We Are Not Alone!
May 29th, 2011,
Guest Preacher: Rev. Stephen Gituma
Scripture: John 14: 15-21
In today’s text, Jesus is sharing with his disciples his departure and how he was going to prepare a place for them. Then, he surprises them by saying, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments.” As you all know, none of us like decisions made for us, so you can be sure that Jesus’ use of the word “IF” made the disciples’ hair stand up! I can imagine them being frustrated and questioning Jesus in their minds, asking “IF we love you?”
And I bet you and I too could have said something to that effect. Maybe even now you are wondering as to how on earth Jesus could use the word “IF” to his disciples who had been with him since the beginning of his ministry.
Let me ask you; as a Christian and a faithful member of the Church; would it be fair if Jesus use the same word towards you? And what would your response be?
Anyone could argue that Jesus already knew whether his disciples loved him or not, of course he did; but he still opted to give them the choice. The point is, Jesus did not tell them that they must love or obey him , instead he left the door open for them to choose to love him, if they wanted to continue as Christ’s disciples or they could return to their old lives and businesses.
Don’t forget that these were the same disciplines, whom one of them would later had betray Jesus (John13: 21), and another deny him three times, (John 13: 38, Luke 22:54-60). These are the same disciples who ran and escaped when Jesus was arrested. (Mark 14: 50).Yet, all in all, Jesus expressed his true love for them by not only coming back to them, but promising them another helper. Listen to what he said to them, “Then, I will ask the Father, and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever, v17 the Spirit of Truth.”
The word counselor translated carries the notion of both comfort and counsel. We definitely need that at a time like this, when the world is experiencing tremendous wind of social –economical crisis, when the wind of war is blowing in different directions; we need this Spirit of truth, at a time like this, when millions of people area affected by budget cuts and health Care. When people who are in authority or in power are climbing the ladder of success and obtain high positions by standing on the shoulders of the poor and the vulnerable.
Others getting rich by lying, using the poor and the vulnerable as fishing bait; While others are using their positions of power and authority to oppress and silence any voices with which they disagree. And others using guns to destroy the lives of innocent people.
I believe in a God, who has good plans for each one of us (Jeremiah 29:11), A God, whose desires is to give us the Holy Spirit, The Spirit of Truth, who would be with us, live in us, work with us and walk with us; always whispering words of comfort, saying take courage, I am with you to the end. The Spirit of Truth, who will always, remind us who we are, whose we are and who will always teach us and guide us to do the Truth, to speak the Truth, and even convicts us of our sins.
Speaking of this Spirit, Jesus said, that world [people] cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. How so? For their eyes are blinded by their self righteousness, selfishness and pride. The sad thing is, this is the major disease that has infected the Church today.
Nobody wants to be told or even reminded of God’s commandments. Not many people are ready for the Truth. Because the truth can be bitter and hard to swallow.
Nevertheless, the good news is, God still loves us and cares how we live; Cares about our relationship with others, and with all of God’s creation. Love is more than just mere lovely words, it is commitment and conduct. That means, God’s love is not meant to be static, but it is meant to be lived and be shared with others, to be expressed, not only by words but also in actions and deeds. If you chose not to love others, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps you healthy and happy; you lose that courage to be what God wants you to be.
In African culture, if a person behaves in a certain way, people would say that person is not alone! He/she must be possessed by either an evil spirit or a good spirit, depending on his or her behavior and character portrayed.
If we love Christ; we must portray Christ’s values. Christ knows that you and I cannot do it alone; that is why he told his disciples that he would not leave them alone. As Christians, we are entitled the same Holy Spirit, this is the Spirit of truth. How do we know this? In his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes, “And you were also included in Christ when you heard the Word of truth, and the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal. The promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised us, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his.” (Ephesians 1: 13-14).
So, as Christians, God’s Holy Spirit us must be manifested in us and through us.
Illustration: Tooth Paste, (full tube and an empty tube), ask the congregation, what is it called when it is full and when it is empty. This is how we are seen. Either as Christians full of God’s Spirit or as empty Christians or just a church goers.
By the way, do you know when the disciplines were first called Christians? Acts 11: 26 says that it began in Antioch; At a young Church which was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles, who in the name of Christ had one thing in common, that is, not race culture or language, but Christ-like.
This reminds me of how the Methodist Church came about, the word Methodist originated from Oxford University around 1730, when a group of students who included John and Charles Wesley formed what was called “The Holy Club”. These students lived by method, they did everything methodically, and as a result they were nicknamed Methodists. This later developed to the Methodist Church. These students set their time to pray, attend classes and do Bible study and go out to help the poor.
If we really Love Christ, we must obey his commandments, if we really want God’s Love to be manifest in us, we must take action and not just words.
This love in action requires our fulfillment of the two great commandments-to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This is Love for God in Action. The danger here is twofold,
- Our lives begin to end the moment we start disobeying God’s commandants.
- Our lives begin to CHANGE forever when we start truly obeying God’s commandment to love one another.
Jesus himself demonstrated love in action by identifying with the poor and needy, the sick and the despised.
Speaking of Love for God in action, during an interview with Mother Teresa, two Japanese gentlemen expressed their feelings that many of their Japanese people might hesitate to seek help at her home because it was a Christian institution. ‘It has a cross’, one of them said, ‘and the cross is an obstacle to many in Japan. People might look at the cross and might hesitate to come because they are not Christians.’
Mother Teresa told them about the most joyful place she had ever visited and dispelled their fears.
In Calcutta, we have a Home for the Dying near the great Temple of the Hindu goddess Kali. It is one of the most famous temples in India and we have the home for the sick and the dying next door. They know we are Christians and we help them die in peace with their God. When the Hindus die, we call the Hindus to come and take their bodies, when a Muslim die, the Muslims take the bodies; when a Buddhists die, Buddhists take the bodies; when the Christians die, the Christian come and take the bodies. But there is no fear. By being in the institution there, what we have to prove to our suffering people through our actions is that God loves them.
Our love for God when placed into action is appears as service to honor the poor (those who are different). Your love for God in action is to write properly. Your love for God is to write the truth, to spread goodness, to spread beautiful things. This is the way you put love for God in action.” [Joly Edward Le, and Jaya Chaliha, Mother Teresa’s Reaching out in Love, New York, 1998, P150-151].
Therefore, God is calling us to live a life that God may use us at anytime and anywhere. For God has not given us the Spirit of fear, but the Spirit of power, of Love and of Self discipline!
(2Tim 1:7). Power to make the right decisions, to stand with the oppressed and speak the truth in love; Otherwise if we feel intimidated by being identified with Christ, we defuse our effectiveness to witness about God.
If we truly love Jesus, we will love to be associated with Him and do unto other what Christ would have done. We will be bold to say we are doing this because we are Christians. If we love Jesus Christ, we will love to teach our children about this Jesus Christ; and the love of God which they seriously need to be taught.
As you go out, remember that, God loves you, God cares about how you live, and God continues to seek healthy relationships with us. And as dearly beloved children we are called to live a life of Love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph .5:1-20. Also remember, we are not alone, for God has given us the Spirit of truth, who will be with us to the end.