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Scripture Text (NRSV)

 

John 15:9-17

 

15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.

15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

15:11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

15:12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

15:13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.

15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

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, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

15:16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.

15:17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

 

Comments:

 

Dear friends,

So -- how DO we not only proclaim this wonderful message but find a way to help people understand what it means to love one another???

It's a great message. It's the most difficult of Jesus' commandments to carry out (at least I think so!). I mean, loving God is generally easy. We know God loves us and forgives us. But loving each other means we have to put up with human imperfection (our own, that of others...).

How to encourage people? How to get them to see that it's not the kind of love Jesus talked about when we only accept others on our OWN terms? How to help people feel okay about the times when they find it difficult (or impossible) to truly love one another? How to make this Gospel commandment lively and not just a pie-in-the-sky platitude...?

I love this reading from the Gospel According to John because of its seeming simplicity. I also love it because that very simple-ness challenges me in ways that make me pretty uncomfortable. I'd like to find some ways to convey this in a sermon.

Any ideas? What do you all think????

Rev. Judith in NH


To Rev. Judith in NH: I am inspired by John 15:15. It's easier to say I'm a servant (kind of like a distant relative who feels no responsibility to help you when in need) rather than a friend who is in your midst and feels the desire to take action right away.Our actions communicate louder than words. Having a hard time loving someone? Don't speak, but act on a love that is deeper than your ability speak of love. In this way we can become friends of God and knows the deeper things of God. Rev. Maggie


With this scripture coming on Memorial day weekend, it seems that vs. 13 would be a good focus for a sermon. Just what does it mean to "lay down one's life for one's friends" especially in today's world? And how does that tie into vs. 16 which reminds us that we've been appointed to "bear fruit that will last." I'll move from the secular focus of the holiday weekend into the spiritual side of our lives which calls us to love one another, to lay down our life for another, and to do it for the purpose of something which will make a difference to the future generations. As I reflect on the UMC General Conference and the statement which was made by two bishops and others through their arrest for standing up for their faith and belief in God's love and embrace around all God's children, I think that we have new images for what it means to "lay down one's life for one's friends" and for bearing "fruit that will last." A seminary profressor once told us that "reconciliation" means something brand new coming out of seemingly irreconcilable differences, with no one side "losing" or "winning" their own viewpoint, but with God creating something new which will be a gift of love for all. We need to continue to pray for reconciliation in so many areas of emotional conflict and name calling, and listen for God's still small voice to speak the words of calm. Beginning wanderings of the Spirit-filled mind.... Rev.KAS


I have been following DPS for sometime now and I appreciate all that you, the contributors have posted in the past. It has helped me in my exegesis and get different perspectives on the texts. I couldn't help but notice that this passage is the follow-up to last Sunday's passage where we were to consider a couple of words. First: the word prune, kathairei, katharoi, from kathairo which means everything is clean or pruning by removing superfluous wood. It is in this vein that we read in the first 8 verses that it is the withered, fruitless branches which are thrown into the fire to be burned. It is not that the Christian is not producing fruit and thus cut from the vine. If you have ever observed a grape vine that has not been pruned, it grows wildly and its crop is extremely small and sometimes non-existent. This is because the vine is left to grow without direction. Sometimes we meet Christians who cannot find meaning in their lives because they have not submitted themselves to be pruned by God. When a grape vine is pruned, the energy of the plant is directed toward the fruit. It is in this way that pruned vines produce the largest, sweetest, juiciest fruits. Incidentally, this does not just hold true for grape vines, but for all kinds of fruit trees and bushes. If you want large tomatoes, pluck several of the blooms off your tomato plants and watch the fruit grow larger than ever before. Nip the new growth and keep the plant smaller and the fruit will grow larger because the energy is directed toward the fruit. This brings us to the other word I looked at in last weeks lesson: Abide. This word is used in this text as a present infinitive, otherwise translated as something to do constantly or continuously. When Jesus said "Abide in Me," He meant to say constantly and continuously abide in Me. In verse 5 where Jesus says "he who abides in Me and I in him," means that our walk is so close to Christ everyday that we constantly and continuously seek His presence in every situation. The result: we will produce or bear much fruit. One other word that I found to be interesting was the word: ask in verse 7. Jesus told the disciples to "ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH AND IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU." This was not a request or suggestion, it is emphatic in the Greek where it comes out as a command. ASK. Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. Paul encourages to "Pray without ceasing." These are just a couple suggestions that lead us into this weeks passage, continuing on with v. 9 we find that word "ABIDE" again. Constantly and Continuously abide in My Love. Again in vs 10, "if you keep my commandments, you will 'ABIDE"(constantly and continuously) in My love 'just as' I have kept(and now still is) My Father's Commandments and 'ABIDE'(constantly and continuously) in His love." Later in vs. 16, Jesus moves back to the theme of last week's lesson on the fruit and how you will produce fruit and that it would remain, and that whatevery we ask, while we abide in Him, He will give to us abundantly. It is in ABIDING in Jesus that we are even able to love one another and it is through ABIDING in Jesus that the fruit we produce will draw others to Jesus as well. As I said in my sermon this week, When others notice the difference in your life and ask you what you have that is so different from theirs, it is your answer that will be the fruit of your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Incidentally, in chapter 14 we see that Jesus is talking to the disciples and not people who do not know that Jesus is God's Son. These are the true followers of Jesus and that is why in vs 14 Jesus says "You are my friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves because slaves do not know what their master is doing; but I call you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known unto you." The disciples knew what Jesus was about. Sometimes they were dull minded and did not see clearly, just as we do.

