The
Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
|
L
|
ORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things;
Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish
us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I
have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the
servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all
things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit
should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you. 17 These things I command
you, that ye love one another. 18 If
the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his
own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember
the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If
they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my
saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But
all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know
not him that sent me. 22 If I had not
come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for
their sin. 23 He that hateth me hateth
my Father also. 24 If I had not done
among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now
have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled
that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you
from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he
shall testify of me: 27 And ye also
shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:12-27)
We all have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of us are locked in
a relationship of belligerence and war with Christ. Some are in a very casual
and ineffectual relationship. But these kinds of relationships do not gain for
us the favor and grace of God. Our relationship with Christ must be that of a
friend, a brother of sister, a servant, and a soldier under His High Command.
What relationship do you enjoy with Christ? Is it effectual and worthy of His
favor and love? This is the most important questions of life. Do we not just
know of Christ, but do we know Him as a friend, brother, Lord, and Savior?
In the 12th Chapter of the Gospel of St Matthew, we see
Jesus preaching and teaching the multitudes when His mother, brothers and
sisters came and stood without the gate to speak with Christ. 46 While
he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without,
desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother
and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. (Matthew
12:46-47) There is some suggestion in this incident to shed light on the
spiritual relationship that the immediately family, including His mother, had with
Jesus. Yes, He was their brother and her Son in a corporeal sense, but not
necessarily a spiritual affinity to all that Christ taught. We do not see His
mother, Mary, following hard after the disciples to hear the preaching of her
Son. She was more concerned, as a mother, for His physical welfare than the
seemingly troublesome Gospel He was preaching.
The next actions of Christ reveal a great deal about the proper
spiritual relationship we should have with Him: 48 But he answered
and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother?
and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward
his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the
will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and
mother. (Matt 12:48-50) The close relationships of Christ
are those who hear and do the will of the Father – PERIOD. By implication, the
immediate corporeal family of Jesus did not fit into this scenario. It may have
been after the crucifixion and resurrection before His mother, Mary, came to
know the full magnitude of who her Son truly was. The appearing of the Great
Angel Gabriel seemed almost like a dream of ages past to poor Mary.
Now we come to the occasion of the text for today. We are given
three factors of the work of God that are relevant to the text – The conditions
of Relationship in Christ, The Comfort to be enjoyed even under the World’s
Persecution, and the Work of the Holy ghost and of the Apostles.
I.
The Condition that must be
met:
Jesus lays out the one condition that establishes our Election in
Christ and sustains that Election: it is the simple four-letter word – LOVE! It
bears such a heavy weight as His royal Commandment that it is the one
Commandment upon which all others have their foundation. It is, in brief, a Circle
of Love: God loved us before we loved Him. “We love him, because
he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) We owe God a DEBT of Love. Now, to
qualify that love that we have reciprocated to the Father, we must love those
others who likewise love the Lord. It is the very BANNER of Love under which
the people of God march, and there must be a mutual love of all who march under
that BANNER. 12 This is my commandment,
That ye love one another, as I have loved you. 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.
We use the term love a bit too casually in our day. We claim to love
chocolate ice cream, dogs, horses, roses, etc.; but that is not love. Who would
die for an ice cream (though I am tempted)? Or a dog? Or a rose? Love is an
overruling sentiment that dictates all else of our being. We certainly WILL die
for that which we love. Christ did, and so should we if the circumstances
warrant. If we say we love our fellow Christians, do we? Do we love them as we
are commanded to do by Jesus? And how does Jesus say we should love each other?
Just as He has loved us and gave His life for us. That is not a casual love, is
it? He tells us of that great love in verse 13 - Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
This is the standard of love required. Do you have it?
II.
The Comfort to be had even in
the Persecution of the World:
The athlete who survives a particularly bruising game of football, or the ballerina who suffers a ruined performance that
deprived her of the crown, may take a particular pride in duty well performed
as God has given them the Light to do so. Persecution of the world takes an
even more somber aspect of injustice. Though we may have conducted our lives
with greater righteousness than can be humanly expected, yet we suffer an
injustice of being punished for doing good. Such an injustice can be
overwhelming to those of little faith; but to those whose faith is grounded on
the solid Rock, there is an immense consolation in being unjustly tortured and
beaten. The satisfaction comes from the sure knowledge that we have, indeed,
taken up our cross and followed Christ – all of the way! Christ’s
counsel rings loud and clear: 18 If the
world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love
his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is
not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute
you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's
sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had
sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other
man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me
and my Father. 25 But this cometh to
pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated
me without a cause.
It is interesting to note the reciprocity of sentiment expressed by Christ in
His discourse. God loved us first; therefore, we are able to love Him. On the
other hand, the world hated Christ first; therefore the world hates us as well.
There is unity of both camps. The hate of the world is united against Christ
and His people while the Kingdom of God is united under that banner of love
discussed earlier. All of the work of a servant is truly the work of his
master. It is the will of the master that is operative in the labors of the many
servants of the household. If the master is well loved among the community, the
servants will be identified with that love as well. If the master is
treacherous, his servants will be treated as treacherous. Whatever praise or
ridicule belongs to the master will be visited on the servant. But one wayward
servant does not cast dispersions on the master. Christ is our Master. It is
His Person represented by every member of His household. But the estate is
called by His name and not ours.
The enemy on the battlefield neither knows, nor desires to know, the name of
the common soldier of the line; but you can be assured that they desire to
know, and DO know, the name of their Field Commander against whose mind they
plan their assaults. Christ is the Captain of our Soul. Wherever He is hated,
you will be hated too. If they show no mercy to our Leader, do you suppose they
will be more respectful of his followers? To be hated by the world without a
cause may bring no comfort at all; however, when we are persecuted for Christ’s
sake, we can know that He is aware and loves us the more.
III.
The work of the Holy Spirit,
and of the Apostles: The Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost, is sent to open our eyes to the Beauty of the Lord. He reveals truth to us that we may know in our
heads, but NOT in our hearts. You will note that the purpose of the Holy Spirit
is to “testify” of Christ. But
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26) The Lord has given
us a reading assignment that will be our food for learning by way of the Holy
Ghost. We note that the Holy Ghost is sent by the Father in the name of Christ.
We further note that the Holy Ghost will teach us all things of which we may
have read in Scripture, but not understood. We also note that the Holy Ghost
will “bring all things to our REMEMBRANCE.”
How can we be reminded of something in Holy Scripture if we have not even taken
the trouble to have read or studied it in the first place? We have a somber
duty here to perform. As good soldiers, we must take our training, bear our
weapons, and don our armor. Dare any of us to go into the heat of battle
bearing no arms or wearing no armor of defense?
In
conclusion of our message, we must again consider our relationship to Christ.
Are we His friend as He is our friend? Do we love Him as He first loved us? Are
we the ones who hear and obey the Commandments of the Christ? “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
Have we done? Without grace, we could not have chosen Christ, for it was
He who chose us long before we even knew Him. If we are the children of God,
and God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, are we not likewise brothers
and sisters of Jesus? “For whosoever shall do
the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister,
and mother.” Now, once more, please ask yourself the question:
What is MY relationship to Jesus Christ?
Note from Hap – I am reminded of a quote from then General
Eisenhower the night before the invasion at Normandy when asked by a reporter
if God was on our side. The
answer, “It is not that God is on our side, but rather that we are on God’s
side.”
