Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter

Click here to view the Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer

2024 Easter 6                   John 15:9-17

 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen. 

 

As the church prepares to celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord on Thursday, the gospel readings for today and last Sunday take us back to the teachings that Jesus gave to the his disciples during their last meal together. I imagine that as the disciples listened intently to their Rabbi and tried to understand what he was saying, they were at times confused and offended.  It was only after Jesus’ Resurrection, Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that what he said made sense to them. 

 

Jesus says in John 15:16 “You did not choose me but I chose you.”  Jesus reminds the disciples of how they came together. But the way in which Jesus developed a group of disciples went against the normal way in which things were done.  Rabbis do not generally go looking for students. Students go looking for a Rabbi. The traditional way in which things are done is that a man decides he wants to learn more about his faith and listens to several different Rabbis while they are teaching, talks to his potential peers, then decides on one Rabbi to learn from.  Jesus did the exact opposite.  Jesus went around and personally invited each one of them to “come, follow me.” 

 

When a student’s time of studying is done, that student then takes their training on to the next phase of their life.  They may very well return to the family work as Peter appears to have done.  Or they may take their education and move into a different vocation.  Regardless, they will know more about their faith and will bring that knowledge into the conversations they have with family, friends, and in the synagogue. 

 

Jesus does not appear to be the least bit concerned about how the disciples will earn their money in the future.  But he is definitely concerned that in whatever they do that they bear fruit.  This fruit must be the obvious result of being connected with Jesus the vine. In this passage that means abiding in the kind of sacrificial love that Jesus exhibits. And, that love will foster a devotional obedience to Jesus’ words and that they will take great care to follow the LORD’s commandments. 

 

I am certain that the disciple’s original puzzlement on how this will all happen eventually dissolves as they mature and grow into obedience and love. They learn to trust that the Holy Spirit will lead them into “bearing fruit” that is appropriate for their context. 

 

I do wonder, though, if the disciples may have been offended by some of the language that Jesus was using while he spoke to them.  If nothing else, they understood themselves to be disciples.  A disciple is a student. Jesus, then, is the teacher, the Rabbi.  So, what exactly are they to make of Jesus’ statement in John 15:15. “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends,…”.

 

Servants?  Well, when did that happen? But there is more to this than calling them servants instead of students. The English translation word “servant” here is a rather polite rendering of the Greek. Using the word servant does not allow us to catch the force of what Jesus is saying. The Greek word here is doulos. According to my Greek-English Lexicon, doulos means slave.  And I quote, “as owned property totally and unquestioningly at the behest of the owner.” In reference to the usage in verse 15, the lexicon explains, “with focus on service rendered, as an owned person would be expected to do, in the capacity of total obligation to another and especially to one in a superior position, thus reflecting the Oriental manner of total respect for a high official.”   

 

When we hear the word “servant” in English, we think of a paid servant like in Downton Abbey. What the disciples heard was “owned slave.”  Meaning, they are not freemen following Jesus of their own volition, but rather slaves of Jesus.  Perhaps one or two disciples wondered when their families sold them into slavery to this itinerant carpenter and Rabbi? 

 

Then, Jesus goes on to say that he is now changing their status.  They are no longer Jesus’ slaves; they are now his friends.  Friends also has a specific meaning.  In 2024, the word friend often means a casual online connection or if in person, a casual acquaintance or a business relationship.  The Greek word that is used here is philos and it has a specific definition. It means “in a close relationship with another, as opposed to a casual acquaintanceship.”

 

Someone also has to wonder, who does Jesus think he is that he can call me a slave one moment and then declare me a friend in the next? 

 

The answer to these questions and more, become clear as time moves forward.  The events of the cross, resurrection, Jesus’ resurrection appearances and teachings, his ascension, and the Spirit’s coming on Pentecost all clarify who Jesus is and what his message to the world is. 

 

Jesus is indeed in a position to declare someone a slave, then to declare them free.  Jesus is the vine that is planted by the vine grower, our heavenly Father.  Jesus is the Incarnate Son of God.  He is here because we are all slaves and we do not know it.  Any freedom that we enjoy is a fiction.  While we may have freedom of movement and think that we have freedom of choice, all of our movements and choices are stained by our sinful condition. We cannot break free of our bondage to sin on our own.  We need God’s help. He has to do it for us.

 

Verses 2 and 3 of the sermon hymn Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice, says it beautifully. Fast bound in Satan’s chains I lay; death brooded darkly o’er me. Sin was my torment night and day; in sin my mother bore me.  But daily deeper still I fell; my life became a living hell, so firmly sin possessed me.

 

My own good works all came to naught, no grace or merit gaining; free will against God’s judgment fought, dead to all good remaining. My fears increased till sheer despair left only death to be my share; the pangs of hell I suffered.

 

Our heavenly Father is moved by love to send the Son.  The Son in loving obedience condescends to become human.  In love Jesus lives among us, teaches and heals us, and takes up the cross for us.  On account of his love and obedience, our heavenly Father declares us righteous and forgiven.  On account of Jesus, we are indeed friends of God.  Jesus can announce this to us because he speaks what the Father has told him. 

 

Verse 8, “though he will shed My precious blood, Me of My life bereaving, all this I suffer for your good; be steadfast and believing.  Life will from death the vict’ry win; my innocence shall bear your sin, and you are blest forever.”

 

We do need Jesus to choose us.  We rejoice that he continues to choose us.  Otherwise, we would choose wrongly. We will always seek something false for our salvation.  God wills that we be saved. He has chosen us to have faith. Paul said it beautifully in his first letter to Timothy, the second chapter: 

 

“This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all.” 

 

In gratitude for the outpouring of God’s grace upon us, we respond with a newfound, spirit-led desire to love God. From this love, we earnestly desire to grow in love toward God and our neighbor.  Through the cross and resurrection of Christ Jesus, we are free to love as God loves us. The Holy Spirit works through us to bear fruit as we abide in God through Christ. 

 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

 

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.