Rev KAS mentioned that vs13 relates to the Memorial Day theme. I would agree and go further. We are not only called to lay down our lives for our country, but for our friends, neighbors, aquaintences, enemies, strangers, widows and orphans. We are called to be little Christs just as our name Christian identifies us so. It is in our witness of Jesus Christ that we lay down our lives for our friendsT˙í


I must have run out of room.: It is in our witness of Jesus Christ that we lay down our lives for our friends and that is as a result of ABIDING in Jesus Christ, constantly and continuously. Thank you for listening. KVH in IN


Continued from above: It is in our witness of Jesus Christ that we lay down our lives for our friends because we abide constantly and continuously in Jesus Christ. Thanks for listening... KVH in IN


Yes, I am new. Please disregard two of the three previous posts. Thanks KVH IN


So lets explore, how it is that we "abide." Essentially I relate this word to remain, or settle with, or to persevere. How? How do you persevere in love in the face of increasing opposition and rejection? No wonder so much emphasis is made in the gospels regarding Christ's passion. But how do we as Christians remain attached to the true vine which stretches beyond this world into the next?

For a long time, I have regarded this as the most crucial theology of the church. We have so much theology, so much cliche and doctrine about how to "make" Christians. How to introduce people to the church. How to convert people from one belief structure to the next. And yet we don't seem quite so informative in telling them how they should remain Christian. And, might I add, sometimes we fail to provide them with an adequate theology of the suffering that forms much of the Christian life. Jesus, even got frustrated with his disciples about this. "How long must I teach you these things?" Even today with a declining church in the western world, I hear a lot of sermons which fail to address the issue of persevering Christians. Most of them, say you have to keep going back to your conversion experience, sometimes even quoting hour and minute. Whist this is true; I don't forget my first love of Christ, I also need to move forward and encounter the myriad of experiences that God has prepared for my future. I find that conversion experience Christians, become rather tedious after a while.

To remain/persevere in Christ's love is the most difficult aspect of Christianity. It's an everyday event, occurring in some very mundane situations. Yet we are commanded to constantly risk our love, put our faith on the line, and "remain" faithful. We are called to daily take up our cross, to experience the pain of relationship, to bear the sorrows of others, and still remain soft and pliable. To love others with a love, where you are willing to lay down your life for them. Being available to the movement of the Spirit at any point in my life, is the quintessential trial. This is extremely difficult, and yet absolutely essential. Loving people just doesn't happen when I'm at my best, but often when I'm at my worst. Anyone who has ministered for a long period of time, in strenous conditions will soon tell you, about the accumulation of stress that hardens the heart. Anyone who has ministered in parishes for any extended length of time, will tell you, just how constant need, drains your ability to show love and compassion. How criticism cuts into your willingness to be vulnerable. Many new Christians just don't understand this. I was once told by someone, that Christianity is not a sprint, it is more akin to a marathon.

Into this equation comes the demand, by Christ, that we are to remain loving, which means that we have to remain vulnerable. The vulnerability that Christ exhibited on the cross, is a constant reminder, of how Jesus remained loving to the very end. Trying to imitate him, is and remains the hardest component of Christianity.

