Joy - A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter May 5 2024

GOSPEL: John 15:9-17

The holy gospel according to John.

Glory to you, O Lord.

On the night of his arrest, Jesus delivers a final testimony to his disciples to help them in the days ahead. Here, he repeats the most important of all his commands, that they love one another.

[Jesus said:] 9“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

 12“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

No one has greater love than this,

to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Jesus shares this on the night of his betrayal.

Jesus is about to put his money where his mouth is.

Jesus will lay down his life

in order to take it up again.

Like a Good Shepherd

lying down at the entrance to the sheepfold,

Jesus is the Gate for the sheep,

lying down to protect the flock.

Borrowing from John Donne,

Christ died because he would die;

Martyrs may be willing to die,

but they die by the torments of the executioners.

They cannot say “Now I will die.”

Jesus did this.

Many crucified men lived many days on a cross.

The thieves were alive long after Christ was dead,

and therefore Pilate wondered that he was already dead (Mark 15:44).

The executioners didn’t force Jesus’ death.

Christ did not die naturally,

nor violently, as all others do,

but only voluntarily.

— John Donne, poet and preacher (1572 – 1631), in a sermon (March 28, 1619)

There has never been a greater love

than Jesus laying down his life.

Jesus invites us into sharing - abiding - in this love,

so strong,

so self-giving,

that it lays down its own self.

I am the vine,

you are the branches.

By the work of God, the Vinegrower,

by the connection with the vine

branches bear fruit in love.

In this love,

Jesus no longer calls the disciples servants,

but friends.

Jesus lays down his life for his friends.

As I have loved you,

so you should love one another.

We can think of some of the ways

Jesus’ disciples laid down their lives.

The earliest church held all things in common

laying down possessions and income

to care for all,

particularly those in need.

Many followers of Jesus

were martyred for proclaiming Christ.

But we don’t lay down our lives

in Jesus’ place.

Only by Jesus laying down his life

do we receive new life.

So we live our lives as a thank-you to Jesus.

We want to bear good fruit,

connected to Jesus,

for the good of the world,

a response of gratitude for God’s grace,

but are we ready to lay down our lives?

We heard the call to lay down our lives just a couple years ago:

with the COVID pandemic,

to literally lay down

on the couch

to stay home

to help protect one another.

But even this call to lay down our lives

was not always well received.

We could not all agree

how to best lay down our lives for our friends.

It was hard for some people to stay home,

but those who did so

laid down their lives to protect the community.

Not everyone agreed this was best. 

Most difficult was putting various aspects of our lives on hold.

Weddings, funeral, Christmases

family visits,

drinks with friends,

all changed or delayed.

There continue to be lingering ramifications,

with mental health,

broken relationships,

Some people still do not feel safe

to leave their homes,

not to mention all the second-guessing

of pandemic precautions

that has many asking if the sacrifices made;

if laying down our lives

was even worth it.

Laying down our lives during Covid

has proven to come with a heavy cost.

Laying down your life for your friends is costly.

Obedience to Christ is costly,

and Jesus is asking for obedience to his command

to love one another as Christ first loved us.

Obeying Jesus means commitment

to self-giving love,

and this may just feel like suffering

because it means saying no to what I want

no to what we want

and saying yes to what God wants.

It means letting go of control,

and that’s scary.

And we are hard wired to be afraid of death,

so even the words “lay down your life”

are scary in and of themselves.

I suggest that laying down our lives

need not be so scary. 

It may, in fact, be joyful.

“I have said these things to you

so that my joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete”

I am convinced

that we have been created

to find joy in the presence of our Creator.

That’s the whole point.

Joy with God,

a joyful creation with God.

That’s who God is:

Our Creator

is faithful and just,

gracious and merciful,

slow to anger,

abounding in steadfast love.

Did you know that in the Greek language

the words Joy and Grace

share the same root?

Kara. Karis.

Joy is complete in God’s grace.

Grace is God’s unmerited favour,

God’s unconditional love,

God’s radical acceptance,

of you, as you are,

God’s lavish forgiveness

for our missteps.

We are saved by God’s grace through faith.

We are saved only by Christ laying down his life

we are saved by Christ and him crucified.

By baptism you are connected with this Christ, 

the true vine.

Indeed, every branch that bears fruit is pruned,

cleansed,

changed,

to produce more fruit,

but God’s love for you

does not require your good works.

God’s grace,

God’s radical acceptance of you

does not require you to change first.

Love comes first. Fruit comes second.

For biblical scholar Karoline Lewis,

Joy may just be the feeling of grace,

the emotion of grace,

perhaps even the response to grace.

Joy is that indescribable sense when you find yourself

experiencing abundant grace. (Karoline Lewis, “John” p. 199)

Perhaps you’ve noticed there are lots of bunnies out and about.

I’ve noticed them throughout the winter and early spring,

and with more bunnies

there are more threats,

more bobcats,

more coyotes,

not to mention the brutal cold of winter.

Often I see the rabbit

on the road,

in my yard,

in the alley,

And it is all about survival.

They see me coming,

and they run,

treating me like the imposing threat that I am.

But I noticed their behaviour change

when I watch them from my window.

I see them playing.

Even with the many imminent threats,

it’s like the bunny remembers their purpose,

to find joy in the presence of their Creator.

Be it ducks surfing      

on ice sheets flowing through a thawing river,

or coyotes playing chase high up on Nose Hill,

animals make time for play.

In fact, I watched a news story

about cameras being attached to Polar Bears

to study the impact of climate change

on their lives.

With fewer food options in water,

They are forced to walk long distances on land

looking for food with diminished energy levels.

But you can see in the video,

even surrounded by great existential threats,

they’re playing together.

Even with reduced energy

to look for the food they need,

Polar Bears make time

to find joy in the presence of their Creator.

(https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.7114646)

Nothing brings joy to parents

quite like the sound of their children

laughing and giggling,

happiness and joy, 

not a care in the world.

Maybe we’re focused too much

on the cares of this world,

Or too focused on the suffering

that comes with laying down our lives,

Or too focused on church problems

or personal problems

that we just don’t know the solution to.

Faith trusts God amidst the cares of this world.

Hope and courage keep us moving forward in faith.

God’s grace is sufficient and abundant,

you are loved unconditionally,

you are accepted radically,

you are forgiven lavishly.

In Christ love,

Christ’s joy is complete in us,

the Church,

the body.

our joy is complete,

abiding in Christ.

Maybe joy and laying down our lives

need not be mutually exclusive.

Trusting that we are radically accepted,

unconditionally loved,

lavishly forgiven,

We too can play,

we can rest,

we can find joy in the presence of our Creator,

And we can discern by God’s Spirit

how we too might lay down our lives for our friends,

our neighbours,

for creation,

to love and serve,

to bear fruit,

to simply do what Jesus tells us to do,

because this connection with Jesus is eternal.

Even death wont stop us from abiding.

Even death wont stop us from experiencing joy

in the presence of our Creator.

It may seem backwards,

but obedience to Jesus

might just be the beginning

of finding joy in the presence of our Creator.

May you make time for play,

and find joy in the presence of your Creator.

May you experience grace:

the pure joy of being a child of God.

And in this abiding connection with Christ,

May you bear good fruit in love.

Thanks be to God. Amen.