point to him. And judgment will come because, quite frankly, this world is in rebellion against righteousness, and the prince of this world is Satan.

What Jesus is describing is an invasion by God into this enemy-occupied territory, first through his own life, death and resurrection, and then in the person of the Advocate.

Fourth and finally, Jesus makes it clear that there are many more truths that will be revealed in time, but he knows the capacity of the disciples is at its limit.  It is more than you can now bear.   So one more role of the Spirit is to continue to guide the disciples into all truth.  They will be able to discern that it is the Spirit that is guiding them because He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

In other words, the Spirit’s message won’t be “innovative” or “self-referential.”  He will bear witness only to the message established by God, and will prepare the disciples for the future.  And above all else, the Spirit will lift up Jesus and his message, and make known only that which is consistent with the message of Jesus.

APPLY:  

We can only imagine how confused and depressed the disciples must have been to learn that Jesus would no longer be physically with them, guiding them and teaching them.  How they must have shaken their heads in disbelief and disagreement when Jesus said it is for your good that I am going away.

The truth is, Jesus’ departure prepares the way for his presence in a whole new way, and enables his new ministry on their behalf.  For example, as our high priest at the right hand of the Father, Jesus continues to intercede for us, as Hebrews 7:25-26 says Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

And the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus on earth, convicting  us of sin and turning us toward repentance; applying  Jesus’ own righteousness to our sin so that we may be made righteous through faith in him; and drawing the sharp contrast  between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world which is ruled by the prince of this world, i.e., Satan.

Had Jesus remained in the flesh in the world, there would still have been boundaries to his ministry and influence – a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth who was limited, as we are, by time and space.

But through the Advocate, who is present spiritually and supernaturally everywhere,  the Spirit of Jesus can speak to every heart, in every language (check out Acts 2!), and is not limited by time or space.

In a very unique way, we owe the Scriptures that we read to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit — All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).  All of the Apostolic teaching that we have, and that has guided the church for two thousand years, is revealed through the Scriptures and that has been imparted by the Holy Spirit.

And the Spirit continues to be vital and active in the lives of men and women today who are convicted of sin, and turn to Christ for forgiveness and grace.  And it is through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit that Christians continue to be empowered to testify to the life-changing work of Christ!

RESPOND: 

It is a little startling to realize that everything I know about God the Father or God the Son I know because of God the Holy Spirit!  The scriptures that I read are God-breathed, which means that the Spirit, who is the ruach and pneuma, the very breath of God, has revealed them.

And the presence of the church, which has survived persecution, faults and failures like the crusades and the Inquisition, and religious wars, and yet continues to bear witness to the love of God in Christ Jesus — what else could keep such an institution in business if not the Spirit of God?

And then there is the inner witness of the Spirit in my own life.  Yes, something as personal as that dawning awareness that I am a sinner; that I need a righteousness that I can never achieve; that Jesus provides that righteousness; and that through this Spirit I have a power that comes from beyond me to do things I could never do on my own — all of that comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit, dwelling in me.

Strange, that this Third Person of the Trinity, so mysterious to many Christians, is the very voice and vitality of God in the world today!

Come, Holy Spirit!  Guide us into all truth!  Convict this rebellious world of sin so that we may all turn to God in repentance!  Apply the righteousness of Christ to our broken souls!  Separate us and purify us from the so-called “prince of this world.” And empower us to have the courage and opportunity to testify about Christ to this lost world.  Amen. 

 PHOTOS:
Background photo for “Advocate”: “Chalk Board” by Dave Linscheid is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.