What I have discovered is that most Christians, in order to combat this unique request, hold back a level of their committment. That is, they keep a part of themselves uncommitted to Christ. They are the "clayton" (euphimism for not what they appear to be) Christians, who exhibit all the right signals and symbols, but who's heart is not abiding in Christ. This enables them to appear loving and compassionate for most purposes, until one day, their hand is forced. They are called to travel the extra mile, and they are unable to go. They find excuses, for why they are not called to love to that level. Remember Jesus's story about the banquet and all the excuses that people made as to why they couldn't come. To me, these people have not persevered in love, they have not abided in Christ.

My experience has shown that it is often those who appear non-interested,(don't necessarily comply with all our requirements) that give more readily of themselves, without thought of reward, and without seemingly being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary. Remember the vine of Christ encompasses ALL people. They are the ones who put aside their own lives, for the sake of others. These I have come to regard as those who remain and abide in Christ's love.

I have experienced a number of occasions when it is the stranger, who is most willing to lay down their life, while the professing Christian justifies, why they shouldn't. I associate the parable of the Good Samaritan here. Who produced the fruit which would last in that story? In the musical "Les Miserables", it is the Bishop's action, which lead to the incredible life of Jean Valjean.

What DOES it mean, to persevere in the Christian life.? Does it mean simply attending worship? Does it mean professing with your lips, Jesus as your Saviour. Does it mean, "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you."? Or does it mean something far more fundamental even?

It means for me, the need to regard every single relationship in life as sacred, no matter how miniscule the association is, and it means that every decision I make in life, has to be thoroughly checked for its loving intent. Remaining attached to God and his love for me, is the hardest thing I have even encountered and I encounter it every day. I encounter it in the tri-fold love affair which says, "If God loves Me, and God loves You, than I am required to love You, and You, Me."

Thankfully God knows my difficulty in achieving this, and has given me the beautiful glue of forgiveness, to keep me attached to the eternal vine. May I strive to be better, and may God give me the sweeter understanding of How!

Thanks be to Jesus, who treats me as a friend.

Have a great week everyone!

Regards,

KGB in Aussie


Greetings KGB in Aussie: You have hit the nail on the head! If abiding in Christ is an easy thing, everyone would do it. Christ would not have had to go to the cross because we who put Him there would have seen who Christ was and recognized His importance. You are right, that is the struggle. Daily, constantly, every moment, remaining in Him. Turning over our every care and concern to Jesus. These words make it sound easy. It is not. It is a struggle every day and the harder we struggle to remain in Jesus, the more we are attacked to look away. How do we show others the way to accomplish this? We set the example ourselves. There will always be more work to do, but if we do not take care of ourselves, we might find ourselves lacking or unqualified. We must first show that we can be used of God to bear fruit. When we do this, God will bring people our way to explain that it is a daily process, not a formula or an answer. I too, struggle daily with this. I too find myself lacking the energy, time, committment and fortitude to remain in Jesus daily. If we as ministers have that difficulty, imagine how others who are only reminded of God's love for them on Sunday mornings only! Your comments that sometimes it is the non-Christian who exhibits the Good Samaritan habits and the religious who walk by. That was the point of Jesus' story, that we as Christians find ourselves wanting when it comes to loving others unconditionally as this Good Samaritan did. Your question of how do we tell them, get them to understand this concept? John 15:10 says it all! "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." It is so simple that we make it complicated because we don't really want to love everyone, even our enemies. We as ministers must share the good news and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit to work His will and way in the lives of others. Simple? Yes. Easy? No. Abide or remain in Me - constantly and continuously. That is the secret to close fellowship with God. He can do the rest! KVH in IN


YES to KGB in Aussie!

