Reflection for 5th May 2024The Sixth Sunday of Easterand Rogation SundayIsaiah 55.1-11, Acts 10.44-48, John 15.9-17.I do enjoy May, as this month marks the peak of spring and the beginning of summer, with fresh leaves on the trees and flowers appearing everywhere. With the blossoms comes the promise of fruit, most notably the apple blossom blooming over my fence from my neighbour's garden. Everywhere we look, there seem to be signs of growth and wonder. The line, "I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last," struck me in our gospel reading from John. There is a similarity between the fruit we see growing in nature and the fruit God bears within us. The similarity is that both fruits do not fall entirely on our shoulders. The apple tree needs care and pruning from time to time, but we cannot will the tree to bring forth apples any more than we cannot grow the Kingdom of God alone through our own will and ideas. Prayer is a must as we look to Jesus to show us the way. In the same way, we also look to Jesus to aid our understanding of scripture by interpreting our lives through the lens of the Bible. Christ calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. This command from Jesus is very different for our culture. In fact, it is in opposition to society's norms, which promotes self-affirmation, individuality, and forming the gospel to fit your life. Our lives should conform to the gospel, not the other way around.This is what Jesus himself says in verse 10: “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” Remaining (or, in some versions, abide) in Christ's love signifies our obedience to His will, acknowledging that without Christ's power leading us, our plans will not bear fruit.Obedience is a much-disliked word because often we think it means having to do something that impacts our freedom. However, obeying Jesus should not be considered a chore, begrudgingly taken on, as in verse 11, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." Jesus speaks of a greater joy, far beyond the fleeting, shallow human joy offered by our fallen world. The joy Jesus speaks of is the experience of God's love for which we were created—a mutual love that results in obedience without reserve and an exuberance of faith that nothing can destroy. This deep-seated sense of happiness is not merely based on fleeting emotions, but also on a lively pleasure in the things of God.By following Christ’s commandment to “love one another as He has loved us,” we abide in his love. This is the root of our discipleship, the foundation, and the cornerstone of our lives in everything we think, do, and say. Jesus then says something that’s completely unprecedented. He says, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Obedience to His commands is not what makes believers Jesus’ friends, but what characterises our friendship with Him. How mind-blowing is that to have God call us His friends?! No other faith dares to make this claim of having such a close relationship with God. We are called to work alongside Jesus as friends, not as his servants, in this relationship. While servants follow instructions, we, as Jesus' friends, have the opportunity to comprehend and grasp God's intentions. With this understanding, we realize that Jesus' commands are more than a list of tasks to tick off; they are a simple instruction to remain in His love, from which all Christian ministry, yours and mine, flows.Acts shows us what happens when the disciples put Jesus' teachings into practice. The church demonstrates the command to love one another by including the Gentiles. The Gentiles, which is another name for people other than Jews, included the Spirit's actions: in the vision of Cornelius (in Acts 10.3), the dream of Peter (in Acts 10.9-16), and in the reading from Gentiles' we heard today of "speaking in tongues and extolling God" (v. 46). Theologian Beverly Ganvanta asserts that baptism cannot exclude Gentiles due to God's overt and unmistakable inclusion of them. This comes as a shock and surprise to the disciples, who had underestimated the power and grace of God at work in those who, in their minds, did not follow the Jewish way of life.Over the years, I have noticed we can sometimes become so overwhelmed by the day-to-day business of the church with worries about buildings, facilities, and dwindling congregations that we forget God is ultimately in control, not us. In fact, we may delude ourselves by saying that we are the ones who have to take the initiative to achieve great things. Acts chapter 2, verse 42 reveals that the fruitfulness and unity of the early church were not human achievements, but rather a result of the apostles' abiding in the love of their risen and ascended Lord, as they united in prayer and the breaking of bread (Acts 2.42).For today’s church, with all its problems, anxieties, and worries for the future, the passages today offer hope as well as comfort, for they chart a path beyond anxiety and mere human endeavour. We are reminded of the simple instruction to live in Christ's love and rest in Him while praying for His will to be done in us and in our communities. As Christ’s body, His church, we discover what God’s will is by praying and reading the bible together. For it is in fellowship we learn how to trust God and each other with our faith journeys.Before us, we keep in mind the transformative power of the Gospel in our lives and in the lives of others. Out of love for Christ and His love for us, we remain steadfast in our obedience to God by conforming our lives to His word. God is the one who initiates the construction of His kingdom, infusing a rebellious and broken world with resurrection life. Go out into the world with the knowledge that God “chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that “whatever you ask in my name, the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” Blessings and prayers, Emma