Sermon 01-22-2012                                                                             Meditation

Psalm 98:4-9                                                                                     John 15:9-17

“Jesus calls us ‘Friend’”

PRAYER

          How many friends do you have? We are not talking about classmates, acquaintance or co-workers, we are talking about friends those we can count on in any circumstance!

        “Friendship has become a scarce commodity in our world. Competitiveness, a mobile society, a fragmentation of life tend to isolate people and make the traditional patterns of making and sustaining friends, difficult. Unfortunately, the term “friend,” (has been reduced to be a contact on Face book or twitter, where really not everyone is a friend but a friendly connection)… the ingredients of a deep relationship, such as empathy, (one on one) support, and mutual struggle, are lost.”                                      (Brueggemann, “Texts for Preaching.” Year B, p. 324).

          “The words that you hear in one time and place can have an entirely different impact on you if you hear them in another time and place. (the same can be said about reading words in an e-mail, they can be interpreted in many tones and ways, they do not necessarily sound the same if the person shares those exact words in person).

        If you say: “‘I hope you are doing well,’ it may seem like nothing more than a polite greeting in a casual conversation over the phone, (or through a card or an e-mail) but the phrase has a much more focused meaning if it is spoken by a friend visiting you in the hospital. They are the exact same words, but they carry a different resonance, a different intensity and inflection. Meaning shifts with the setting.”                          (Thomas H. Troeger, Feasting on the Word, Year B, vol. 2, p.497)

        When we read a passage in the gospels, it’s best if we understand the context in which we hear the words of Jesus in three different settings, one when he was with his disciples, a second, 90 years later when John was writing to the community of that time, and finally how do we interpret and understand Jesus’ words for us today.

        “Jesus said, “As the Father (God) has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” (15:9) Love is a gift from God, an excellence of character, and a way of life. Love is the essence of God’s nature and through Christ we participate, and abide in that love. That love is then intended in the good of the other person, rather than one’s own. It does not attempt to posses or dominate the other… the disciples’ relationship to one another should conform to their relationship with Jesus. God’s love, as Jesus observes, should be woven into our lives that we might even find ourselves called to die for it.”                   (David S. Cunningham, ibid, p. 496)

        Jesus said: “No one has greater love than this, to lay        down one’s life for one’s friends.” (15:13) Jesus was referring to himself and to the death and suffering that was to come on him, Jesus is calling his disciples, followers and listeners “friends” for whom his love is given. “For John’s community which encounters conflict and persecution… the words seems no longer to refer only to Christ and his death, but to the sacrifice of members of the community, (for his name sake!). (Thomas H. Troeger, ibid, p. 497)

        “How is this account of love related to friendship? (Here is a saying for us today:) “a friend is another self.” Friends form each other in the moral life, taking on each other’s characteristics – both good and bad. We are known by the company we keep; in fact, we are very likely to become the company we keep.” (David S. Cunningham, ibid, p. 498)

        Jesus said: “I do not call you servants any longer… but I have called you friends…” (15:15)

        “Christ is about to leave his disciples, and he is suddenly announcing a new understanding of their relationship. At the very time when they are feeling the least secure and will soon be abandon by him, Christ grants them the dignity and responsibility of being friends, of having heard from him everything that he has heard from God… they are no longer (servants or) “slaves” but “friends.” In ancient times, to be called (servant or) “slave” of a good master was not denigrating, and it could even be a title of respect. But still a (servant or) “slave” was not at the same level as a friend. A slave’s status obligated him to support a master through difficult times, but a friend would do it freely, for reasons of mutual commitment and affection. Generations later, when the community of John heard this passage, they might have received it as a call to shoulder the responsibility of remaining faithful to Christ their friend, even in the face of escalating troubles. What then, does it mean for us today to be Christ’s friend?

        Jesus ends with: “You did not choose me but I choose you.” (15:16) For the disciples on that final night, it would be a reminder that even though things were about to unravel, they were embraced by a divine purpose larger than their individual power of choice. For the community of John, hearing that Christ chose them might give them the assurance they needed to stand steadfast as they encountered intense opposition. And for us living in a culture that celebrates self autonomy and choice, these words may call us back to an awareness of God’s initiative in seeking us out, gathering us into a community, and sending us into the world.”                                                                  (Thomas H. Troeger, ibid, p.499)

        What kind of friends do we have?

        “Some people are our friends because this is useful to us; they allow us to make business connections or get into a particular social group. Other friendships

are pleasurable; we cultivate these because we enjoy them. But the third kind of friendship– the best kind – is for the sake of friendship itself. We cannot have this level of friendship with many people, because it requires a degree of physical presence and availability that should not be stretched too thin. These friendships are the most formative: a true friend who loves, as God loves, will in time, teach us how to love as God loves.

        Thus, when Jesus says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you,” he is not simply offering a useful or pleasurable friendship to those who have done his bidding. He is describing the kind of deep friendship – the best kind.

(Jesus is inviting) and calling us (today) to this kind of friendship relationship with him, thereby, with God. The goal of our Christian life is to become friends with God, (through Christ). Through this friendship, we hope to take on God’s characteristics as our own – and to love one another as God loves us.”  Amen!                                                                                 (David S. Cunningham, ibid, p. 500)

BENEDICTION

Jesus calls each one of us ‘friend,’ we call each other ‘friend.’

Let us go into the world and show others God’s love, so that they also can know that love! Amen!