What I tell candidates for baptism is this-Becoming a Christian is the easiest thing in the world to do. Remaining one is the hardest thing in the world to do. "Simple, but not easy" sums it up nicely.Thank God it is not up to us to do it alone. tom in TN(USA)


God works miracles sometimes in our lives. Normally I do my bulletin on Monday mornings because it is copied by 8:30AM on Monday by my head of worship and then the rest of the week, I spend looking for what I am going to say, check this site once or twice a week and on Saturday I check back. Now on a good week that means sermon on Saturday most weeks it is 4:00AM on Sunday and I am sitting down to write. I am a storyteller so it works for me. But this week, God has made me sit down and write. A week wher I have the least amount of time in the beginning of the week. To get to the point, I will discuss the different kinds of love, I will discuss the difference between love and lust. and will discuss how the word abide to me is a kind gentle feeling that happens when we invite God into our hearts to live and he says to us, "my child I have been waiting for you to invite me in." I will try to end it by tying in verse 13 and Memorial day by the fact that Jesus gave up his life for those of us yet to be born, as did those who went out to fight a war for those who they did not know or were yet to be born. I wish to thank you all for the great things I read here. I am a UMC local pastor who will be ordained in June and I also struggle with what happens in our church, but I also hope that there is a way that God's will can happen and not split the church that I love so much.

Pastor Belle in NY


I think sometimes we do forget that we are given a helper. I know I could not get to first base without that Spirit that indwells and guides me. I know I had no chance until I met Jesus face to face like Paul's experience. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” For years I had the knowledge, (head knowledge) but we all need the indwelling of that Spirit to produce the fruit that in the end helps us to constantly abide in him. God’s grace leads us, guides us and helps us to persever. I know when in my heart I am trying to obey it starts becoming a works..... then I have to say, “ God here I go again.... please take over ..... the I in me needs your help.” I truly believe even He produces the humility in me to ask for the help the I in me needs. I hope I am getting my point across. LPinPA


Thank you all for wonderful entries this week. Special thanks to KAS for the words about the meaning of reconsiliation.

To KVH, welcome! You are a delightful addition to this discussion.

To KGB, a simple thanks does not seem enough. It felt like you were pouring out your soul in a loving and careful way so let me simply respond in saying that what you shared is a gift, and I (one among many) recieve and appreciate it that way. Manzel


Dear Friends:

On this Memorial Day weekend, many of the families in my church will be camping together and worshipping out among the cottonwood trees and wind on the Mohave Desert. The service is informal, includes the briefest of homilies, lots of singing, and communion together as family.

I know that it is simplistic to use this scripture to talk about the sacrifice made by those who gave their lives in war, but I will likely do so. There are family members who willingly went to war, seeing it as an extention of their life of faith, knowing that they were risking life for their friends. And so, I'll look for a brief story to tell that can demonstrate that kind of sacrifice (any suggestions) and we will thank God for a Savior who modeled for us that kind of love.

Peace be with you all this week.

Pam in San Bernardino peejaymo@prodigy.net


Greetings Pam in San Bernardino! My wife told me a story she heard on the Radio Bible Class with Mr. Charlie. I don't know if it fits in your situation, however, it might help others too. The story is told a farmer who raised chickens on his farm. He was very proud of his chickens and they were good laying hens. One night, the farmer looked out the back door to see his barn on fire. He rushed out to the barn and chased all the chickens he could find out of the barn, saving their lives. He felt he accomplished a great thing even though his barn burned to the ground. The next day, the farmer went out to where the barn stood and came upon the place where the chickens laid their eggs. To his horror, his best laying hen sat on the nest with her wings spread out, but the hen was dead. Angry, the farmer kicked the hen off its perch and in doing so, uncovered the reason why his best hen was dead. There in the nest were four baby chicks alive and chirping. The best hen the farmer had gave her life to save her chicks from burning.

Having been in the military missing Viet Nam though being sent to Desert Storm, there are lots of stories of brave men and women who have given their lives to save those around them. Many of those who survived the war(s) are hesitant to talk about their experiences, partially because it was so horrific, partly because they feel humbled that they even had the chance to come back when they knew many who fell around them to give them the opportunity to live. We don't understand why the hen in the story stayed on the nest and gave her life for the chicks. Perhaps it was out of instinct to protect her young? We really don't understand why God loves us so much that He gave His only Son to die on a cross for our sins either. We can only be humbled and appreciative that He did. I would like to think that those who survived the war(s) stop and remember and appreciate those who died for us. I don't just mean those who came back from the war(s) but those who survived the war(s) because young men and women went to distant shores to protect our shores from being invaded. We all owe our lives to those who protect our freedom. I salute the men and women who serve in the U.S. military who continue to protect our freedom. SGT. KVH in IN


All of us tend, I think, to moralize the teachings of Jesus. Love even comes out of our mouths as something we need to do! Yet we can only love if we know we are loved, and the only way we will know this unconditional love, outside of our intellectualizing, is allowing ourselves to be with God in and through deep prayer. It is here, in the silence of our own being that we know whose we are, and once we have (re)discovered God's love for us we will be able to reach beyond ourselves.

