Easter 6-A

May 29^th, 2011

The Rev. Marguerite Alley

Many of us were fortunate enough to grow up in families where we experienced first hand the meaning of “unconditional love”. Some of us did not. For some of us there were always conditions, and sometimes they were hidden conditions. When a person grows up in a family where the concept of love has strings attached to it, it damages us. Often for life. We grow up believing that we must earn love and that we often will fall far short. We grow up believing that when we don’t live up to other’s expectations, their love will be withdrawn and we will be left alone in the world. The result is that we grow to be fearful and insecure adults, often afraid to try new things, afraid to express our feelings and deathly afraid of disappointing our loved ones and being abandoned as a result.

In the collect this morning, we prayed “Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire”. In the Psalm we sang “Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, nor withheld his love from me”. A couple of weeks ago we heard the story of the encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus and then in the room where the disciples were hiding following the crucifixion. Nowhere in these  stories does Jesus admonish his friends for bailing on him or for being cowards. Nowhere does he suggest that there are any strings attached to his love and friendship. Clearly, Jesus loves his disciples with that unconditional love. Even when Thomas refuses to see Jesus for what he is and demands to see his wounds and touch them…..Jesus is nothing but patient and loving.

This started me thinking…..God created the universe for us. God created this world for us. God created us for each other. God created all that exists within our world for us.  We, in return have ignored the simplest of “rules” (if you can even call them rules). We have lusted after, wanted more and murdered each other. With each gift we have demanded more. Each time we have been let off the hook, we have gone on to even greater atrocities. Its kind of ridiculous to think that anyone or any entity could love US unconditionally. And yet…..

We have been taught that God is love. We have been taught that God loves us, just as we are, no strings attached. We have been taught that God knows no other than unconditional love. Each time we have wandered from the path, the shepherd has gently (not always subtly) guided us back. Each time we have ignored, or distorted what we know God is telling us we have been patiently reminded. Each time we have broken our promises or tried to willfully impose our own desires upon God or others, we have been quietly corrected. Never though have we ever been threatened with the loss of God’s love. Never have we been told that God has had it with us and our lack of faith. Until now. Today…..after everything, Jesus says “those who love me will be loved by my father”.

This is a pretty big departure from what we have been taught. We have consoled ourselves with the thought that really…not matter what we do, God will still love us. We have done a lot of pretty nasty stuff with that in the back of our minds. We have not loved God with our whole heart…….because well, it is good to be rich. It is good to be powerful. Society tells us that “he who dies with the most toys wins”.  We have not loved with our soul. We have hurt each other. We have alienated, ridiculed and crushed those who are different. We have not loved the Lord with our minds. We have closed them to new ideas, we have poisoned our children with fear and suspicion. And we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have let them fight their own battles, even when we knew they were horribly out numbered, were already so beaten down they didn’t stand a chance. We are, if truth be told, about the most ungrateful bunch of brats a parent could be stuck with. And yet…until now we have been taught and we have believed that God loves us..no matter what. So what has changed? Was the crucifixion some kind of test that we royally flunked? Was the fact that Jesus’ best friends (the ones who claimed to know and understand him the best) abandoned him in the final hours the last straw?

Those of you who ARE parents, understand this dilemma that Jesus is facing. Each time our children test us or disappoint us…..we tell them, “This is it. You better straighten up and fly right, or else….”but Jesus has never said anything like this. I don’t think any of us really believes that tornados, hurricanes  or earthquakes are God’s way of punishing us for our willfulness.  That being said, it certainly sounds here as though Jesus is saying “if you love me……” It sounds as though now there are some strings attached. But,  I think Jesus is going in a totally different direction with this statement.  When I was a teen, the thought of disappointing my parents was pretty unpleasant for me. It didn’t always keep me from doing bad stuff….because sometimes I didn’t even stop to think before I did the bad stuff. Later, when I had disappointed or hurt them…I often felt worse because I hadn’t stopped to think of anyone other than myself. I think this is what Jesus is really talking about. One time stands out particularly clearly. (Story) It wasn’t until weeks later that we knew that she “knew”. I overheard her saying to my older brother “I need you to stay here for the weekend. I thought I could trust them, but I can’t”.

 When we really love someone, we think of them before we think of ourselves….especially in things that effect both. I think what Jesus is saying when he says “If you love me you will keep my commandments”, is not a statement that suggests the withdrawal of that unconditional love we have come to depend on. I think he is not saying “if you love me you will obey me”  but rather, “when you love me, you are obeying me”. That is a pretty big difference in my mind. The “spirit of truth” is what helps us to see when we are not loving as we are called to, and shows us how we can better be the children of a loving God.  At this point in the whole story, we are still digesting all the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection….yet Jesus is already reminding us that there is more to come by introducing the Holy Spirit. By pointing out for us the steady presence of God in our lives through the gift of the Advocate, Jesus is also reminding us that in fact God’s unconditional love and forgiveness are still offered to us with absolutely no strings attached. And when we choose to love God with our whole selves in return, we are indeed obeying and keeping his commandment.