When Jesus speaks of "command" does he mean "torah" or "mitsvoh?" It seems to me that he means more "word" than law. At the conclusion of the lessons we say "The Word of the Lord." How do we hear this word, do we see it as an invitation for deeper communion, or is the word simply something to obey, objectively.

tom in ga


Thanks KVH for your story and your additional comments.

The story is one I've heard told in a variety of ways through recent years, and may work for this occasion. We'll see.

My senior pastor and partner in ministry is a Chaplain for the Air National Guard (Lt. Col.) and has recently returned from a 3 month stint in Ramstein. He usually tells the military stories from our pulpit, while my examples tend to be more homebound, and hence more homey. I think I'd like to stretch a bit a turn to military things myself this week, so your reflections will be very helpful.

Thanks and nice to meet you.

Pam in San Bernardino


Speaking of that love triangle (you, me, & God)....

I am loved, I am loved. I can risk loving you for the One who knows me best loves me more.

You are loved, you are loved. Won't you please take my hand? We are free to love each other. We are loved.

I THINK these are the words to a song I once heard on the radio. Can anyone verify/correct the lyrics?

I appreciate the way Jesus here in John seems to flatten the hierarchy by moving from master to mutual one, i.e. friend. For such high christology, this is quite a come-down! Such humility.

Yell"Arose!"inTx


Am preaching my last series of sermons to a congregation before taking on a new appointment. The lection texts from 1 John and the Gospel of John have been quite helpful. John's Gospel as it issues Jesus' farewell address offers great insight in beginning the farewell process with a congregation. I would be interested in stories and examples of how you have witnessed saying good-bye while proclaiming and living the commandment to love. TN Mack


After reading the comments of others, the thought came to me of how rebellous I am in obeying commands. It would be easy for me to dismiss Jesus' command to love... if I did not feel God's love as revealed in the life of Jesus Christ at work in my own life. If I sense the goodness of the Savior's love, the command to love is a no brainer. TN Mack


The fact that Jesus has to tell us to love one another implies that love does not always come naturally. Sometimes we are called to love when we are utterly unable to do so. There are times we simply run dry of human love. The love Jesus wants us to have is not human love, which is fragile and imperfect. Rather, when we ask for it, God's love is poured into our hearts so we can love with divine love. It is not our doing. In my own life I have been confronted with my own inability to love. Only God can provide the love. revsjc in PA


I recall the lection from a few weeks ago when Jesus entered a house said "Peace be with you", showed the disciples his hands and feet, ate a fish, and then "opened their minds to the scripture". While we are here in the Easter Season I find something very personal in what Jesus did in that lection, and in what he does in this one. I think it comes across especially clearly when he calls his followers "friends" and not "servants". He does not even call them "apostles" or "disciples". I think that when he calls them friends it shows a very personal side of Jesus and a very personal side of the gospel. I also think in this day and age when we are all shopping on-line and in gigantic stores that we are searching out for this personal message from Christ.

Alex in Clyde.


A few opening thoughts:

This last week I had the congregation close their eyes (not too many fell asleep!) and imagine themselves as branches on the vine of Christ, with their roots deep down in the well of God, the sweet sap of the Spirit flowing up through them, producing fruits to be enjoyed by others. Their job was simply to "abide" on the vine, and let the vine, the Spirit, and the resources that they brought from the well do their natural work in them, to produce fruit. I also reminded them that the purpose of the branch is not merely to "abide" (no pew sitters!), but to produce fruit for others.

This text naturally flows from last week's. Abiding appears to be both a gift and a command. Jesus has already made us "clean," so that we already "abide" in him. Yet it is also a command, "abide in me." We are to do what he has enabled us to do. But we do not do it on our own power, for "apart from me you can do nothing."

Thank you all for the reflections on "giving (one's) life for (one's) friends." Certainly apropos for Memorial Day. I think the point is that we do not limit ourselves to seeing the "giving one's life" as only pertaining to those who have died for the cause (whether of faith or the nation), but the day-by-day giving of self for the sake of the other. That is the true meaning of agape - reflecting God's selfless love.

At the end of this passage, Jesus once again notes that the work is all God's: "I chose you;" "I appointed you." We only need "abide" in what he has already done!

Gary in New Bern Where it's summer already!


TN Mack: Have you heard the song, "Will You Love Jesus More?" It is a perfect 'saying goodbye' theme: "WIll you love Jesus more, when we go our different ways? When this moment is a memory, will you remember His face? Will you look back and realize that you felt His love more than you did before? I pray for nothing less than for you to love Jesus more." It blends nicely with the text.

Rev Janet in CNY


TN Mack, I know it's gotten a little dated, but for saying "goodbye," how about Michael W. Smith's song, "Friends"? The theme even seems to go with this lection. MTSOfan


Tying the text into Memorial Day is fine, but the appeal to me this week is that Jesus is speaking to the Christian community itself. This isn't a call to show love to the world -- it's to do so within the community of faith, the church, to the annoying people we have to put up with every Sunday! I believe that if you can be a Christian in the church, you can do it almost anywhere. Often the closer we get to each other, the more appealing the "humble poor" somewhere else appear to be. Or if I'm among the "cultured despisers of religion" I usually know where I'm standing. But to love those who profess to be of one heart and mind, sharing the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace, and to be the recipient of the things they (we) say and do -- that's a difficult matter. To be a Christian means we have to deal with halitosis, and off-key singing, clammy hands and people who stand too close, kids dropping pencils and teenagers getting the giggles at the Communion rail. It's easy to say (with Charlie Brown), "I love humankind. It's PEOPLE I can't stand." But to the church Jesus says, "Love one another." Christian community is less about Paul's second missionary journey to Rome -- and more about our own journey to decency. Grace and peace, Larry in VA


How true, Larry in VA!!! It is always easier to "love" someone with who you are in limited contact with. You do not have to invest much time in shaking hands on Sunday morning or doling out supper in soup kitchen. Jesus is talking about God's love shared among friends. Servants do have great respect at times for their master, but their relationship to the Master is limited to the tasks they are to perform. Jesus up the ante by calling his disciples friends. By doing this he implies a relationship that is more serious, committed, and time consuming.


It is alarmingly easy to figure out what we WON'T abide, rather than what (in WHOM!) we will abide. This text seems like a call to continually identify ourselves by we are FOR rather than AGAINST. We easily list what we can't stand, what we hate, what is wrong. Jesus calls us to remember what we CAN stand for, what (and whom!!) we love and what we are choosing and re-choosing every day. We need to lay down our lives like a path others can follow... DL in ME


I appreciate the theology of Country Music - some say that it is my worst vice - oh, well! Anyhow, 2 current hits are "Love's the Only House Big Enough for All the Pain in the World," by Mindy McCready, and "Don't Let the Chain of Love End with You," by Brian Paisley, I think. Both sum up well the interconnectedness of the community of faith without saying anything about religion. They also impress upon the hearer that this love we know doesn't stop with us - it has to grow and be shared sacrificially with the world so that all may know. As we abide in his love, allowing it to produce good fruits in and through us, we are compelled to share those same fruits and source of love with others. It is the gospel imperitive - lest we, as last week's text indicated, be pruned for our faithlessness. Pastor Mary Beth, Sandusky, Ohio


As I was preparing for this Sunday I was looking in an old (older than I am anyway) commentary by the great Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple. About the commandement to love one another he said, "This is not a command to all the world, as will appear very soon (18); nor is it a command concerning the relation of Christians to non-Christians. It is the command to the Christian fellowship. That fellowship owes its existence and quality to the love of Christ. He has drawn us, each one to Himself; our discipleship is His doing, not ours (16); in the fellowship which we have, each one, with Him we are in fellowship with one another; and this latter fellowship must be the sphere or arena of a love such as created it. The life of the Vine must be in the branches, making of them a single organism; the Spirit of Christ must be in the members, making them all one body, and that body His." This is the direction I think I am going to go this Sunday, allowing of course for the Spirit of Christ who flows through me to suggest other possibilities.

RG in Ontario


Rose, here are the lyrics to that chorus, which is a Bill Gaither number btw. (he does have a gift, eh?) "I am loved, your are loved. I can risk loving you for the one who knows me best, loves me most. I am loved, you are loved. Won't you please take my hand? We are free to love each other...we are loved!" Rev She in NC